McGuinness accuses Trimble of 'political cowardice'

Mr Martin McGuinness has described the UUP's threat to quit the power-sharing Executive as "political cowardice of the worst kind".

The North's education minister and Sinn Féin chief negotiator said it would be a "terrible tragedy" if Mr Trimble allowed "two discs taken from the Sinn Féin offices last Friday, returned to us today, to effectively destroy all of the work of the last ten years."

He described last Friday's events as "political theatre" conducted by people who are opposed to the Belfast Agreement and the peace process.

Speaking in Stormont, Mr McGuinness said: "There are people within the PSNI who have a political agenda and sympathy with rejectionist unionism."

"These people were working hand in glove with rejectionist unionists to bring down the institutions established by the Good Friday Agreement," he added.

He blamed the current crisis on the decision taken by the Ulster Unionist Council two weeks ago "to effectively withdraw from the institutions".

Mr McGuinness warned "Unionist paramilitaries", who were "killing themselves and innocent Catholics", would take succour from the decision by unionists to pull-out of the institutions

"There is a responsibiliy on unionist leaders to make politics work," he added.

He called on British prime minister Mr Tony Blair to defend the institutions established under the Belfast Agreement.