The legislation was drawn up with the specific purpose of deterring any decision by the Real IRA to continue its campaign. This was in the face of certain efforts, which I deeply resented, from across the Atlantic to encourage it to continue. A ceasefire was declared but after an interval of about one year, notwithstanding the fact that the ceasefire was, as far as I know, never publicly withdrawn, the campaign resumed. I saw a justification made by a spokesman that it had been forced to stop and that therefore its promise to stop had not been valid.