Mr McGrady issued his condemnation of Mr Woodward after his announcement that loyalists will be given until February 2010 to decommission their arsenals.

The Northern Ireland Office denied that the Secretary of State was being weak and said that it was the final time the decommissioning order would be extended.

Mr McGrady said: “The decision by the Secretary of State to give loyalist paramilitaries a further year to continue to hold illegal weapons that threaten the stability of the community smacks of weakness.

“Loyalist paramilitaries did not shy away from use of these illegal weapons in the recent past and the discovery of four blast bombs in south Belfast this week, which police believe were planted by loyalists, is clarification of the free hand that loyalists have in relation to their paramilitary activity and arsenal.

“This continuing paramilitary activity and confidence on the part of the loyalist paramilitaries has in no doubt been attributed to by the farcical situation where the PSNI have stated they are aware of the location of loyalist weapons but choose not to take action and seize these illegal arms.

“It is simply unacceptable, and would be inconceivable, in any other society, that a democratic government knows the whereabouts of paramilitary arms, yet fails to take these weapons out of circulation.”

Mr McGrady urged the Government to rethink this “paramilitary-friendly policy” and to act as “guardians” for the community who “wish to see an immediate end to the last vestiges of the Troubles”.

An NIO spokeswoman said last night: “Northern Ireland has not made the huge progress it has through weakness.

“In Government, there are difficult decisions to be made and in our view this is the right one. Everyone should be clear that this is the final time that the decommissioning order will be renewed.”