Time running out for NI Assembly

With less than two days left to break political deadlock between the Northern Ireland parties, there is a growing expectation that the assembly will be suspended.

The British and Irish Governments are under pressure to decide the next step in the process as time is running out to save devolution.

In the absence of a last-minute agreement between the parties, Northern Ireland Secretary John Reid must decide whether to suspend the assembly temporarily or call an assembly election by midnight on Saturday.

Dr Reid and Irish Foreign Minister Brian Cowen spoke by telephone to discuss the situation on Friday morning.

Meanwhile, a senior member of the nationalist SDLP said on Friday, suspension would be the 'lesser of two evils' but he warned it should only last a short period of time.

Alban Maginness: "Suspension is lesser of two evils"

If Dr Reid suspends the assembly temporarily, it would buy another six week's in which further talking could take place.

On BBC Radio Ulster, Alban Maginness said calling an assembly election at this point would make the current difficulties worse.

"We as assembly members have a mandate from 1998 to 2003. That mandate has not been in any way impuned," he said.

"I believe fresh elections would create even more uncertainty and difficulties. It would make the situation even worse."

'No party nomination'

Ulster Unionist leader David Trimble has already called on Dr Reid to suspend the suspend the assembly in the absence of actual decommissioning.

The government's options are:

Dissolve the assembly and call an election

Impose a tactical one-day suspension which buys six weeks for further talks

Impose an unlimited suspension and a review

Combination of suspension, review or election

May try to find another way forward

Mr Trimble resigned as first minister on 1 July, because the IRA had not begun to disarm.

This triggered a six-week period during which the parties held talks to try to find an agreement.

However, the Ulster Unionists and the other pro-Agreement parties did not fully accept the package of proposals put together by the British and Irish Governments to try to end the deadlock on decommissioning, policing and demilitarisation and political instability last week.

Mr Trimble has said Thursday's IRA statement - that it had agreed a scheme to put its weapons beyond use - did not go far enough and he has demanded a timetable for the handover of arms.

His party will not, therefore, support nominations for the first and deputy first ministers' posts in time for Saturday's midnight deadline.

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However, Sinn Fein has warned that suspending the assembly would cause an even greater crisis in the peace process.

Speaking on BBC Radio Ulster on Friday morning Sinn Fein's Alex Maskey said: "There will be a serious set-back to the process if the assembly is suspended."

Peter Robinson, deputy leader of the Anti-Agreement DUP, meanwhile, has called on Dr Reid to dissolve the assembly and call an election.

He said if the government opted for suspension it would prove they and the Ulster Unionists were running scared of his party.

However, Ulster Unionist chairman James Cooper dismissed claims the Ulster Unionists were afraid of being "trounced" in an assembly election.

He also denied his party had delivered an ultimatum to the British Government, but refused to rule out any option.

"The issue for unionists is not whether there is suspension or elections, the real issue here is when is decommissioning going to start so that there can be some confidence restored in the unionist community," he said.

The Northern Ireland secretary spoke to UK Prime Minister Tony Blair - who is in Mexico - by telephone, on Thursday night as the crisis deepened.