Orde says IRA offer 'was to kill'

Robert McCartney, 33, was killed near Belfast city centre

The IRA was prepared to kill those it claims were behind the murder of Belfast man Robert McCartney, the chief constable has said.

The IRA has offered to shoot the people who killed the 33-year-old after a row in a city centre bar on 30 January. His family have rejected the offer.

Hugh Orde said he had "no doubt" the IRA meant they would kill the men.

Mr Orde said the police know who the suspects are but could not make an arrest without evidence.

"We need people to give us the evidence that enables us to go and do our job properly," he told the BBC on Wednesday.

"This is an organisation theoretically on ceasefire. This is an organisation that is still prepared to kill people now from its own community".

Sinn Fein's Martin McGuinness said he was surprised by the IRA statement.

He said he thought it would have been "very unfortunate" if the organisation had shot the alleged killers.

Hugh Orde said police needed evidence for arrests

"I think the difficulty about this particular sentence in the statement is it takes away from what I think is an awful lot of positive stuff," Mr McGuinness said.

Irish Premier Bertie Ahern said the IRA statement was "extraordinary and horrific".

Mr Ahern told a news conference in Dublin he had been shocked by the comment, but that things had to move forward in the peace process and there was a distinction between Sinn Fein and the IRA.

The US Special Envoy to Northern Ireland, Mitchell Reiss, said it was "time for the IRA to go out of business".

Mr Reiss added: "It's time for Sinn Fein to be able to say explicitly, without ambiguity, without ambivalence, that criminality will not be tolerated."

In a statement on Tuesday, the IRA offered to shoot those directly involved in the murder and said it had given the family their names.

But Mr McCartney's cousin, Gerard Quinn, said: "I think the feeling is that to shoot and possibly kill these people is revenge and not justice.

"And revenge is not what the family is looking for."

A five-page statement from the IRA said the McCartney family had met the organisation twice and made it clear they did not want physical action taken against those involved.

The IRA said it had given the family the name of the man who allegedly stabbed Mr McCartney and a second man who allegedly supplied removed and destroyed the murder weapon.

HAVE YOUR SAY The IRA just don't get it do they? These dinosaurs must go. Richard Atkins, Wortham, UK Send us your comments

Both these men have been expelled by the IRA.

The republican organisation said it had also spoken directly to key eye witnesses and told them they had nothing to fear from the IRA.

Former IRA hunger striker Tommy McKearney said the statement was extraordinary and showed an indecisiveness and lack of self-confidence within the IRA leadership.

Mr McKearney said he thought it was "inevitable" that Sinn Fein would have to break off from the IRA as the contradictions between them could not be reconciled.

"I think that's what we're seeing at the moment," he said.

Secretary of State Paul Murphy said he was appalled by the offer.

DUP leader Ian Paisley called for the leaders of Sinn Fein to be arrested following the IRA statement.

Senior Ulster Unionist Sir Reg Empey said the statement proved the IRA had "clearly learnt nothing over recent weeks" and SDLP MP Eddie McGrady condemned the IRA proposal as "obscene".

The IRA expelled three members over the murder and Sinn Fein subsequently suspended seven of its members.