The IRA needs to be completely dismantled to end allegations of republican espionage inside Northern Ireland's government, SDLP leader Mr Mark Durkan said today.
The nationalist leader also accepted that some intelligence gathering was carried out before Northern Ireland's power-sharing regime was suspended.
As he warned direct rule ministers they will still be held to account despite the halt to devolution, Mr Durkan insisted it was time for the Provisionals to help to restore battered confidence.
He said: "Those who have helped the [peace] process in the past with ceasefires ... need to bring forward a cease-army situation."
With the allegations of IRA spying threatening to wreck the Belfast Agreement, unionists have now demanded a public inquiry.
But Sinn Fein chief negotiator Mr Martin McGuinness claimed the police operation has been mounted to aid an anti-peace process agenda.
He said: "Mr McQuillan is leading a witch hunt against Catholics working in certain areas of the civil service who live in working class nationalist areas."
The Mid Ulster MP added: "It is not lost on nationalists and republicans that there has been no special unit set up to deal with the thousands of people whose details were passed to loyalists by the RUC."
However, Mr Durkan insisted there was little doubt that some murky activity had gone on and claimed Sinn Fein were stressing its ignorance rather than innocence.
Urging against wild speculation, he added that IRA activity had nevertheless undermined already fragile confidence in the peace process.
With Secretary of State Paul Murphy now bolstered by four junior ministers to run the Northern Ireland departments during suspension of the Stormont Assembly, the SDLP has vowed to scrutinise their performance.
Under its new Direct Rule Watch campaign the party has warned it will take tough action to secure key policy initiatives agreed under devolution are implemented.
Ministers can expect to face questioning about their performance at Westminster.
Civil servants previously questioned by the Public Accounts Committee at Parliament Buildings will also be kept in the SDLP's sights.
Concerns were heightened after £141 million of extra money due to be allocated to departments including health and education was frozen after the power-sharing administration ground to a halt.
Mr Durkan insisted: "We want to make sure that direct rule doesn't mean a total shutdown of accountability."
PA