Allegations 'draining credibility' of process - Trimble

Recent allegations about the activities of republicans are "rapidly draining away the credibility" of the North's government and the peace process, Mr David Trimble has said.

The Ulster Unionist leader and First Minister was speaking after 40 minutes of talks with Sinn Féin president Mr Gerry Adams to discuss a range of allegations.

It has been a bad week for republicans with the IRA being accused of training FARC rebels in Columbia by a US Congressional hearing. The IRA is also under pressure because police in Belfast said they uncovered an apparent "hit list" of senior Conservative politicians.

Mr Adams has insisted that Sinn Féin and the IRA were innocent of all accusations and the stories were being spread by elements within the British system who wanted the peace process to fail.

He said: "Sinn Fein has not been involved in any of these alleged incidents. For their part the IRA has said it is not involved and we believe them."

There had been a "frank exchange of views" between his group and Mr Trimble, who was accompanied by Ulster Unionist minister Mr Michael McGimpsey and Sir Reg Empey, Mr Adams said.

The meeting had been billed as a showdown, but it was not that kind of discussion, the Sinn Féin leader said, adding: "One of the benefits of the process is we can now express views and we don't have to dress each other down any more."

He claimed there was "a bitter bewilderment" within the nationalist and republican community that at a time when the process should be moving calmly along after the IRA's latest act of decommissioning "here we are in this crisis."

Mr Trimble said after the meeting that the unionist community did not believe Sinn Féin's denials of Republican involvement.

Mr Adams, who was accompanied by Mr Martin McGuinness and Northern Ireland assembly colleague Mr Alex Maskey, had started to give their views of recent events as they had done in public over recent days, Mr Trimble said.

"We cut that short and told them that wasn't the point. We didn't engage in a discussion on who did what to whom," Mr Trimble said.

Mr Trimble said: "This situation, we pointed out, is rapidly draining away the credibility of this administration, this process".

But Mr Trimble said he had made no threat to pull out of the power-sharing administration. "We didn't make any threats, delivered no ultimatum, indicated no time scale, but we said that against the background of the situation, it is simply not going to be possible to sustain this process unless republicans can restore their credibility".

Additional reporting PA