Letter: Criminal Cromwell

Sir: Thomas McFadden (letter, 29 January) fails to grasp the situation in Northern Ireland, when he differentiates between Sinn Fein and the IRA, the latter being "not a signatory to the agreement". The IRA and Sinn Fein are two sides of the same republican coin: Sinn Fein provides the public relations veneer to the IRA terror campaign whilst the IRA provides the threat of force needed to lend weight to Sinn Fein's political argument.

To Sinn Fein/IRA, the Good Friday agreement has presented carte blanche to tighten their grip on their communities through intimidation and brutality whilst at the same time providing ministerial positions in the Northern Ireland executive. Why must the Government feel bound to preserve the "peace process" at all costs when British citizens in Ulster cannot rely on the Government to enforce the rule of law?

ANDREW ARCHER

London NW1