British prime minister Tony Blair will stick rigidly to the government's deadline of next Monday for power sharing in Northern Ireland, he told the Rev Ian Paisley today.
As pressure mounted on the Democratic Unionists to say yes to a devolved government featuring Sinn Féin, Mr Blair was adamant he was not going to introduce emergency legislation to change the deadline at the last minute.
On the eve of crucial talks between the Northern Ireland parties and Chancellor Gordon Brown on a multi-billion pound financial package to bolster devolution, the prime minister's official spokesman acknowledged there were concerns in the DUP about meeting the March 26 deadline.
He said: "The DUP clearly want devolution to happen at some point.
"They clearly have concerns and we will try and address those concerns.
"But the prime minister could not have been clearer that we cannot change the legislation and that means a decision has to be made by March 26.
"It is the DUP's decision, obviously, what they will do on the 26th.
"The important thing out of the meeting today is the prime minister made it absolutely clear that he had come to a settled view which is not going to change which is that the 26th is the deadline and he is not going to introduce legislation to change that."
Northern Ireland Secretary Peter Hain has insisted since last October's St Andrews talks that Assembly members face either devolution or the closing down of the Parliament next Monday.
However DUP deputy leader Peter Robinson and his Westminster colleague Gregory Campbell have said they will not be forced into an executive with Sinn Féin by a government-imposed deadline.
The DUP has argued that any decision it makes on power sharing will be determined by a number of conditions being fulfilled rather than by a date on a calendar.
Sinn Féin leader Gerry Adams has tried to allay some of those concerns by saying his party is fully committed to supporting the police and the rule of law.
The West Belfast MP used an interview with the republican weekly newspaper An Phoblacht to remind unionists that the IRA had removed itself from conflict and that there was no reason or excuse for armed actions.