The chairman of the Progressive Unionist Party, the UVF's political wing, is recommending that his party withdraw from the Stormont talks in the new year. Mr William Smith said that the decision by the Irish Government to grant early release to nine IRA prisoners was the "final straw", in his view.
He warned that Sinn Fein's refusal this week to agree an agenda with unionists for the talks and the lack of movement on the prisoners issue in the North could mean the end of the loyalist ceasefire. "I am only expressing the opinion of prisoners and people in our community that feel that this process has become so one-sided that it is not worth continuing with," he said.
"If there is a political vacuum, then there is a danger of violence returning to our streets. We would not like to see that happen but it would be inevitable if the peace process continues in the way that it is going. If the talks continue to be one-sided, there would be no point in participation in the future by the PUP. Republicans seem to be getting everything."
He would recommend withdrawal from the talks when his party executive met in January. If the meeting was taking place immediately, he would be certain of unanimous support from his party, he said. If the PUP withdrew from the process, it would collapse, he said, adding that there were similar feelings in the Ulster Democratic Party, the UDA's political wing.
Meanwhile, the North's Security Minister, Mr Adam Ingram, has described Sinn Fein's demands for the disbandment of the RUC and the release of all paramilitary prisoners as unrealistic. He has also denied republican claims that elements in the security forces are intent on destroying the peace.
Mr Ingram, speaking on BBC Radio Ulster yesterday, insisted that the only threat came from those who refused to decommission their weapons and continued to "talk the language of terrorism".
When asked how he viewed Sinn Fein demands on the release of all prisoners and the disbandment of the RUC, he said: "I really don't think that is a realistic objective. The RUC do a firstclass job and could do an even better job if they didn't have to deal with the threat of terrorism.
"They are a very professional force and they want to operate as a normal policing service. If we do get a lasting and peaceful settlement, I'm sure those strengths of the RUC will come even more to the fore."
Mr Ingram said that families of the victims of paramilitary violence should not be forgotten when the prisoners issue was being considered. It was a very sensitive matter but one which had to be addressed by the parties at the talks.
The Minister expressed concern about recent activity by the Continuity IRA and the Loyalist Volunteer Force. He said that CIRA's bomb attack on an RUC base in Markethill, Co Armagh, and the planting of a device in British government offices in Derry showed that the group had the "potential to cause death and mayhem".
Meanwhile, Sinn Fein has welcomed the Government's decision to release nine IRA prisoners. However, the Irish Republican Socialist Party, the INLA's political wing, claimed that the Government was favouring IRA prisoners and discriminating against those from other paramilitary groups.