Ulster Unionist MPs, Tom Elliott and Danny Kinahan have called on the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland to make a statement in Parliament on the current status of the Provisional IRA.
In a joint statement, they said:
“The Secretary of State must come before Parliament when it returns in September and make a statement outlining the Government view of the current status of the Provisional IRA.
“We have been told by the Chief Constable that members of the Provisional IRA in co-operation with members of Action Against Drugs, murdered a man on the streets of our capital city. To simply say you are surprised people are surprised that the IRA still exists really does not suffice.
“Following the statement from the PSNI on the involvement of PIRA members in the Kevin McGuigan murder, we posed a number of questions. Had former members of the PIRA carried out this murder on their own initiative? Had it been sanctioned at a higher level? And had it not just been sanctioned, but actually ordered by leaders of the Republican movement?
“The Secretary of State has not given any clarity on what the IRA command, control and structures look like, while Sinn Fein continues to be in denial that the IRA actually does exist. There is a responsibility on the Secretary of State to provide the necessary information that allows everyone to establish the basis of what the IRA is currently about.
“Trust has been shattered at the heart of the Northern Ireland Executive. The Government needs to be clear on what knowledge they have of the IRA structures that remain.