BRITISH PRIME minister Gordon Brown and Taoiseach Brian Cowen decided to travel to Belfast for crisis meetings on policing and justice devolution talks during telephone talks on Sunday.
Mr Brown, speaking to journalists in No 10 Downing Street, twice made it clear that the decision to go to Belfast was made on Sunday, rather than during yesterday’s hour of talks in London.
However, Mr Brown’s timetable this week offers him little opportunity for any prolonged engagement in Belfast, given that he has Prime Minister’s Questions in the House of Commons on Wednesday.
Mr Brown is also expected, though this is not confirmed, at a meeting of foreign ministers in London on the growing instability in Yemen, which is now facing serious al-Qaeda-led terrorist activity.
On Thursday, Mr Brown is due to host an international gathering in London on the future of Afghanistan, which was called by the British prime minister well before Christmas.
Mr Brown and Mr Cowen held several telephone conversations over the weekend about the growing threat to the future of the Northern Ireland Executive and Assembly by the devolution row between Sinn Féin and the Democratic Unionist Party.
“We agreed two things [on Sunday]: firstly that we would meet here today to look at how progress is being made and, secondly, that we would meet with Mr Robinson and Mr McGuinness in Belfast and that is what we plan to do later this afternoon.
“We believe that the problems that exist in devolving policing and justice are all soluble problems. We believe that it is right for Northern Ireland to make progress in this way now, and that together that we can assist in the completion of these talks.”
He said he believed that “that there is a chance that progress can be made”, adding: “There are some areas that remain to be resolved. We hope that we can assist in doing that.”
Mr Cowen was accompanied by Minister for Foreign Affairs Micheál Martin, and senior Department of the Taoiseach and Department of Foreign Affairs officials. Mr Brown was joined by the Northern Ireland Secretary of State, Shaun Woodward – one of the few who has been optimistic throughout that a deal can be brokered between the DUP and Sinn Féin.
Following their meeting, Mr Brown and Mr Cowen travelled together to RAF Northolt, where the Taoiseach’s aircraft had landed earlier, but both men travelled separately to Dublin.
Neither man made it clear how long they would be prepared to spend in Belfast.
The Taoiseach said: “We believe it is very important to have a successful outcome in these discussions. We are going there to help . . . to bring these issues to a conclusion.”
Mr Cowen said there was “no doubt but that we need to resolve this matter in a way to ensure that the devolution of policing and justice will take place” by resolving all of the issues.
Earlier, Mr Brown side-stepped a question about whether he agreed with Democratic Unionist Party leader Peter Robinson’s demands that the Parades Commission be abolished before devolution can take place.