Northern Ireland’s Stormont crisis: Martin McGuinness says ‘put up or

Storey was later released unconditionally and, at a news conference, said there was no basis for his arrest and that not a shred of evidence or intelligence was put to him during questioning.

Northern Ireland’s political leaders will accommodate up to 2,000 Syrian refugees in the region not because they are required to, but because they want to, Sinn Féin’s Martin McGuinness has said.

Following McGuigan’s murder in August, the PSNI’s Ch Const George Hamilton said police believed the IRA still existed in a few form and that a few of its members had killed their ex-comrade.

He was gunned down in a suspected revenge attack following the murder of former Provo boss Gerard Davison three months earlier.

The chief constable’s assertion that individual members of the IRA were involved in the McGuigan murder has prompted unionists to remove all ministers but one from the Stormont executive.

He warned a “huge responsibility” rested on the five parties in the coalition Executive in Belfast and the British and Irish governments to push themselves to find a resolution.

“We enter the talks with a few concerns, not least about whether there will be a two party carve up (DUP and Sinn Fein) in a parallel process, but the glass is half full and we see opportunities”, he said.

“I am not going to be accused by others who are trying to besmirch the name of my party”, he said.

On Friday, the Government announced an independent assessment of paramilitary criminality and pledged increased funding to tackle cross border organised crime such as fuel laundering and smuggling.

Last week, the DUP and UUP said the issue of paramilitary activity was crucial to their participation in any talks process.

In a statement issued by Minister for Foreign Affairs Charlie Flanagan said:”In regard to the British Government’s factual assessment of paramilitarism, this will be a once-off exercise completed over the coming weeks and is meant to assist the parties in the talks in their collective consideration of how the impact and legacy of paramilitary activity should best be addressed”.

They will look at information held by the police, the National Crime Agency (NCA) and security services.

However, that accord is in danger of unravelling over the welfare reform issue.

The assessment Secretary of State Theresa Villiers has asked for is not just on the IRA, but in the widest frame.

At Stormont today he said he was feeling fine.

No significant developments have been reported from the talks so far but Ms Villiers yesterday described them as “focused and productive”.

Finding agreement in the talks over social welfare cuts long demanded by Northern Ireland’s British paymasters presents the trickiest challenge to Sinn Fein and its anti-austerity platform. “Implementing these aspects of the Stormont House Agreement is essential if the Executive is to have a workable and sustainable budget so that it can continue to deliver essential frontline public services”.