David Trimble: "Backbone, not back down"

Speaking at the party conference Mr Trimble said UK Prime Minister Tony Blair would have to honour his promise that IRA decommissioning must start before Sinn Fein could be part of the cabinet at Stormont.

Mr Blair and Mr Ahern met in Austria on Saturday

The message was delivered to 500 delegates at the annual conference near Londonderry. Party members endorsed their leader's demands on weapons surrender.

Sinn Fein President Gerry Adams has twice said that his party does not regard decommissioning as a prerequisite to taking seats on the executive.

In a bid to break this decommissioning deadlock, Mr Blair met the Irish Prime Minister, Bertie Ahern, in the Austrian town of Klagenfurt where they are attending an EU summit.

BBC Ireland Correspondent Denis Murray: Trimble pursues Sinn Fein with the decommissioning issue

After the 20-minute meeting both leaders said all parts of the Good Friday Agreement must be implemented.

Earlier, Mr Trimble told the party conference: "Throughout this process, government has postponed this issue to the next stage, and made promises. This is now the last stage.

'No going back'

"There can be no backing down on these promises and no turning back from the implementation of all the agreement.

"We have never said that those with a past cannot have a future.

Tony Blair in Klagenfurt: "We must press ahead with the Good Friday Agreement"

"The offer of partnership still stands, but only if the past is left clearly behind with no going back."

Mr Trimble said Mr Blair's reassurances had been the factor that finally persuaded thousands of doubting Protestants and loyalists to back the agreement and vote "yes".

Bertie Ahern: "We should have an executive up and running by February"

Mr Trimble also attacked anti-agreement loyalists for "disgracing" unionism with their violence at Drumcree.

The new Nobel Peace Prize winner insisted that republicans should honour their obligations to the Good Friday Agreement.

Clear threat of force

And he said that they too must demonstrate they would not use violence - or they would face exclusion from office.

There could be only one reason for holding on to the Semtex explosives and machineguns, Mr Trimble said, and that was to destroy people or places.

He said keeping weapons was a clear threat of force.

He said: "If they want to be included, they must show they do mean to use only peaceful methods. That is easy.

Sinn Fein does not regard decommissioning as a prerequisite to taking seats

"They need only begin to fulfil their obligations and decommission in a verifiable and credible manner.

"That means beginning a process in a significant way that is clearly visible to the people."

In a direct appeal to Gerry Adams's leadership, he said: "There is no other way. After Omagh, the people will not tolerate a return to the terrorism campaign of the past."

The BBC's Denis Murray: "Deadline starting to dissolve"

And he asked the government: "How long will you continue to deliver your side of the bargain on prisoners, when all the organisations concerned are defaulting on theirs?"

He said he hoped Mr Blair would use the same "backbone, not back down" attitude on decommissioning that he had urged on his own party to adopt on policy.

'There must be room to manoeuvre'

Earlier on Saturday, Ulster Unionist chief whip Jim Wilson said the party had maybe made a mistake in being so rigid over decommissioning.

Mr Wilson, a Trimble supporter, told BBC Radio Ulster: "I would probably take the view that as in any area of politics, it is never, in my opinion, a good tactic to nail yourself so firmly to the post.

"It just may be, on decommissioning, a mistake has been made in regard to being so firm and there must be room to manoeuvre."