The British government will be prepared to extend the remit of the Independent International Commission on Decommissioning beyond next February if asked to do so by Gen John de Chastelain.
This became clear last night as Mr David Trimble surprised British ministers by asking Mr Tony Blair what "sanctions" the government would apply against any paramilitary organisation which had not "achieved complete disarmament" by that date.
Mr Trimble made his intervention following Mr Blair's failure to assure the Conservative leader, Mr Iain Duncan Smith, that he expected decommissioning to be "completed" before the legislative framework for the commission's remit expired.
During Prime Minister's Questions in the Commons Mr Blair hailed the start of IRA disarmament as a historic move deserving of a "generous response".
He told MPs that Tuesday was "the day that people understood finally that the gun and bomb have no place whatever in the future of Northern Ireland". And he declared: "In effect, what is now the position in Northern Ireland is that every party of any substance, or with any support in any part of the community there, recognises that the only way to resolve differences in future is by peaceful and democratic means."
As a former soldier who had served in Northern Ireland, Mr Duncan Smith welcomed any moves towards peace, and "particularly ones as significant" as that taken by the IRA.
However, he told Mr Blair: "It is vital that this is not a one-off gesture, but a process that leads to all IRA weapons being put beyond use, as specified by the Belfast Agreement."
He pressed the prime minister: "Can you tell us when you expect decommissioning to be completed, and will that be before the de Chastelain remit runs out in February?"
Mr Blair told the Tory leader: "In respect of decommissioning, as the de Chastelain commission said (on Tuesday), that is with them, in their hands, as part of their mandate, and I think that is the right way to resolve it."
To a chorus of approval on both sides of the chamber Mr Trimble confirmed his reappointment of the three Ulster Unionist ministers to the Executive, "without prejudice" to the decision of his Party executive on Saturday on his own plan to seek re-election as First Minister.
However, while an "important step" had been taken in Northern Ireland, Mr Trimble cautioned that this was "not the end of the road".
He told Mr Blair: "While we would love to leave matters to the commission, I think there is a primary responsibility on government. And could you tell us if, when we reach February 2002, some, any or all paramilitary organisations have not achieved complete disarmament, what sanctions will the government apply to them so as to avoid others having to apply sanctions?"
Mr Blair replied: "I think it is important that they (IICD) are the ones seized of that issue and carry it out in accordance with that mandate, and I'm sure if there are any difficulties that arise in respect of this, they can be sorted out."
Asked whether Mr Blair's answer meant that the remit of the commission might be extended, a spokesman for the prime minister said later: "We've seen that the IICD works and does deliver, so we will take the advice of the IICD as to what should happen."
That was confirmed in the Commons a short time later by Dr John Reid, the Northern Ireland Secretary, as he gave details of the first phase of the British government's "progressive rolling programme of security normalisation, reducing levels of troops and installations in Northern Ireland" in response to the IRA move on arms and as the security situation improved.
Reporting work under way, or about to start, on the dismantling of security installations in south Armagh, Newtownhamilton and Magherafelt, Dr Reid told MPs that the IRA's action was, in his view, "unprecedented and genuinely historic" and took the peace process to a "new level".