Senior Ulster Unionists are meeting at party headquarters today to discuss the continuing crisis within the peace process ahead of a full meeting of the ruling council on Saturday.
|
|
Mr David Trimble
|
Further moves against Sinn Féin are expected to be on the agenda following the Northern Ireland High Court ruling that the ban on Sinn Féin ministers attending meetings of cross-order bodies is unlawful.
The 14 party officers, including leader Mr David Trimble and anti-Agreement MP Mr Jeffrey Donaldson, will discuss the deadlock over decommissioning, demilitarisation and policing.
The failure of the IRA to decommission has enraged Ulster Unionists and threatened the future of the Stormont Executive.
For UUP leader Mr David Trimble the meeting will be a taste of what to expect when the party's 110-strong Executive meets on Saturday.
Earlier this week an internal body set up to review progress on decommissioning gave a gloomy assessment of the prospects of the IRA handing over its weapons.
The report is expected to spark urgent calls on Saturday for Mr Trimble to impose more sanctions on Sinn Féin.
However, a tactic of banning Sinn Féin ministers attending cross-border meetings has been ruled unlawful by a High Court judge.
Anti-Agreement South Belfast MP Mr Martin Smyth is expected to table a motion calling for the party to pull out of the Stormont Executive.
A source close to Mr Trimble said that nothing could be ruled out at this stage.
"There's going to be a lot of straight talking done and we have to be prepared for it. By the looks of it, there isn't much progress being made in talks between Sinn Fein and the Government," he said.
Meanwhile, Sinn Féin chairman Mr Mitchel McLaughlin said Mr Trimble should stop pretending to defend the Belfast Agreement.
"David Trimble has an officer board meeting today and a meeting of the UUP Executive on Saturday. Both he and his senior colleagues have indicated they intend to escalate their campaign against Sinn Féin ministers,"he said.
"Whatever tactic Mr Trimble adopts, he will be in breach of his ministerial code and by his actions he is undermining and subverting the Agreement itself."
PA