THE BRITISH Prime Minister, Mr John Major, repeatedly denied yesterday that he had made a deal with the Democratic Unionist Party in order to secure his government's one vote victory in the vote on the arms to Iraq affair.
During Prime Minister's Question Time, the Labour leader, Mr Tony Blair, challenged Mr Major to end speculation that the Ulster Unionist Party had offered to vote for the government if a deal was agreed on the elections in Northern Ireland.
Mr Major insisted he was not in the "market" for deals and that his government did not have any arrangements with any political party in the House of Commons.
"I have no intention of doing any deal with any party on any occasion if the price of that deal is any given action by the government insofar as the Northern Ireland peace process is concerned," he said.
The UUP leader, Mr David Trimble, strongly denied government suggestions that he had demanded concessions on Northern Ireland elections in exchange for his party's nine votes and stressed that the two meetings he had with Mr Major before the debate were at the Prime Minister's behest.
"I did not ask anyone to do a deal with me. There was never any question in our minds of supporting the government over Scott," he said.
"Last night it was quite obvious that some government ministers were disappointed in the way we voted and then came out putting a heavy prejudicial spin on things to try and get back at us. It is a petty form of revenge by small minded people."
But Mr Andrew Hunter, the chairman of the Tory back bench Northern Ireland Committee, said the UUP had offered to support the government during the next year if certain conditions were agreed.
"These were entirely unacceptable because the Prime Minister is not in the business of playing party politics with the search for peace in Northern Ireland," he added.
The deputy Prime Minister, Mr Michael Heseltine, confirmed that Mr Major had specifically requested a meeting with the UUP before the debate to stress that he had not made any deals with the DUP over the elections.
The Liberal Democrats leader, Mr Paddy Ashdown, expressed concern that the government had made a deal with the DUP.