Top British Official Makes IRA Arms Plea

Britain’s top official for Northern Ireland appealed for the Irish Republican Army to “respond in a constructive way� to calls for disarmament, hoping to save the province’s fledgling Cabinet. The plea from Northern Ireland Secretary Peter Mandelson came a day after the House of Commons passed emergency legislation that would allow Britain to suspend the Cabinet’s considerable powers and restore direct rule from London. Mandelson has vowed to lift the powers Friday, after the bill makes its way through the upper chamber, the House of Lords, but he indicated that a positive response by the IRA could forestall the move. “Nobody is asking for surrender by the IRA,� Mandelson told the Commons. “Nobody is asking for humiliation to be heaped on the IRA.�