UUP forum tries to escape `cauldron' of North

Mr David Trimble has taken his Assembly party to Scotland for the weekend. The idea is to take them away from the "cauldron" of the Northern political scene to a secret venue and to engage in strategic planning for the critical period of negotiations ahead.

As the Mitchell Review steps up a gear the Ulster Unionist Party leader has arranged a weekend conference for his Assembly members at a hotel, understood to be near Glasgow, to plan their continuing approach to the talks and to try to decide how, or whether, the political deadlock can be broken.

The Assembly members will be addressed by the historian Prof Paul Bew and commentators Mr Eoghan Harris and Mr Malachi O'Doherty.

The party's 27 Assembly members were asked by Mr Trimble to cancel their weekend arrangements so that they could attend the "think-tank" seminar which opened with dinner last night, and runs until tomorrow. Most UUP Assembly politicians are expected to attend. Mr Paul Weir is not among the 27 invited as the anti-Belfast Agreement dissident and Union First member has lost the UUP whip. Mr John Taylor, the UUP deputy leader who has lost faith in the agreement being implemented, is also not attending. He cited short notice compounded by constituency business for his absence. MPs such as Mr Jeffrey Donaldson and Mr Ken Maginnis won't be present because the seminar is restricted to Assembly members.

The discussions will be in private. Some of the delegates were only told at the last minute where the meeting would take place.

Mr Trimble tried to play down the significance of the seminar, described by a party spokesman as a "think-tank" session.

"It is necessary in any sort of situation to be able to step back and have a think about the situation and consider one's overall strategy and to make sure everybody is fully informed. It is something that we do from time to time," said Mr Trimble.

Mr Danny Kennedy, a UUP Assembly member for Newry/Armagh said the meeting would allow the politicians get away from the "cauldron" of Northern politics and take a fresh perspective on the current situation.

Meanwhile, Ms Liz O'Donnell, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, signalled that the British and Irish governments would remain in the background to give Senator Mitchell a chance to succeed in his review.

Ms O'Donnell said the governments were keeping a close eye on developments but it was Senator Mitchell who was "in the driving seat". Ms O'Donnell said Senator Mitchell had so far succeeded in getting Sinn Fein and the Ulster Unionist Party to retreat from bitter name-calling to proper engagement. "I think he has managed to get the parties back to first base, and hopefully to where they can look at possible outcomes in terms of sequencing." "But more importantly he is trying to build up a quality of trust between the two parties," added Ms O'Donnell. Senator Mitchell returns to Northern Ireland on Monday to begin the fourth week of his review.