Durkan warns of lack of progress

SDLP leader Mark Durkan was speaking at the Irish Labour Party conference

Allowing a "cooling off period" in the Northern Ireland political process could see the opportunity for progress go cold, according to the SDLP leader Mark Durkan.

Mr Durkan made his comments at the Irish Labour Party's annual conference in Killarney on Saturday.

The former deputy first minister said the two governments must call together all the pro-Agreement parties to agree common understandings and explicit undertakings in response to the joint declaration.

Northern Ireland's devolved administration was suspended on 14 October 2002, amid allegations of IRA intelligence gathering in the Stormont government.

Last week, Prime Minister Tony Blair said elections to Northern Ireland's Assembly, which were due to be held on 29 May, could not go ahead because the IRA had given a "point-blank" refusal to answer his questions on its future intentions.

The IRA released two statements on Tuesday - one given to the two governments three weeks ago and another which sets out its current thinking.

'Inclusive institutions'

The organisation has promised if the Good Friday Agreement was fully implemented it would make it possible to definitively set aside its arms.

Mr Durkan said changes in criminal justice, normalisation, equality and human rights as contained in the governments' joint declaration must now be fully advanced.

He called for no more half measures or double standards from all parties that support the Agreement.

And in a message to both the Ulster Unionist Party and Sinn Féin, he called for full commitment to the inclusive political institutions and to the inclusive policing arrangements.

Meanwhile, the Democratic Unionist Party is due to propose assembly elections should be held on 26 June in a Commons debate next week.

Legislation to postpone the elections is due to be debated in Parliament on Monday.