IRA engaged in mutilation and intelligence-gathering five years after Agreement - and Government linked it to Sinn Fein

"Adams confirmed that they had met Donaldson. But what was the point of talking to Robinson and Donaldson if Ian Paisley was still in charge of the party?"

"More than five years after the Good Friday Agreement, Downing Street knew that the IRA was still engaged in mutilation, developing weapons, gathering intelligence, targeting, training and intimidation, with Tony Blair telling Gerry Adams and Martin McGuinness "they must stop", declassified files reveal."

"The long list of serious crimes was set out in a document almost a year before the Northern Bank robbery in which the IRA terrorised the wife of a bank manager in order to pull off what was then the biggest bank robbery in British history."

Downing Street knew that more than five years after the Good Friday Agreement the IRA remained active in mutilation, weapons development, intelligence gathering, targeting, training and intimidation. Tony Blair told Gerry Adams and Martin McGuinness "they must stop". A contemporaneous document listed numerous serious crimes almost a year before the Northern Bank robbery. The IRA used terror tactics against the bank manager's wife to facilitate what became the largest bank robbery in British history. A note recorded that Adams confirmed a meeting with Donaldson and questioned the point of engaging Robinson and Donaldson while Ian Paisley remained in party leadership.

Read at Independent