Statement by Ian Paisley, after meeting with the Independent International Commission on Decommissioning (IICD), Belfast, (27 September 2005)

Statement by Ian Paisley, then leader of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), after meeting with the Independent International Commission on Decommissioning (IICD), Belfast, (27 September 2005)

"This was a very serious meeting. Before we went into the meeting we had some very serious questions which needed to be answered and on leaving the meeting there are still issues which need to be clarified. I would be putting it mildly when I say that we were shocked with the information, or indeed the lack of it, which we received in today’s meeting.

The two witnesses have continued to maintain that they were independent and that they were not appointed by the IRA. However, when we raised this matter with the General, we discovered that the two witnesses arrived on site accompanied by the IRA. We were also told that the Government did not disclose the identity of either witness, to the Commissioners, prior to meeting them on the decommissioning site. The Commissioners have also revealed to us that the Government had no part in the appointment of these individuals. This is in contradiction to what we were led to believe by yesterday’s announcement, when it was said that the witnesses were appointed by the Commission. The General made it very clear the witnesses were not appointed by the Commission. The witnesses have also been very forthright in stating that they were not appointed by the IRA, however I have grave doubts in my mind about this. If both the Government and the Commission had no part in it, this only leaves the IRA, and we have already had it confirmed that when they were introduced to the Commissioners, both men were in the company of the IRA.

We also challenged the Commission about the exactitude of the decommissioning act and pressed them concerning the number of weapons which were handed in. They informed us that the IRA had given them their word that there were no more weapons. Nevertheless the Commissioners continued to tell us that the list of weapons which they received this time had been revised and was not the same as a previous list. When we asked the Commissioners to tell us if the number of weapons on the new list had increased or decreased, they declined to answer the question.

We will be seeking a meeting with the witnesses to explore some of these issues in the coming days."