The British government believes that the Irish Republican Army will deliver on its promise to put its arms beyond use within weeks despite unrest in Northern Ireland at the weekend that saw some of the worst violence by pro-British loyalists for several years.

The violence in Belfast erupted as police attempted to enforce the re-routing of a parade by the Orange Order, the largest Protestant organisation in the province. Marchers were angered by a decision to change the route of the annual parade to keep it out of areas dominated by Roman Catholics.