Papers debate IRA's declaration

Friday's front pages

In pictures

Nearly every editorial debates the sincerity of Thursday's declaration by the IRA and considers the prospects for peace in Northern Ireland.

The Guardian calls abandoning the IRA's armed campaign "immense and resonant".

But bitter experience has taught the peace process is only as strong as the commitment on both sides, it adds.

The Times says the IRA's statement is different in character from the dozens issued previously but adds there is plenty of room left for disappointment.

War and peace

Pictures of masked gunmen, stark statistics, and speculation are a few themes running through Friday's papers.

On the front of the Independent, men in berets and balaclavas point guns to the sky at what seems to be an IRA funeral.

The Daily Telegraph catalogues "the cost of peace in Ulster" - 3,637 killed 45,000 wounded, 15,300 bombs.

And under the headline "War and peace", the Sun contrasts an image of a masked IRA man with one of an armed police officer at Exeter station on Thursday.

'False dawn'

The Sun remains hostile towards the IRA. "Haven't these same liars given us false dawns before?" it asks.

The Daily Mirror, on the other hand, says the IRA has taken a remarkable step and Unionists now hold the key.

The Daily Telegraph says the Unionists are right to reserve judgment until the hype has been translated into action.

The Daily Mail urges the IRA to destroy all weapons, return money stolen from the Northern Bank and stop intimidating witnesses to Robert McCartney's murder.

Brum's rush

The Daily Mirror shouts "Twister!", for the Daily Mail, it is "Tornado!", and for the Sun it is simply "Brum's rush".

The Daily Express says Thursday's 130mph winds "chewed up suburbia" as they swept through Birmingham.

An aerial photo in many papers shows the extent of the devastation - dozens of homes look like dolls' houses where someone has lifted off all the roofs.

One witness tells the Mirror she saw a man clinging to a lamppost - "his feet were in the air".