Terror warning for Blair

Sinn Fein today accused Tony Blair of risking a return to terror warfare in Ulster.

Martin McGuinness, the party's MP for Mid-Ulster, made clear there was a real threat of a resumption of the "armed struggle" unless the Government stopped blaming the IRA for one of Britain's biggest-ever bank robberies.

The IRA declared last night that it was withdrawing an offer to hand over more weapons because it was angry at claims it carried out the £26 million Northern Bank raid in Belfast before Christmas. The robbery renewed fears that the IRA was still involved in paramilitary activity. Last week Tony Blair warned Sinn Fein the party had to renounce all links with violence.

In December the IRA offered to decommission many more weapons, but said in a new statement that allegations over the bank robbery, which it denies carrying out, had "tried our patience to the limit." IT added: "Consequently ... we are taking all our proposals off the table," the statement said.

Today Mr McGuinness said: "It would be a huge mistake for us to leave a political vacuum. I believe there are forces out there hostile to the work Gerry Adams and I have done over the last 10 years, and I am working to prevent these people in gaining from the vacuum," he told BBC Radio 4's Today programme.

When asked whether the IRA was going back to the "armed struggle", Mr McGuinness replied: "I'm working to ensure that we don't." Accusing the British and Irish governments of playing the "blame game", he added: "I think that's a huge mistake. [It] has effectively undermined the enormous work done by ourselves and others."

Despite Mr McGuinness' words, the IRA statement put Mr Blair under intense pressure to exclude Sinn Fein from Ulster's self-government. Critics of the IRA say the robbery proves that the movement is deeply involved in major crime, and makes it impossible to include Sinn Fein in devolution. Under the peace deal, the republican party would have a role in running Northern Ireland's new police force.

Conservative Northern Ireland spokesman David Lidington said: "Giving up violence isn't some optional extra, it's the starting part for democracy.

A No 10 spokesman said Tony Blair still believed the IRA carried out the bank robber:. "As the Prime Minister said yesterday it is the IRA that is the sole obstacle to moving forward."