Let’s just recap what’s happened in Northern Ireland over the past month. The entire political system has been plunged into chaos after a senior ex-IRA figure, Kevin McGuigan, was shot dead. The Chief Constable of the Police Service of Northern Ireland, George Hamilton, suggested that former members of the IRA probably killed him in a long-running feud (after McGuigan was himself suspected of killing another former Provisional commander, “Jock” Davison, earlier in the year).
Yet, the chief constable was clear: this did not mean the organisation was operational or indeed sanctioned the killing (an important caveat). Indeed, no-one believes the Provisional IRA is now much more than an old pals’ association and this explanation had seemed good enough for Northern Ireland Secretary, Theresa Villiers.
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