THE British government has confirmed that it may be prepared to accept that the IRA and loyalist paramilitaries should carry out the decommissioning of their own arsenals.
The Northern Ireland Office said last night that it did not rule out a proposal on the decommissioning issue that the IRA, UDA and UVF should be allowed to destroy their own weapons.
A spokesman said the NIO could not comment on Sinn Fein's submission to the International Body on Decommissioning as it had not yet received a copy of the 29 page document.
He confirmed, however, that in May last year the British government considered the option of allowing the paramilitaries to destroy their own guns and explosives, as part of a resolution of the decommissioning deadlock.
At the time the British government told Sinn Fein that it did not wish to rule out the option. "It raises a number of potentially significant and legal difficulties, including problems of verification and risks to public safety," it said.
"The government could agree to proceed on this basis only if fully satisfied that these difficulties could be successfully and safely overcome," it added.
The Democratic Unionist Party was dismissive of the Sinn Fein submission. Rather than offering something new it sought to equate the legitimately held arms of the RUC and British army with those held by paramilitaries, according to the party secretary, Mr Nigel Dodds.
"This submission shows clearly that Sinn Fein has no intention of making even the most minimal steps towards dismantling the terror machinery of the IRA," he said.
"At a time when the IRA is still engaged in a vicious campaign of murder and intimidation it is unthinkable that there should be any backing down from the government's original condition that the illegal weapons must be handed over," Mr Dodds added.
Mr Mark Durkan, the former SDLP chairman, described the submission as "not unhelpful or unconstructive". It indicated that the republican movement was not just prepared to consider how decommissioning might take place but that it wanted it to happen in a way in which "everybody would be adequately satisfied".
It was important that people should not engage in over reaction to every submission. The decommissioning body should be given sufficient time to properly reflect on all the submissions, said Mr Durkan.
