Until the Government undertakes to remove its territorial claim to Northern Ireland the British government cannot co-operate with Dublin under threat of "the dismemberment of the United Kingdom", the Ulster Unionist leader, Mr David Trimble, said last night.
In a speech to the Enfield and Southgate Conservative Association in London, Mr Trimble said the "territorial claim" over the North remained "profoundly unsatisfactory" to his party.
Pointing to the Irish Government's statement in the Downing Street Declaration to "introduce and support changes in the Irish Constitution . . . [which] will fully reflect the principle of consent in Northern Ireland", Mr Trimble suggested adding a reference to achieving that goal "by consent".
"But that is also pretty meaningless. It would merely be a statement that they will not try to achieve their goal by force," he said.
He claimed the arrival of the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr Andrews, at the talks "marks another continuity with the failed 1992 talks".
Mr Trimble said Mr Andrews's declaration that Dublin was not prepared to drop the territorial claim, and later retraction of the statement, echoed the failure of the 1992 talks.
Mr Trimble also criticised the British government's team at the Stormont talks, claiming there was "not much profit in talking" to them "when they are clearly not up to speed and appear to accept the continuance of a territorial claim on part of the United Kingdom."