Throwing Sinn Féin ministers out of the power-sharing administration in the North is the only way to save it, Ulster Unionist Party leader Mr David Trimble said today.
Mr Trimble delivered his message after crisis talks with British Prime Minister Mr Tony Blair in London.
"The way to keep the process in existence is to eject Sinn Féin. Failing to do so will lead to the administration ending", Mr Trimble said.
|
"The way in which we stop the administration collapsing is to do what I think is now necessary and to exclude Sinn Féin ministers from the administration".
"If that can't be done then the administration regrettably will cease next week", Mr Trimble added. Two motions to exclude Sinn Féin will be debated in the Assembly next week. If they fail, Mr Trimble has said, the UUP will withdraw its ministers leading to the administration's collapse.
The motions are not expected to receive backing from the SDLP, and are therefore likely to fail. Today's discussions between Mr Trimble and Mr Blair focused on ensuring a "soft landing" if and when the Stormont Executive collapses next week, the UUP leader said.
"Our objective is to have a soft landing if, as seems likely because of the debate, it is not possible to continue with the administration," Mr Trimble said.
He spent much longer than expected inside Downing Street discussing his party's move to exclude Sinn Féin from the Executive, which will be debated next week.
When he emerged Mr Trimble said the talks had also included the international situation and he urged the British government to take the same strong line on terrorism in Northern Ireland as it was abroad.
Northern Ireland Secretary Dr John Reid should consider using his powers to recall to prison former terrorists freed under the terms of the Belfast Agreement if it appeared they had returned to violence.
Earlier Mr Trimble said: "Inevitably the time comes when one has to say enough and that is what we are doing".
There was still "a little time left" for republicans to keep their side of the agreement and give up their arms, said Mr Trimble but he added their refusal to do so, so far was "contemptuous".
Today's discussions follow a round of meetings yesterday in Dublin between Mr Trimble and acting Stormont first minister Sir Reg Empey with the Government, opposition parties and leading British and American diplomats.
Northern Ireland Assembly members are due to stage a four-hour debate next Monday on two motions from unionist parties to remove Sinn Féin's Mr Martin McGuinness and Ms Bairbre de Brun from their ministerial posts.
The motions are almost certain to fail as they require cross- community backing and the moderate nationalist SDLP and Sinn Féin have already stated their opposition to it.
However, it is believed that if the motions fail, the Ulster Unionists and the Reverend Ian Paisley's Democratic Unionists will withdraw their ministers from the power-sharing government to protest against the failure of the IRA to disarm.
additional reporting PA
