Moves for final round of NI talks before UK election

Proposals to hold a final round-table session of the Northern talks next week were gathering momentum last night to allow a last…

Proposals to hold a final round-table session of the Northern talks next week were gathering momentum last night to allow a last attempt to reach agreement before a British general election.

The Taoiseach and the British Prime Minister are expected to stand back from such discussions, at least in their initial stages, and would join them only if a deal appears likely, according to reliable sources.

The Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, Dr John Reid, and the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr Cowen, would instead represent the governments. Sources suggest that such talks, if agreed, would take place next Thursday and/or Friday, probably at Hillsborough Castle outside Belfast.

In spite of the difficulties over policing issues, the first recruitment advertisements for the Police Service of Northern Ireland were broadcast last night. Consensia, the recruitment agency which is running the campaign, said that even before the first advertisements were televised, in one hour it had received 860 inquiries from people from Northern Ireland, the Republic and Britain. Between 1 p.m. and 7 p.m., there were 2,300 calls seeking application packs. The recruitment agency said that number of calls was unprecedented in such a short period and British Telecom had to bring in extra staff handlers. One of the SDLP's most senior figures, Mr Eddie McGrady, has insisted that if the party's requirements on policing and other matters are met by the British government, it will act independently of Sinn Fein and endorse the new force.

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As Sinn Fein yesterday angrily accused Irish Government sources of laying the blame for the policing impasse on republicans, Mr McGrady rejected suggestions that the SDLP's final position on policing would be dictated by Sinn Fein's stance.

London has not ruled out the possibility of a further suspension of the institutions established under the Belfast Agreement ahead of the British general election. This emerged last night despite Mr David Trimble's apparent readiness to lead Ulster Unionists into the election as serving First Minister. London fears a formal review of the agreement may not be enough for Mr Trimble to reassure unionist voters and is pressing still for a "big picture deal" on weapons and policing. Asked if suspension remained an option, one British source last night said: "We don't want to, but if push comes to shove, our position would be the same as last February."

The Irish and British governments are to decide early in the week whether to hold one more intensive talks session involving all the parties in round-table format. Sources in both governments insist such talks would be designed to reach agreement on the outstanding issues, rather than becoming a session on how to limit the damage caused by the continuing deadlock.

Informal talks will continue in the coming days to try to bring the parties as close as possible to a deal before deciding on whether to hold a session at Hillsborough. "People will go into round-table talks in a better frame of mind if they have an idea of what will come out of them," according to one government source.

Nationalist sources say if the policing issue can be resolved, a deal on the other issues is likely to be achievable.