Northern Ireland Secretary of State Peter Mandelson has said he hopes there will be some progress on the decommissioning issue soon.

Speaking during Northern Ireland questions in the Commons on Wednesday, he said he was expecting the latest report from the international decommissioning body in January.

Mr Mandelson said the February date set by the Ulster Unionists for their next consideration of the issue was understandable.

He said: "Let us be under no illusions about this, the implementation of the agreement depends on trust being built by all sides and on all sides.

"It requires reciprocal confidence building measures taking place so that everyone can be assured that every part of the agreement is being properly implemented.

"And therefore I don't think it is unreasonable that the Ulster Unionists have that expectation which is shared by the British Government, by the Irish government, by the American government and all the other political parties in Northern Ireland that an early start is made on decommissioning."

All parties to the Good Friday Agreement undertook to work "constructively and in good faith" with the International Body on Decommissioning and "to use any influence they may have" to decommission all paramilitary arms by May 2000.

It is headed by Canadian General John de Chastelain.

On 27 November, the Ulster Unionist Council backed the peace deal brokered by former US Senator George Mitchell in an historic vote.

The vote led to the breaking of the deadlock to devolution and to the setting up of a devolved, power-sharing government for Northern Ireland.

The vote also allowed the Ulster Unionist Party to enter into government with Sinn Fein before the handover of terrorist weapons.

However, council delegates were asked by Ulster Unionist leader David Trimble to back him until February when they are expected to make a final decision on whether to continue support for the devolution deal.

An IRA statement, released a few hours after the first meeting of Northern Ireland's assembly executive in November, revealed that a representative had been appointed to General John de Chastelain's commission.