A war of words has broken out between Ulster Unionists and Democratic Unionists after the DUP leader, the Rev Ian Paisley, predicted immediate political negotiations after the forthcoming parliamentary elections.
Speaking on the BBC's Inside Politics programme on Saturday, Dr Paisley said the elections would strengthen his party's place within unionism, thus forcing the British government to enter into fresh negotiations on the peace process. The North's Trade Minister, Sir Reg Empey, of the UUP, accused Dr Paisley of living in "Cloud-cuckoo-land", saying nobody believed the DUP leader was going to negotiate with anybody. "He has already said he won't talk to republicans and yet he sits with republicans every day. The SDLP have made it clear they are not even contemplating anything fresh, and the Prime Minister has made it clear he's sticking with the [Belfast] agreement," he added. DUP deputy leader Mr Peter Robinson then accused Sir Reg of "folly", saying it would be up to the voters, not the UUP minister, to decide whether the Belfast Agreement needed to be re-negotiated.
"Reg Empey's defeatism is a clear sign that a vote for the Ulster Unionist Party is a vote for the same ongoing concessions flowing from the Belfast Agreement or nothing. A vote for the DUP is a vote for an alternative strategy. "The choice at the election will be for who negotiates on behalf of unionism. Who do the unionist people trust? The choice is simple - the UUP whose failure is seen in the release of terrorist prisoners, the destruction of the RUC, terrorists in government and all-Ireland Executive bodies, or the DUP who read it right and have consistently opposed these concessions," Mr Robinson concluded.
In the interview, Dr Paisley said his party would never take the position of First or Deputy First Minister in the Northern Ireland Assembly under current arrangements.
"No Democratic Unionist member will be, under the present structure, First or Deputy First Minister.
"We have to get the system changed, and the system has to be changed in such a way that Sinn Fein/IRA, the SDLP or anyone else has no veto whatsoever on a democratic assembly," he added. The DUP today unveils its parliamentary and council election manifestos under the slogan "It's about trust, stupid!" The campaign is expected to target UUP leader Mr David Trimble's "broken promises" on taking a hard-line stance on IRA decommissioning.
Meanwhile, Mr Trimble is reported to have made a fresh appeal to Catholic voters to turn out for the UUP in marginal seats where nationalist parties have no chance of success. Such a move would help to defeat the DUP and save the Belfast Agreement, he is said to have told the Observer newspaper.
Republican sources are said to have described Mr Trimble's July 1st decommissioning deadline as "not possible".