Members of the Irish Republican Socialist Party in London have claimed British police officers threatened them unless the group declared its support for the IRA ceasefire.
The visits to the homes of IRSP members in London, and friends and family in Bristol, Manchester and Oxford took place yesterday and in the early hours of Thursday morning, according to Mr Terry O'Hearcain, an IRSP co-ordinator in London.
"They told us they were from Special Branch. It was all done very politely, but there were very, very dire and veiled threats that we would all end up like Diarmuid O'Neill unless the IRSP fell into line with Sinn Fein and the IRA and declared an unequivocal ceasefire. They were frighteningly polite and our members were scared by the references to Diarmuid O'Neill," said Mr O'Hearcain.
The IRSP is closely linked to the INLA and earlier this week, following a protest by INLA prisoners in Portlaoise Prison, a spokesman for the IRSP, Mr Kevin McQuillan, called for a new talks process so that its members would be included. Mr O'Hearcain said he agreed with Mr McQuillan's comments that the talks process was "bogus" and insisted "the re-negotiation of the Union is really not on".
The IRSP has confirmed it will be sending letters of complaint to the police forces involved.