With fewer than six weeks to go before the election of a new First and Deputy First Minister at Stormont, the British government last night laid an Order before Westminster for fresh Assembly elections in Northern Ireland in the event of no one being elected to the posts.
Northern Secretary Dr John Reid said the move was "in order to keep open the option of elections if the Assembly fails to elect new First and Deputy First Ministers within six weeks," he said.
"This does not indicate the government's intentions or commit the government or the parties to this particular course of action. It is contingency planning: all our focus is on intensive discussions with the parties and the Irish Government to carry forward the implementation of the Good Friday agreement," added Dr Reid.
Locations in England and Scotland are being considered for the upcoming negotiations aimed at finding a resolution to the political crisis in the North.
It is understood Downing Street officials were examining locations "outside London" while last night's UTV Live programme speculated a conference centre in Birmingham might be chosen to host the talks.
The Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, and the British Prime Minister, Mr Blair, are expected to lead the talks. Preliminary negotiations are expected by the end of this week chaired by the Northern Secretary, Dr Reid and the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr Cowen.
