Hopes were rising in Belfast last night that the burial places of a number of IRA victims could soon be revealed. Expectations were fuelled by a comment from the North's Political Development Minister, Mr Paul Murphy.
"We are expecting progress within a very short time, possibly even days," he told the Commons. The IRA said at the end of March it had located the bodies of nine persons who were murdered in the 1970s but whose burial places were never revealed.
Mr Murphy's comments came shortly before it was announced to MPs that the Northern Ireland (Location of Victims' Remains) Act, paving the way for the location of the bodies of the "disappeared", had received royal assent to become law.
The Conservative Northern Ireland spokesman, Mr Malcolm Moss, referring to the passage of the legislation through parliament, asked the minister: "Would you not agree with me that, if the IRA do not now come forward with the information that we all seek, they will yet again have acted in the most despicable manner?"
Mr Murphy agreed, adding: "We, of course, are talking to the Irish Government on this important matter and I understand the points you make."
The Act, which mirrors legislation presented in the Dail, would prevent information provided on the location of bodies being used in court.