The Sinn Fein leader, Mr Gerry Adams, last night reacted angrily to a statement from the Northern Secretary, Mr Peter Mandelson, that the speed and scale of demilitarisation would be based on the advice of the RUC.
Mr Adams said demilitarisation was a political responsibility that could not be shirked by the British government. "They cannot allow the RUC to dictate political progress. It must act on demilitarisation immediately," he said.
The Sinn Fein leader also strongly criticised the weekend decision of the Director of Public Prosecutions in the North not to bring charges against RUC officers accused of threatening human rights lawyer Mrs Rosemary Nelson. He said the decision left republicans and the nationalist community angry at the failure to grasp the nettle of RUC-loyalist collusion.
He called on the British government to set up an international inquiry into Mrs Nelson's death.
Mr Mandelson said last night any decisions on demilitarisation would be based on security advice. Speaking on UTV's Insight programme, he said: "I have made it clear that I want to normalise the security arrangements in Northern Ireland. Everyone wants that for obvious reasons but my ability to do that depends on the threat to security."
He said he would be guided by the RUC Chief Constable, Sir Ronnie Flanagan, and senior British army personnel. Afterwards, in a statement, Mr Adams said if Mr Mandelson's remarks reflected the British government's thinking at this time, then it was failing to live up to its obligations under the Belfast Agreement.
"Demilitarisation is a political matter for the British government and not a matter for the securocrats," he said.