The UK's Daily Telegraph is alone in reporting a plan by the Prime Minister, Tony Blair, to establish a power-sharing assembly in Northern Ireland and link it with proposals more likely to appeal to unionists than nationalists.

The newspaper claims Mr Blair's ideas, still not finalised, would limit the powers of north-south cross-border institutions and have alongside the assembly a "council of the isles."

This would draw members from the assembly, from similar bodies in Scotland and Wales and ministers from London and Dublin, adds the Telegraph.

The proposal has already been discussed with David Trimble, the Ulster Unionist Party leader, and Downing Street is said to be seeking the support of Dublin and the main nationalist party in Northern Ireland, John Hume's SDLP.

Unionists might accept such an arrangement, says the newspaper, as it would limit the powers of cross-border bodies, which they see as giving Dublin too much say in the province's affairs.

"War is ugly business"

Meanwhile, the visit by Northern Ireland Secretary Mo Mowlam to the Maze to persuade loyalist prisoners to rejoin peace talks is applauded by much of the British press.

The Guardian says Dr Mowlam "deserves a loud, hopeful cheer of congratulation. She took a massive gamble and last night it seemed to have paid off."

The paper notes that some people "might have squirmed at the TV pictures of the Maze men posing in jail, happily chatting to reporters like pressure group activists rather than cold-blooded killers."

However, the reality, according to the paper, is that "war is an ugly business ... the gunmen have to be in the peace process; otherwise the whole thing is a sham."

"Dramatic response"

The Times reports that Dr Mowlam was forced to raise the stakes after the killing in the prison of Billy Wright, the loyalist leader opposed to the peace process.

Plans to relax security, the lack of IRA decommisioning and the prominence of Gerry Adams contributed to the feeling among loyalists that the Government was not on their side, according to the paper.

This led to the vote by UDA prisoners in the Maze to abandon talks and provoked the dramatic response by Dr Mowlam.

"Glimmer of smile"

Ross Benson, in the Daily Mail, says the "extraordinary gamble" appears to have paid off.

But he adds: "In the quagmire of Northern Ireland terrorist politics nothing is ever certain.

"Last night it looked as if the province had once again pulled back from the brink. For the moment at least, Mo Mowlam can allow herself a glimmer of a smile."

No grovelling

The "red top" tabloids, meanwhile, take contrasting views on Dr Mowlam's visit. The Sun says the terrorists "have scored a victory ... by bombing and shooting."

"That is the effect of Mo Mowlam's visit to the Maze murderers. She says she 'learned first hand what their anxieties are'. But what about the anxieties of the terrorists' victims?"

The Mirror says the Northern Ireland Secretary did not grovel to the terrorists. "She treats people like reponsible adults - yes, even if they are despicable killers.

"The signs are that the peace talks will resume next week and the ceasefire will continue. The longer that goes on, the greater will be the chance of a permanent peace.

"Mowlam has demoted democracy"

The Belfast Telegraph warns that some parties engaged in talks reserve the right to return to violence. It says: "The shots in the peace process are being called by people with little or no mandate, and both governments are having to heed those who have flouted the law for years.

"Dr Mowlam may secure a short-term gain, but the worry must be that she has demoted the cause of democracy in Northern Ireland."

The Belfast-based Irish News takes a more optimistic view. "There is reason for more guarded optimism than has been the case for a number of weeks," it says.

"Dr Mowlam would undoubtedly have taken most of the blame if the talks process had suffered further defections, so she is entitled to be handed the credit for yesterday's positive developments."

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