Taoiseach and Blair to meet for talks in London

The Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, is to meet his British counterpart, Mr Tony Blair, for breakfast-time talks on the situation in Northern…

The Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, is to meet his British counterpart, Mr Tony Blair, for breakfast-time talks on the situation in Northern Ireland in London tomorrow.

The meeting was confirmed by a spokesman from the Taoiseach’s office today. The spokesman said government officials were already in London for talks with their British opposite numbers ahead of the prime ministerial exchanges.

The meeting will go ahead as the weekend deadline nears for the appointment of new First and Deputy First ministers by the Northern Ireland Assembly.

Mr Ahern said: "We face another deadline in the process this weekend, but hopefully we can move on to full implementation of the Good Friday agreement".