Concerns have been raised about whether the government's new paramilitary interlocutor will seek to engage with the Provisional IRA.

This week Secretary of State Hilary Benn announced the appointment of Fleur Ravensbergen to examine whether a formal process of engagement with terrorist groups in Northern Ireland is required to bring about their disbandment.

Ms Ravensbergen is a conflict resolution expert and lecturer at the University of Amsterdam.

Her joint UK-Irish appointment came after a recommendation from the Independent Reporting Commission (IRC) earlier this year.

placeholder image — Kevin McGuigan (pictured) was murdered in 2015, reportedly by the IRA. Questions have been raised about whether the government’s new paramilitary mediator will deal with the Provisional IRA. The organisation she works for (IRC) has never addressed the killing, even though it was set up in response to it.

UUP Justice Spokesman Doug Beattie said it is "important" that she talks to "all" terror groups - including "the Provisional IRA Army Council".

TUV leader Jim Allister MP pointed out that Ms Ravensburger will be working under the IRC which was created after the political crisis cause by the 2015 murder of Kevin McGuigan, which was widely attributed to the IRA; He noted that the IRC has never addressed the murder - nor given any assessment on the IRA.

Responding to the concerns, the Northern Ireland Office (NIO) said Ms Ravensburger would decide who to engage with.

It said: "The Independent Expert will carry out a programme of exploratory engagement with a wide range of interested parties, including representatives of paramilitary groups who have an interest in ending the violence and wider harms caused by paramilitary groups.

"It is important to note that her engagement will go much wider than paramilitary groups and will include representatives of wider society in Northern Ireland and representatives of communities affected by paramilitarism, including victims of paramilitary activity. It will be a decision for the Independent Expert on who she decides to engage with."

The IRC declined to challenge claims that it has sidestepped addressing the McGuigan murder and the status of the IRA.

A spokeswoman said: “The Independent Expert, Fleur Ravensbergen, will work independently of the IRC. In line with the Terms of Reference of her appointment, she will meet with a range of stakeholders. It will be for the Independent Expert to decide who she engages with.”

UUP Justice spokesman Mr Beattie said: "It is important that any paramilitary interlocutor, who will only investigate if a process is feasible, must talk to all paramilitary groups. That includes all loyalist groups, the INLA and the Provisional Army Council."

TUV leader Mr Allister claimed that it is "astonishing" that, over a quarter of a century after the Belfast Agreement "we are still dealing with smoke and mirrors when it comes to the Provisional IRA".

He noted that the Government’s 2015 PSNI/MI5 paramilitary assessment found that the Provisional IRA Army Council still exists, that structures remain in place, that weapons are retained and that PIRA members believe that the Provisional IRA Army Council 'oversees both PIRA and Sinn Fein with an overarching strategy'.

The MP added: “We are now told that the new paramilitary reviewer, operating under the IRC, will be talking to and about all the terror groups. Will that include the PIRA?"he asked.

“Let’s recall that the PIRA is the very group whose murder of Kevin McGuigan in 2015 prompted the creation of the IRC in the first place! Yet, in all its glossy reports the IRC has never once mentioned McGuigan’s name. They have written at length about loyalist paramilitaries, but on the Provisional IRA they are silent.