A row over the leaking of details of a confidential Northern Ireland Office (NIO) document on how the DUP would be financially affected by the closure of the Assembly is threatening to sour tomorrow's meeting between Ian Paisley, British prime minister Tony Blair and Taoiseach Bertie Ahern.
Mr Ahern and Mr Blair, who are hosting meetings with the Northern parties at Stormont tomorrow, are due to reinforce their threat that if there is no deal on powersharing by the deadline they set of November 24th, that Assembly members will lose their pay and allowances.
The Taoiseach and the prime minister also plan to set out a timetable of work for the members through the summer to try to create the potential for a return to devolution by late November.
DUP sources said that Assembly members were furious at the disclosure of details of the NIO document. Dr Paisley is likely to raise the issue when he meets Mr Blair tomorrow. He accused the British government of trying to "blackmail" the party into doing a deal and said the DUP would never be "slaves to the British government".
His angry response was prompted by the BBC being given sight of the NIO document, which sets out how the party could be forced to close constituency offices if MLAs lost their pay and allowances. Its policy and press operations were also likely to be severely affected by the loss of support income which ran to £215,000, the document stated.
Cutting the office costs allowances of DUP Assembly members would account for another £1.5 million, according to the document.
Dr Paisley interpreted the document as the NIO suggesting the DUP could be "bought".
"It is absolutely laughable to suggest that we will in any way allow the loss of office allowances and wages to influence our judgment on whether republicans have met the democratic test for government.
"This Northern Ireland Office contribution has damaged the prospects for political progress and they had better brace themselves for the impact this will have when the prime minister arrives," Dr Paisley said.
"Our Assembly party is comprised of men and women of integrity and principle, unlike the NIO, who will never be blackmailed or bullied."
The DUP leader also accused Northern Secretary Peter Hain of adopting a "hypocritical stance by demanding we get back to work yet refusing to allow any business in the Assembly chamber".
Meanwhile, in Dundalk today senior Sinn Féin members are meeting to begin a review of whether they should continue in the current limited Assembly. Sinn Féin chief negotiator Martin McGuinness said no progress was made over the past six weeks despite some meetings of the Assembly and the formation of the programme for government committee.
"We are more than willing to be involved in any genuine effort to restore the political institutions but we will not participate in a farce that is driving the political process into deeper crisis and making the public increasingly cynical," he added.
