Paramilitary groups are re-arming in anticipation of the collapse of the Northern Ireland political institutions, the Police Federation chairman has warned.

Irwin Montgomery told delegates at the body's annual conference on Thursday the government had over-estimated peace levels.

He said Northern Ireland faced a greater terrorist threat than at any time since the Omagh bomb atrocity in 1998.

He also warned policing in Northern Ireland would collapse without the full-time reserve.

Irwin Montgomery: "Government has over-estimated peace levels"

"The country is in danger of losing its grip on the ability to guarantee a reasonably peaceful life to its people," he said.

On Monday, new Chief Constable Hugh Orde said the full-time police reserve would be needed for the foreseeable future.

One of the Patten Report recommendations was that the reserve force should be scrapped when the security situation allowed.

'Scrapping plans'

Addressing Secretary of State John Reid, who was in the audience at the conference in County Antrim, Mr Montgomery said there was a critical need to retain the 2,000 members of the full-time reserve.

"If you want policing to collapse, disband them," he told Dr Reid.

The federation chairman urged a series of new initiatives to restore confidence, including:

• Scrapping plans to devolve policing powers to the Northern Ireland Executive
• A new state-of-the-art police training college to deal with fresh recruits
• A fundamental review of terrorists on early prison release
• A new tariff for rioting offences
• A ban on paramilitaries joining the district policing partnership boards

The conference heard that almost 800 officers have been injured in civil disturbances in the past year and about 900 officers were on sick leave each day.

Mr Montgomery said it was essential the full-time reserve was retained.

"The terrorist threat in Northern Ireland is greater than at any stage since the Omagh outrage of four years ago," he said.

'Dangerous gamble'

"The government has simply not faced up to the growing danger to this community by its own failure to respond firmly to the overall security threat."

He said the full-time reserve were "among the most despicably treated group of police employees in western Europe".

Chief constable: "Reserve needed for foreseeable future"

The chairman said any plans to devolve responsibility for policing to the Northern Ireland power-sharing executive could be a disaster.

"Any move in this direction is premature and therefore an unacceptably dangerous gamble," he said.

"The executive is nowhere near ready to be entrusted with the stewardship of the one body which has held Northern Ireland together for the past 33 years."