Arms deal warning for IRA

THE IRA were warned yesterday by Tony Blair and the Irish Prime Minister, Bertie Ahern, that they could not "cherry pick" the Ulster peace settlement to avoid decommissioning their weapons.

The two leaders issued a joint statement clearly directed at the IRA after discussing the IRA's rejection of decommissioning at the euro summit in Brussels.

Mr Blair and the Taoiseach said the agreement was "a single comprehensive package" which required compromise on all sides. Mr Ahern said: "It cannot be cherry picked in any way."

But in a clear message to the Ulster Unionists, who called for Sinn Fein to be excluded from the power-sharing executive in Ulster if the IRA refused to decommission its weapons, the Taoiseach said he did not intend to allow the difficulties to become an obstacle to peace.

Meanwhile Mr Blair is expected to go to Ulster this week with John Major, his Tory predecessor, to campaign for a "Yes" vote in the referendum on the Northern Ireland peace settlement.

His dramatic move follows a revolt by the Protestant Orange Order, whose leaders yesterday told their 30,000 members to reject the Good Friday agreement.

It also comes hard on the heels of a rebellion by five Ulster Unionist MPs, who predict that the proposed Assembly can be "killed off" as the Sunningdale power-sharing administration was brought down 25 years ago.

n The man shot dead in the foiled security van robbery in Co. Wicklow by dissident republican paramilitaries was named yesterday as Ronan McLoughlin, 27, from Ballymun, north Dublin, writes Alan Murdoch.

Garda headquarters confirmed that, contrary to initial reports, their officers had fired first. A spokesman said they acted "in accordance with garda policy" when confronted by six gunmen pointing weapons at them.

The dead man was reportedly linked to the splinter group Continuity IRA. Five other men were arrested after the Garda interrupted the raid, three miles outside Ashford, prompting a fierce gun battle.