Unionists opposed to the Belfast Agreement have united in an effort to block Sinn Fein participation in government in Northern Ireland. The move was agreed in a round-table strategy meeting at Stormont yesterday.
All the anti-agreement parties attended the meeting - the Democratic Unionists, the Northern Ireland Unionists, the United Unionist Assembly Party and the UK Unionist Party.
Mr Peter Weir, who recently lost the Ulster Unionist whip, was also present.
The meeting agreed to draw up a "petition of concern" to force a debate on Sinn Fein's exclusion from ministerial office. However, there are only 29 anti-agreement unionist members in Stormont and under Assembly rules a minimum of 30 is required for this type of petition. Mr Peter Robinson, the DUP deputy leader, invited Ulster Unionists to lend their support to the move.
"We will invite them one by one if necessary but their electorate should know if they are willing or otherwise to sign the motion to exclude Sinn Fein."
The UK Unionist leader, Mr Robert McCartney, appealed to Ulster Unionists: "You have consistently said that the decommissioning issue is the crunch issue. You have said that you are on the same basis as the anti-agreement unionists that there should be a substantial handing-over of weapons as the commencement of a phased programme of decommissioning to be completed by May 22nd, 2000.
"We're calling in your pledge."
Sir Reg Empey of the Ulster Unionists said the anti-agreement unionists were grandstanding and engaging in a stunt.
The UUP had been saying for months that it would move to exclude Sinn Fein from the executive in the absence of "a credible and verifiable beginning to the process of decommissioning by the IRA".
He was pleased to see the anti-agreement unionists had "decided to follow our lead".
Mr Michael McGimpsey, a UUP Assembly Member for South Belfast, accused Mr Robinson of stealing his party's clothes.
"We have always said that we would try to exclude Sinn Fein from the executive if decommissioning did not occur."
Pointing out that cross-community support was required for any such motion to be carried, Sinn Fein's chairman, Mr Mitchel McLaughlin, told PA News: "Obviously we can expect the rejectionist unionists to use all the procedural mechanisms available them to delay an executive with Sinn Fein but all they can do is delay the inevitable."