The PUP leader David Ervine (2'53")

The Progressive Unionist Party has agreed to return to Northern Ireland's multi-party peace talks at Stormont when they restart on Monday.

The party will go back to Stormont

The announcement came after a meeting of the party's 35-strong executive. However, the vote was not unanimous, and some concern has been voiced that Billy Hutchison, a Belfast city councillor and a member of the talks team, did not support the return.

The decision means that all sides will be back at the negotiating table inside Castle Buildings except the Rev Ian Paisley's Democratic Unionist Party and Robert McCartney's UK Unionist Party.

In a statement, the party said: "The talks process is not about the PUP or its sense of frustration and anger. It is about exploring the vision for a new, just and equitable future for all of the people of Northern Ireland.

"While the executive continue to express some reservations about the quality and integrity of the answers given by the British and Irish governments, it decided by a majority vote to give both governments an opportunity to prove their sincerity."

The decision was not unanimous

The statement said the confidence building measures being discussed outside the process had undermined the integrity of the process and that all parties were not being treated with fairness.

Loyalist prisoners from the Ulster Freedom Fighters and Ulster Defence Association also decided to renew their support for the peace process following a meeting inside the Maze Prison with the Northern Ireland Secretary, Mo Mowlam on Friday.
 

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