The North's First Minister, Mr David Trimble, said yesterday that he did not attach any great significance to the disagreement between the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr Andrews, and the Northern Secretary, Dr Mo Mowlam, over whether the IRA's ceasefire was still intact.
On Monday, Dr Mowlam disagreed with Mr Andrews's belief that the IRA ceasefire was still intact after they had met to discuss both the IRA cessation and the September 6th review of the Belfast Agreement.
"It's not the first time that Mr Andrews has spoken without getting his mind fully in gear. I wouldn't attach any great significance to it," Mr Trimble told reporters in Derry yesterday.
Asked if he thought Mr Andrews was stating the Government's opinion of the state of the IRA ceasefire, he added: "I am told by those who saw the interview and who were present that the body language of other people associated with the Irish Government was eloquent."
The Ulster Unionist leader also said Dr Mowlam's imminent decision on the state of the IRA's ceasefire should make it clear that no one had a licence to murder.
"There is no doubt in my mind that the IRA were involved in the murder of Mr [Charles] Bennett and that the IRA were involved in the arms importation. The question now is what is to be done about it?
"There cannot be a licence to murder. The government cannot turn a blind eye to such wrong doings, but the political parties al so have a responsibility and those political parties have to consider what their approach is and that is going to invest even greater significance in the coming review because in that review, a crucial question has to be `what is the intention of the republican movement?'
"Are they, or are they likely at any point, to become genuinely committed to exclusively peaceful means or are they just stringing the community along by retaining the capacity to inflict violence and intending to use that when it suits them?
"The latter is not acceptable and that is a challenge not just for the Secretary of State, it is a challenge for all the major political parties in Northern Ireland and it is a challenge for society in Northern Ireland.
"Of course, the maintenance of a private army, the importation of weapons, the refusal to decommission, all these things are incompatible with a commitment to exclusive peaceful means. These matters need to be addressed and they will be addressed seriously."
The SDLP leader, Mr John Hume, said he believed all the paramilitary ceasefires were holding. "The atmosphere on our streets has been transformed in recent years by the ceasefires and the peace on our streets is very obvious.
"I am satisfied that the cease fires are there and I am looking forward to getting involved in direct dialogue with David Trimble and the other parties and sorting out our difficulties and getting down to implementing the agreement in all its aspects, particularly to getting down to working together for inward investment.
"In recent times, there is a lot of this type of confusion but we ought not to be looking at the negative aspects, let's look at the positive and build on the positive and provide not just peace but also stability."
Both party leaders were attending a function in Derry at which it was announced that Raytheon, one of the world's leading defence and commercial electronic companies, was to set up a software house in Derry.
Mr Daniel P. Burnham, chairman of Raytheon, said political stability was necessary in the North to attract inward investment. "It would have been unthinkable for us to have made this decision some years ago in the depths of the troubles . . ."