The Ulster Unionist Party is being manipulated by anti-agreement MP Mr Jeffrey Donaldson as he prepares to challenge Mr David Trimble's leadership, it was claimed today.
As delegates prepared for a crunch meeting of the party's 860-strong ruling council next week, senior party member and former mayor of Lisburn Mr Jim Dillon said the UUP was now split across Northern Ireland.
Mr Donaldson has vowed to consider his position within the party if the British and Irish governments' joint declaration for future progress in the peace process is not rejected at the June 16 meeting.
The Lagan Valley MP called for the meeting after reports suggested the three Northern Ireland-based units of the Royal Irish Regiment were to be scrapped as part of government plans for demilitarisation.
Despite assurances that moves will only be made if the IRA declares its war is over and decommissions its arsenal, Mr Donaldson has called for the party to immediately reject the joint declaration.
The issue has exposed the internal divisions within the party with senior negotiator Michael McGimpsey accusing Mr Donaldson of blackmailing members.
Mr Donaldson has denied this and insisted the council meeting should focus on the issue of the joint declaration and not personalities.
Mr Dillon today described the meeting as a "total distraction".
"The party is being manipulated for personal reasons by Jeffrey Donaldson in my opinion, there's no doubt about that," he said.
"He has made many moves over this past number of years.
"He hasn't given honest support to the party leader and the policies of the party leader expounded over this last number of years have all been endorsed by the Ulster Unionist Council, which is the overriding body of our party.
"And maybe when the party makes a decision, Jeffrey Donaldson should accept that, but he has never accepted it. He runs out to the press or to the media and says something entirely different.
"This is all a leadership build-up for Jeffrey Donaldson.
"Jeffrey Donaldson not only is now splitting the Ulster Unionist Party across the province, he has split Lagan Valley in two, very much in two, there's two different parties there now."
However, Mr Jim Kirkpatrick, who was selected as Mr Donaldson's running mate in the Lagan Valley constituency for the elections to the Northern Ireland Assembly which were scheduled for May 29 before they were suspended, said Mr Dillon's claims were "complete nonsense".
He said Mr Trimble may have to consider his position as leader of the party following the meeting of the ruling council.
"I think this is going to come to a head on June 16 and we'll find then that if David is not prepared to reject this joint declaration outright, it could well be that he has to take a serious look at his position," he told Radio Ulster's Inside Politics programme.
He added: "Jeffrey has his eye very closely on the electorate, he has his ear to the electorate and the problem with David Trimble is: David has run a little caucus type of leadership.
"He has selected about three or four people and he runs the party without regard to the wishes of the electorate and this is where the party is now in great difficulty."
The meeting of the party's 860-strong ruling council will come 10 days after a separate meeting last night of the 108 members of its executive.
It overwhelmingly approved a resolution calling on the Government to ensure the future of the three home service battalions of the Royal Irish Regiment.
An amendment by Mr Donaldson calling for the rejection of the joint declaration issued by London and Dublin was rejected at that meeting.
Mr Trimble, reading out the resolution, said his party would not move to support the joint declaration until the Government had given assurances on the future of the RIR.
The resolution, calling on the Government to "disown publicly speculation that the RIR is to be disbanded" was passed by 74 to three with 21 abstentions.
PA