Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats last night condemned the apology by the "Real IRA" for the 28 deaths in the Omagh bombing as a "cynical and outrageous insult" to the dead and wounded.
In a statement, the Tory deputy chairman, Mr Michael Ancram, described the wording of the admission by the "Real IRA" that it planted the bomb as a pathetic attempt by evil men "to extricate themselves from the worldwide opprobrium which their murderous action on Saturday has brought down on their heads." He said the statement must give all parties added force in their search for peace and the security forces added determination to bring the men responsible to justice.
"This was no commercial target. It was the softest of human targets, mothers and their children going about their weekend shopping. No weasel words can disguise their murderous culpability, no belated and grudging apology can repair the terrible human damage they have wrought."
Equally tough in his condemnation of the statement, the Liberal Democrats spokesman on Northern Ireland, Lord Holme, said no apology for the "wanton destruction" of so many lives could be taken seriously unless there was a commitment to end violence.
The deputy leader of the Democratic Unionist Party, Mr Peter Robinson, said last night it was clear to him that the "Real IRA" had set out to murder, whatever its intended target. Speaking on Channel 4, he said the statement had referred to an ongoing war against the British, and that meant not just British soldiers and the security forces but ordinary British people in Northern Ireland.
That "very real threat" posed by the "Real IRA", he said, needed to be dealt with in a very decisive way by the British and Irish governments. Mr Robinson said the "Real IRA" must be dealt with "militarily".
He supported some of the increased security measures outlined by the Northern Ireland Secretary, Dr Mo Mowlam, earlier this week. However, he predicted that Sinn Fein members in the Northern Ireland Assembly would find it difficult to support legislation that enabled an individual to be convicted of membership a proscribed organisation on the word of a senior police officer because "at least half" of the party could be affected.
Meanwhile, senior Conservatives are increasing pressure on the British government to reintroduce internment and halt the proposed reform of the RUC, blaming the atrocity at Omagh on a policy of appeasement.
As the British and Irish governments discuss possible changes in legislation to increase cross-Border co-operation against the dissident terrorists and make it easier to convict people for membership of outlawed organisations, senior Tories have said Labour's decision to remove internment from the statute book was wrong.