THE British Prime Minister has said "more than soft words" will be required from the IRA in the event of a new ceasefire if London is to be convinced "it does not represent another tactical device, to be abandoned at any convenient moment".
Mr Major's declaration, during yesterday's opening debate on the Queen's Speech, was immediately seized by senior Ulster Unionists as a signal that London is prepared to "raise the threshold" on Sinn Fein participation in the talks process in the event of a second IRA cessation.
The Sinn Fein chairman, Mr Mitchell McLaughlin, accused Mr Major of "missing another opportunity for building a credible peace process". He asked the Prime Minister to say if he would treat another cessation in the same way as he did the last.
The UUP's definitive response will come later today in the Commons in a speech from the party leader, Mr David Trimble. And the Irish Government and the SDLP will closely scrutinise it for signs of how he proposes to conclude the continuing Stormont debate about decommissioning illegally held weapons, and whether the Ulster Unionists intend to proceed into the substantive three-stranded negotiations.
Crucially, the UUP leader is due, to hold further talks with Mr Major on how London might define the "characteristics" of any ceasefire it would consider dependable and reliable.
One suggestion being canvassed is that the British government might submit proposals, during the third phase of the inter-party discussions on decommissioning, spelling out its requirements for a second IRA ceasefire and for a subsequent decommissioning process. Privately, senior Ulster Unionists say they want, in effect, to "lock out Sinn Fein".
Mr Major said the talks process "will go on without them."
Meanwhile, the Taoiseach told the Dail yesterday that he could not give a precise date for the publication of the Irish legislation on decommissioning. The Government was still working on, it.