NI talks 'extended'

The talks are being held at a country house

Political talks to try to break the deadlock over the Northern Ireland peace process are expected to continue into a third unscheduled day.

The intensive discussions involving the main pro-Agreement parties - the Ulster Unionist Party, SDLP and Sinn Fein - continued deep into Tuesday night at Weston Park in Staffordshire, but the major difficulties remained unresolved.

As the discussions drew to a close on Tuesday, former First Minister David Trimble and Sinn Fein president Gerry Adams said it had been a "difficult" day and no breakthrough had been reached.

The sticking points are thought to be Unionist demands for the decommissioning of IRA weapons and republican calls for reforms to policing in the province and an end to the British military presence.

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Mr Trimble said he was concerned the republican movement was "not prepared to face up to its responsibilities and carry out its part in implementing this agreement".

But Mr Adams said Sinn Fein was committed to the peace process and sounded a note of optimism that progress could be made, saying he thought all sides would find the discussions "useful".

The talks are expected to resume on Wednesday morning after which they may be adjourned until Friday.

A Downing Street spokesman said Prime Minister Tony Blair, who has been attending the talks with his Republic of Ireland counterpart Bertie Ahern, was likely to remain at the discussions.

Earlier the process suffered a setback after two loyalist groups withdrew support over what they called "republican concessions" and lack of IRA decommissioning.

Paramilitary group the Ulster Freedom Fighters withdrew its backing for the Good Friday Agreement and the Progressive Unionist Party stood down from the Weston Park talks.

During the day, Sinn Fein and the Ulster Unionists, led by former First Minister David Trimble, held a 90 minute meeting.

All sides later held round table talks lasting two hours.

Taking a break from the talks to deliver a speech in London on Tuesday night, Sinn Fein president Gerry Adams said the deadlock over IRA disarmament would only be resolved if it was not treated as a precondition.

Mr Adams denied republicans were opposed to decommissioning and said Sinn Fein had stretched itself and its constituency "to the limit".

He said: "Mr Trimble has protested that it is not his responsibility to influence republicans on the arms issue and he has dismissed the suggestion that he and Mr Blair have a pivotal role to play.

Pivotal role

"This is a huge mistake. Republicans and nationalists want to be convinced that unionism is facing up to its responsibilities."

However, Mr Trimble said the Sinn Fein president's speech "consistently misrepresents the agreement and the position of both the Ulster Unionist Party and the government".

"Mr Adams also consistently fails to recognise his obligations," he said.

"His solipsistic account proceeds as if there had not been a republican failure to begin to carry out their obligation in the Agreement, let alone implement the promises made last May."

Speaking earlier, as he temporarily left the negotiations to attend a court case, Mr Ahern said there had been "no progress so far" in the talks.

David Ervine: Angry at republican "wish list"

But he also warned that the loyalist Progressive Unionist Party's decision to quit the political process was "very unhelpful".

The talks aimed at breaking the impasse over the Agreement centre on former First Minister David Trimble's refusal to sit in government with republicans without arms decommissioning from the IRA.

The discussions with the main pro-Agreement parties, led by Mr Blair and Mr Ahern, ended on Monday evening with no sign that a deal to save devolution would be achieved.

While the prime ministers hoped the secluded location would help the talks, David Ervine of the PUP, which is linked to the loyalist paramilitary Ulster Volunteer Force, said his party was withdrawing from the current process.

He said the decision was taken because Sinn Fein had shown "minimal movement" compared to the concessions unionists had given, adding that the republican "wish list" was getting longer.