British prime minister Tony Blair met Sinn Féin president Gerry Adams at Chequers yesterday as efforts continued to secure a Sinn Féin ardfheis on policing ahead of elections to the Northern Ireland Assembly scheduled for March.
Neither Sinn Féin nor Downing Street would comment on the meeting, seemingly held at Mr Blair's country retreat in part at least to avoid media attention.
However, usually reliable sources have acknowledged that sequencing would once again be crucial in any successful attempt to resolve the standoff between the stated DUP and Sinn Féin positions on the modalities and timetable for the devolution of policing and justice powers to Stormont. The British government appears confident it can resolve the MI5 issue with Sinn Féin, while pressure is mounting on the republicans to hold a special ardfheis to change party policy and finally endorse the policing arrangements in Northern Ireland.
A draft protocol - or memorandum of understanding - is being prepared which will define the future roles of, and the relationship between, the Security Service, MI5, and the PSNI. It is understood this will incorporate the key principles and accountability arrangements set out in the St Andrews Agreement in preparation for the Security Service assuming the lead responsibility for "national security" issues in the North late next year.
Following the Rev Ian Paisley's conditional indication that he will accept nomination as first minister in a new powersharing executive, London has also been encouraged by a softening of DUP rhetoric over the question of a timetable for the future transfer of policing and justice powers.
In an interview on RTÉ last Monday Dr Paisley put the onus on Sinn Féin leaders to endorse the PSNI and so move to create the necessary unionist confidence to allow devolution of policing powers to take place. This is seen in Whitehall as a conscious move away from the "never in my lifetime" comments currently most associated with DUP MP Nigel Dodds.
At the same time British sources acknowledge they have not yet found a way to persuade Mr Adams to call an ardfheis without prior agreement on the modality for a Stormont policing ministry and the projected timetable for the transfer of powers spelt out by the British and Irish governments in the St Andrews Agreement.
Without an ardfheis in January, however, there are some indications that London will consider cancelling the planned Assembly elections. Northern Ireland Secretary Peter Hain has stopped short of threatening this, while insisting the long-awaited ardfheis should take place "sooner rather than later". However, Taoiseach Bertie Ahern said earlier this week there would be no point in elections if an ardfheis had not been held to enable an agreement with the DUP to form a government by the March 26th deadline.