Opponents of the Belfast Agreement within the Ulster Unionists have formed a pressure group chiefly geared to prevent the party leader, Mr David Trimble, entering into an executive with Sinn FΘin before "meaningful" IRA decommissioning.
The group, likely to be called Union First, expects to be launched formally in the next two weeks and, according to Young Unionists chairman Mr Peter King, has the support of several UUP Westminster MPs, Assembly members and councillors.
Mr King, a barrister and Assembly member for North Down, said the group also aimed to prevent a drift of UUP members to anti-agreement parties such as the DUP and the UK Unionist Party.
"David Trimble and the UUP in its referendum and Assembly election literature said Sinn FΘin could not be in government without decommissioning. Well, we are going to hold David Trimble to that pledge," said Mr King.
"We are a very broadly based organisation. We will act as a counter-balance to those trying to pressurise David Trimble into sitting down in an executive with Sinn FΘin," he added. He would not give details of the membership of Union Firstbut indicated that MPs such as Mr Jeffrey Donaldson and Mr William Ross fully supported it.
"There were two catalysts for the formation of our group: David Trimble's meeting with Gerry Adams, which was inappropriate and premature, and the campaign to put Sinn FΘin into an executive," said Mr King.
There was nothing to prevent Sinn FΘin entering an executive under the terms of the Belfast Agreement but, Mr King insisted, Mr Trimble must honour his referendum commitments not to allow Sinn FΘin into government withoutdecommissioning.
"There has been a history of fudge and retreat throughout this process, and we want the party to hold the line on decommissioning," said Mr King.
