IRA disarmament should be made public - Blair

Tony Blair is pushing for full disclosure of the scale of the IRA's latest decommissioning of weapons, he told MPs today.

The IRA has insisted that the scale of yesterday's disarmament should be confidential between itself and the head of the decommissioning body General John de Chastelain.

But the Prime Minister confirmed in the Commons that he wants the details to be made public.

The General's refusal to be more specific on the quantity and type of guns and explosives put beyond use yesterday led Ulster Unionist leader David Trimble to refuse to endorse the London-Dublin bid to restore the powersharing executive.

The Irish Republic's Prime Minister Bertie Ahern admitted in Dublin today that he had been reluctant to go to Hillsborough Castle yesterday because of his concerns that the disarmament would not be transparent enough to satisfy Mr Trimble.

Mr Blair will be heavily involved in talks to get the process up and running again, but it is clear that he wants the confidentiality clause lifted to help improve the atmosphere ahead of 26 November elections to the Northern Ireland Assembly.

During Prime Minister's Questions he told Tory leader Iain Duncan Smith: "It is an unsatisfactory situation and one we are trying to resolve at the moment.

"Under the decommissioning legislation, it is open to a paramilitary organisation to decommission with confidentiality. That is the arrangement they entered into with Gen de Chastelain."

He added: "We are not at liberty to disclose that information, but we are working hard to find a way to try and disclose it.

"On the basis of what we know, people would be satisfied if they knew the full details.

"Unionists need to be sure that what is being said is a substantial act of decommissioning is indeed a substantial act of decommissioning."

Sinn Fein president Gerry Adams said today it was still unclear what the reasons were for the suspension of the deal yesterday.

The West Belfast MP said he had still not received "a satisfactory answer".

His colleague Martin McGuinness criticised the lack of support for the Independent International Commission on Decommissioning and its head, Gen de Chastelain.

The Mid Ulster MP said: "I am very disappointed by the lack of support for Gen de Chastelain and the IICD. I am critical of the two Governments.

"This was not a question of presentation. For a long time, people have almost been elevating themselves to a position where you would almost think they were responsible (for the decommissioning process)."