MPs demand end to punishment beatings

Peace process: Tense weekend

By BBC News Online's political correspondent Nick Assinder

An all-party effort has been launched in the Commons to force paramilitaries to end so-called punishment beatings in Northern Ireland.

As the peace process faces a make-or-break period, the MPs are planning to highlight the increase in the vicious beatings by both republicans and loyalists over the past few months.

Republican attacks

Shootings: 19

Assaults: 16

(RUC figures 2000)

There are widespread fears that, while all attention is focussed on the decommissioning of terrorist weapons, little is being done to end the knee-cappings and maimings still being carried out on a daily basis in Northern Ireland.

The group believes the terrorists would massively increase the chances of maintaining the peace process if they end the assaults as part of confidence building measures.

The group includes Labour's Harry Barnes and Tony Clarke, former Tory Northern Ireland minister Peter Bottomley and Liberal Democrat Lembit Opik.

They plan to regularly table motions in the Commons detailing the increase in both the number and the brutality of the beatings.

Breach of ceasefire

While RUC figures show that the number of punishment beatings to 7 May this year is marginally lower than for the same period of last year, both loyalists and republicans are now carrying out more shootings than beatings.

Loyalist attacks

Shootings: 29

Assaults: 26

(RUC figures 2000)

The MPs fear that it is only a matter of time before someone dies as a result of such an attack.

That could easily be viewed as a breach of the terrorists' ceasefire and dangerously undermine the peace process.

The issue was raised in the Commons recently when Tony Blair declared the beatings were "barbaric and have no place in civilised society."

He was supported by Tory leader William Hague in his call for the assaults to end.

Punishment beatings are regularly used as a way of imposing discipline on either republican or loyalist areas.

Some residents see them as a way of reducing crime in some of the more depressed areas of the province where paramilitaries have sought to replace the Royal Ulster Constabulary.

Others claim they are often nothing more than extensions of the terrorists other criminal activities which include protection rackets and extortion.