The peace process is under renewed pressure after a demand from four Ulster Unionist MPs that their party withdraw from the Stormont talks. They have written to the UUP leadership voicing their opposition to the negotiations, which they claim are biased in favour of republicans.
Mr Willie Ross, Mr Willie Thompson, Mr Roy Beggs and Mr Clifford Forsythe were known to be sceptical about the talks process. However, their decision to take a formal stance against it has been interpreted as a direct challenge to the strategy of their leader, Mr David Trimble.
Mr Thompson told The Irish Times last night: "We are not out to cause trouble for anyone but we don't like the direction of the talks. There is general disillusionment and apprehension in our community. The talks are going nowhere and we are taking a principled stand on the matter."
Last night the Northern Secretary, Dr Mo Mowlam, held crisis talks at Belfast City Hall with a delegation from the Progressive Unionist Party, the UVF's political wing, urging it to remain in negotiations.
Afterwards she described the meeting as productive. "They outlined their case, I listened and I will certainly go away and think very seriously about the points they made. I'm not going to make any judgments yet."
Mr David Ervine, PUP spokesman, called for a meeting with the Irish Government, which he said had shown neither integrity nor honour in its dealings with the PUP.
The PUP is accusing both governments of favouring republicans and is threatening to withdraw from the talks when they resume on January 12th. The Ulster Democratic Party, the UDA's political wing, is meeting Dr Mowlam today to discuss the crisis.
Its leader, Mr Gary McMichael, said he wanted to remain at the negotiating table but warned that the British government's "bias" in favour of republicans was endangering the entire process.
The letter from the four UUP MPs is believed to have been sent to Mr Trimble about a fortnight ago, when a Sinn Fein delegation visited Downing Street.
It states: "It is now apparent that the two governments, by the continual concessions to terrorist demands under the guise of `confidence-building' measures, are prepared to jeopardise the future of the law-abiding majority."
In a statement, Mr Trimble said that the letter was discussed at a parliamentary party meeting last Wednesday and would be considered again at the next meeting in January. He refused to comment further on the issue.
None of the MPs is on the UUP talks team, but they are all senior party members. Mr Ross was a challenger for the party leadership two years ago.
The UUP has 10 MPs at Westminster. That almost half its parliamentary team is opposed to the talks places Mr Trimble under enormous strain and gives him little room to manoeuvre at the negotiating table.
On Friday a leading member of the talks delegation, Mr Jeffrey Donaldson, called for a review of the party's future participation in the process.
A UUP source last night said: "Jeffrey seems to be hedging his bets about the process. He is marking out his own line and is ever so slightly distancing himself from the leadership."
Mr Donaldson yesterday repeated his concerns about British government policy, which he said favoured Sinn Fein.
However, the UUP deputy leader, Mr John Taylor, said he would not be calling on his party to withdraw from the talks, although he thought their chances of success were "4 per cent."
He said: "I believe we must persevere (and) if necessary, go ahead without Sinn Fein. I would be alarmed at the collapse of the talks because that will bring a resurgence of both loyalist and republican violence."