IRA arms inventory 'not disclosed'

The PM said people would be satisfied if they knew the details

The head of the arms body in Northern Ireland has said he has not revealed details of what was destroyed by the IRA in its third act of decommissioning.

General John de Chastelain also warned that if commissioners were forced to break their confidentiality agreement with the IRA it would make their positions "untenable".

The statement on Thursday followed accusations by anti-Agreement unionists that Prime Minister Tony Blair had lied over what he knew about the arms move.

However, Downing Street has denied that the prime minister misled parliament over the issue.

A report by General de Chastelain on Tuesday confirmed the quantity of weapons put beyond use by the IRA was "considerably larger" than that which had been previously decommissioned.

However, Ulster Unionists rejected the arms move as not being transparent enough.

Mr Blair told the Commons on Wednesday that he believed people in Northern Ireland would be satisfied if they knew the full details he had learned about the event.

On Thursday, General de Chastelain met a number of delegations including Ian Paisley's Democratic Unionist Party. He also met the Northern Ireland Unionist Cedric Wilson and the UK Unionist Robert McCartney.

All three delegations later said the general was adamant that he had told Tony Blair no more about the IRA decommissioning event than he had revealed in his public presentation.

Mr McCartney said this meant that the prime minister had misled the Commons.

However, in a statement, Downing Street said Mr Blair had not claimed he had been given full details nor that the general had broken his pledge of confidentiality to the IRA when he briefed Mr Blair and Mr Ahern at Hillsborough Castle.

General de Chastelain confirmed a third quantity of IRA weapons had been put beyond use

Downing Street said it was difficult to give details about what the prime minister knew and what his sources were without breaching the confidentiality of Mr Blair's and Mr Ahern's discussions with the general.

Later, the decommissioning body issued a statement saying it had carried out the act of decommissioning "based on confidentiality".

It added: "If the commissioners were forced to disclose the inventory without the IRA agreeing to it they would judge their positions untenable.

"The commission can not comment on discussions with the prime ministers but the commissioners have not disclosed an inventory of the event."

The SDLP leader, Mark Durkan, has suggested that the IRA allow General de Chastelain to give more details about the arms move.

Meanwhile, further talks have been held between Sinn Fein and the Ulster Unionists, as efforts continue to try and rescue the latest deal to deliver devolution.

It also emerged that Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams has been speaking by telephone to the Ulster Unionist leader David Trimble, the Irish Taoiseach Bertie Ahern and Mr Blair.

He also spoke with US special envoy, Richard Haass.

Contact between British and Irish officials is continuing.

Rebuilding confidence

Meanwhile, Ulster Unionist peer Lord Rogan has called on the government to explain how legislation prevented the disclosure of information on the IRA's latest act of decommissioning.

Speaking in the Lords on Thursday, he asked to whom the confidentiality clause applied.

"If, as the prime minister suggested, the IRA has undertaken a substantial act of decommissioning and is now finally and fully committed to the political process, will the government now assist in rebuilding lost confidence by disclosing the details of the latest decommissioning event?" he asked.

The devolved administration at Stormont was suspended a year ago amid allegations of IRA intelligence-gathering in the Stormont government.

The announcement of an election date of 26 November came after weeks of top-level negotiations between Sinn Fein and the Ulster Unionists, as well as the British and Irish Governments.

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The joint declaration between British and Irish Governments
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