Opposition within the Ulster Unionist Party to the Northern Ireland Agreement appeared to be growing last night, as two UUP groups issued statements supporting a No vote.
The executive committee of the Ulster Young Unionist Council and the UUP branch at Queen's University rejected the agreement, saying it gave Dublin increased power in the North.
The UUP leader, Mr David Trimble, expressed confidence that he would win a substantial majority when around 700 delegates to the Ulster Unionist Council vote on the peace deal in Belfast tomorrow. Six of Mr Trimble's nine parliamentary colleagues are understood to be opposed to the agreement and the UUP's four honorary secretaries are reportedly sceptical.
Meanwhile, Sinn Fein's chief negotiator, Mr Martin McGuinness, confirmed that his party would not deliver its verdict on the pact at its ardfheis in Dublin this weekend. There would be several weeks of consultation with grassroots activists first.
The Orange Order has said it cannot support the deal as it stands and has called for clarification on a range of issues. However, its Grand Master, Mr Robert Saulters, who is widely regarded as a moderate, upped the ante further yesterday, saying the agreement would have to be changed.
Mr Trimble said he was certain of receiving around 70 per cent support. "We are not contemplating failure," he said. The deal was good for unionism and bad for republicanism, he maintained. For all their rhetoric, Sinn Fein and the IRA had gained nothing in their efforts to bring about Irish unity.
He said a No vote would be a victory for the IRA. However, anything below a 70 per cent Yes vote could cause unionists to rethink their position. Mr Trimble angrily denied DUP claims that he had betrayed unionism.
For the first time in generations, Northern Ireland's membership of the UK would be under written by the Republic - and unlike the Sunningdale Council of Ireland there was no autonomous North-South body with influential powers. He insisted that the IRA would have to hand over weapons before Sinn Fein could enter any executive.
"This agreement is as good and as fair as it gets," he said. "If you think otherwise, then what is your alternative? I believe, as a staunch unionist, we should now be mature enough to realise that this agreement deserves unanimous support and it paves the way for a prosperous and stable future for everyone in Northern Ireland firmly within the Union.
"If the people of Northern Ireland continue to vote to stay in the Union, that will be respected - and the Dublin Government agrees."
However, other UUP MPs have continued to voice their objections to the deal. Mr Willie Ross has written to every delegate to the UUC meeting, asking them to oppose the deal.
Mr Jeffrey Donaldson said while he was not opposing Mr Trimble as leader and did not wish to be portrayed as a rebel, he had serious problems with the agreement and wished for assurances from the British government, especially on prisoners and policing.
In an attempt to calm unionist nerves, the British Prime Minister, Mr Blair, said there was "no question" of disbanding the RUC and any prisoners released would have to be members of organisations that had "genuinely and properly given up violence".
The Northern Secretary, Dr Mo Mowlam, said she was trying to arrange a meeting with the Orange Order to provide the clarification it had asked for. Dr Mowlam yesterday met Mr Martin McGuinness at Stormont.
He said republicans were studying the document and would debate its merits to establish if it contained the dynamic to lead eventually to Irish unity.
Mr Adams yesterday said the reaction to the agreement among republican grassroots ranged from "outright hostility to just nervousness". However, many people had told him they agreed with much of the document. He paid tribute to Mr Trimble for his "courageous step" in accepting the agreement.