Empey's hope for party unity

Sir Reg Empey believes the public wants to see the party reconciled

A senior Ulster Unionist has expressed hope the party can begin to be reconciled before officers meet again to discuss disciplinary action against three rebel MPs.

Sir Reg Empey was speaking a day after the party decided to continue its disciplinary action against three MPs who resigned the party whip at Westminster.

Jeffrey Donaldson, the Reverend Martin Smyth and David Burnside were suspended last month after quitting the whip in protest at the policies of UUP leader David Trimble.

However, a High Court judge ruled earlier this week that the suspension was unlawful as a disciplinary committee had been "improperly constituted".

Party officers voted on Friday by six votes to three, with a number of abstentions, to take further action against the MPs.

Speaking on Radio Ulster's Inside Politics programme on Saturday, Sir Reg said the row within the party was a distraction from the real issues.

"I believe that some sort of internal discussion is required to resolve this," he said.

"I'm convinced that's what the majority of Ulster Unionists want and I'm quite satisfied that's what the majority of the public out there want, because I think they're fed up with this, just as we're fed up with it.

The three MPs will again face disciplinary action

"It doesn't seem relevant to their problems on a day-to-day basis. It doesn't put food on the table. It doesn't secure the constitutional position of Northern Ireland.

"It dosen't do anything for anybody except make fools of us."

Earlier, Mr Donaldson, told members of the Orange Order that the party could implode if Mr Trimble continued to pursue what he called a "vendetta against his critics".

Speaking at a Twelfth parade in Hillsborough County Down, Mr Donaldson said the UUP leader had split his party down the middle and was refusing to listen to concerns shared by a vast majority of unionists.

The three MPs quit the whip in a move designed to increase pressure on Mr Trimble by refusing to endorse his policy on the British-Irish joint declaration.

Intelligence gathering claims

Following a meeting of party officers on Friday, the party released a statement saying they hoped there was an opportunity to be "proactive in trying to resolve the differences between the two factions".

In June, Mr Trimble narrowly fended off a challenge from party rebels, led by Mr Donaldson, who wanted the party to reject the recent British and Irish joint declaration.

The joint declaration, released in May, outlined plans to reduce troop numbers to 5,000 as part of an attempt to move the Northern Ireland political process forward.

It included five annexes dealing with security normalisation, policing and justice, human rights and equality, on-the-run paramilitaries and mechanisms to verify and monitor any deal.

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