The government will create a dangerous situation if it uses the IRA apology statement as an excuse not to fulfil its undertakings, David Trimble has warned.

The Ulster Unionist leader said the statement did not absolve Prime Minister Tony Blair from making clear what the government would do in the event of IRA ceasefire breaches.

Meanwhile, Downing Street has made its first comment on the IRA statement.

A spokesman for the prime minister described it as "useful" and said it underlined Mr Blair's statement on Tuesday that "IRA violence is further away than ever".

The IRA apologised to the civilian victims of its campaign of violence in a statement on Tuesday marking the anniversary of one of Northern Ireland's worst atrocities.

We offer our sincere apologies and condolences to their families

IRA statement

In a statement in the republican newspaper An Phoblacht (Republican News), it said it offered "sincere apologies" to the families of those killed on Bloody Friday, when nine people were killed after 20 bombs exploded across Belfast on 21 July 1972.

Speaking in the House of Commons, Mr Trimble said: "It is quite significant that this statement says nothing at all about the recent violence that the IRA has been involved in, nothing about what their future conduct is going to be."

'Powerful contribution'

But Sinn Fein MP Martin McGuinness said people should accept the IRA statement at face value.

The party's chief negotiator, on a visit to the United States, told BBC News the statement was a "powerful contribution" to the peace process by the republicans.

Nine people were killed when 20 bombs exploded across Belfast

"I understand that, in Ireland, there will be a minority of people who will be sceptical and cynical about this," he said.

But the statement, he insisted, was a clear apology to relatives of non-combatants.

Speaking on Wednesday, the Secretary of State, John Reid, said the IRA statement mattered in terms of building confidence in the peace process.

"If we really want to acknowledge the pain of the past and the suffering of so many people in Northern Ireland, the best way to do it would be to give the guarantee that it will never ever happen again," he said.

"That is what this process intends to do and it is only when we have done that that this process will be said to have been successful."

Conservative peer Lord Tebbit, who was injured in the Brighton bombing that left his wife severely disabled, said the apology meant "nothing" to him.

This apology definitely carries weight, although it can do little to heal the wounds of victims' families Paul Sims, UK

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He said the statement had more to do with giving the government something "to explain why they don't intend to take action against the IRA for the breach of the ceasefire by throwing Sinn Fein, their political representatives, out of the Northern Ireland Executive".

In an unprecedented move, the IRA apologised and offered its condolences to families of all the civilians who died as a result of its campaign of violence.

The IRA used the term "non-combatants" in the statement, to mean those who are not members of any paramilitary organisation, members of the police, Army or anyone connected with the security forces.

The group said there had been "fatalities amongst combatants on all sides".

"We also acknowledge the grief and pain of their relatives. The future will not be found in denying collective failures and mistakes or closing minds and hearts to the plight of those who have been hurt.

"That includes all of the victims of the conflict, combatants and non-combatants."

Irish Prime Minister Bertie Ahern said: "Today's statement by the IRA is a significant contribution to the process of consolidating peace and reconciliation."

Sinn Fein's Alex Maskey said it was not difficult to understand why any organisation would take time to "look at these matters and come up with a response to it in a sensitive and understanding way".