Mr Peter Mandelson delivered a stinging rebuke to the Democratic Unionist Party yesterday over its "breathtaking" hypocrisy in being prepared to take up seats in an executive without having contributed in any form to the negotiations during the Mitchell review.
The Northern Ireland Secretary said the DUP had contributed "not a jot" to the Mitchell negotiations, yet having experienced none of the "political pain" the negotiations had generated, it was prepared to take up its seats in an executive.
The DUP leader, the Rev Ian Paisley, said this week his party would enter an executive to "wreck the republican agenda". Mr Mandelson said he found it "absolutely extraordinary" that having contributed nothing to the review the DUP now seemed prepared "to make the thing work and to give it a go. I must say their hypocrisy is breathtaking."
Mr Mandelson told MPs during Northern Ireland Questions that each community in Northern Ireland stood to gain from the implementation of the Mitchell deal. Highlighting the "considerable gains" for unionists, he said: "What unionists in Northern Ireland can point to as their achievement is the return of self-government, the repeal of the South's territorial claim on the North, the ending of the Anglo-Irish Agreement, republican acceptance that decommissioning is essential, and a start to discussions about how and when decommissioning can take place."
Unionist gains had been achieved through the "tough and tenacious negotiating skills" employed by the Ulster Unionist leader, Mr David Trimble, he said. He hoped those gains would "bear very heavily" on the members of the Ulster Unionist Council when they voted on Saturday.
Mr Trimble accused the DUP of downgrading its priority concerning decommissioning, which he asserted was "no longer a priority for them".
That provoked an angry response from the DUP deputy leader, Mr Peter Robinson, who said there was "a distinct difference between something being a priority and something being the main priority".
Mr Robinson urged the Northern Secretary to confirm the implementation of the "default mechanism if the Sinn Fein/IRA organisation" did not fulfil its commitments under the Belfast Agreement and to indicate whether in those circumstances he was prepared to suspend the implementation of the Patten report and the early release of terrorist prisoners.
Reaffirming the commitment of the British and Irish governments to "step in and assume their responsibilities" in the event of "any failure" to implement the agreement, Mr Mandelson said: "The default mechanism could not be clearer, both from me and from the Taoiseach."
The Conservative spokesman on Northern Ireland, Mr Andrew Mackay, welcomed the award of the George Cross to the RUC, saying the award recognised the "courage and extreme professionalism" of the force. "They have been the thin green line between the province falling into anarchy and the rule of law," he said.
Mr Mackay asked the government to think again about changing the RUC's cap badge and to find a way of "compromising" over any name change. Responding to Mr Mackay's suggestions, including that the force could be renamed the RUC Northern Ireland Police Service, Mr Mandelson said the government's consultation process was ongoing, but any changes would be carried out "with utmost sensitivity to the very real emotions and feelings" expressed by both communities in Northern Ireland.
Mr Mandelson gave MPs a "categorical assurance" that threats of terrorist violence from any quarter would not wreck the prospect of political progress.
"Next week in Northern Ireland that dream could very well become a reality. Next week direct rule could end, and nothing should be done by anyone in any quarter to impede that happening."