Paramilitaries in Northern Ireland are to get another chance to hand over their weapons under a new amnesty.
The groups will have until St Valentine’s Day in February 2010 to decommission without running the risk of being charged.
Northern Ireland Secretary Shaun Woodward is seeking parliamentary approval to extend legislation introduced before the signing of the 1998 Belfast Agreement in a bid to persuade all the terrorist organisations to hand over guns and explosives.
The IRA agreed to decommission in September 2005 but all other groups, including the loyalist Ulster Defence Association (UDA) and the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF), have held on to their weaponry.
Under the terms of the 1997 Northern Ireland Decommission Act, guns handed over to General John de Chastelain, the head of the international decommissioning body, would not be subject to forensic testing or criminal proceedings.
But just hours after loyalists were linked to the the discovery of four blast bombs abandoned at a children’s play park in south Belfast, the British government signalled its intention to set a date to end the amnesty.
Northern Ireland Secretary Shaun Woodward said: “We have hit the end of the track for those who still hold illegal weapons. The recent political progress towards devolution of justice and policing is a further clear demonstration that society in Northern Ireland has moved on.
“It is time that those holding illegal weapons moved on as well. They have tested the patience of the community for long enough. This is their final opportunity to join the rest of society in building a shared future for Northern Ireland or else face the consequences.”
PA