The Democratic Unionist Party's Nigel Dodds has said the First Minister's position will become untenable if he stays in the Northern Ireland Executive without IRA decommissioning.

In an interview on BBC Radio Ulster's Inside Politics programme, Mr Dodds said that if the Ulster Unionist Council votes at its special meeting in February to continue in the executive before decommissioning starts, Mr Trimble will lose all credibility.

Mr Dodds added: "The position today is harder than it was in November.

"People are seeking not some token decommissioning, not some form of putting arms beyond use in concrete bunkers - a position by the way which isn't allowed for in the legislation, and the scheme drawn up by the decommissioning body.

"They are looking for substantial decommissioning leading to the surrender of all arms."

Mr Dodds said he hoped the UUP would force Mr Trimble to live up to his resignation pledge if decommissioning did not start.

He said: "Up to now his track record has been one of moving his position when faced with not being able to achieve his stated objectives.

"I hope this time his party would say: You have made commitments, you told us that if you went into government that Gerry Adams would decommission, you called on him to jump.

Mr Dodds, who is Social Development Minister on the executive added: "Those of us have watched the Ulster Unionist leadership and the pro-Agreement side of the party know only too well the amazing gymnastics that they will perform to keep this process on the road no matter what their previous commitment has been."

His comments follow the Ulster Unionist Party's announcement on Friday that its 860 member ruling council will meet to review whether IRA decommissioning has started, on 12 February.

Commitment to resign

The Ulster Unionist leader gave a commitment to the council in December that that he and his ministerial colleagues would resign from the Assembly Executive if the party did not agree that IRA decommissioning had commenced.

The council responded by agreeing endorse the proposals of the ten week Mitchell review to allow Mr Trimble to form the power-sharing Executive with Sinn Fein the Social Democratic and Labour Party and the DUP before IRA decommissioning.

If the council decides on 12 February that no IRA decommissioning has started, Mr Trimble's resignation would effectively wreck the Executive and plunge Northern Ireland into another political vacuum.

Announcing the date of the meeting the UUP's president Josias Cunningham said it was being called in "expectation of John de Chastelain producing a report by the end of January".

The report by the head of the International Commission on Decommissioning is expected to confirm whether or not any of the main paramilitary organisations have started decommissioning their weapons arsenals.

So far only the splinter group the Loyalist Volunteer Force is the only group who has handed in any weapons.

Internal pressure

Mr Trimble is also facing pressure from within his party to turn his back on Northern Ireland's new devolved administration if decommissioning has not started.

On Friday dissident Ulster Unionist MP William Thompson said rank and file party members would be demanding "actual disarmament" in return for the executive's survival.

"Let there be no doubt. The party expects decommissioning to have taken place if the executive is to continue.

"That means when General de Chastelain's commission reports back at the end of the month, decommissioning must have taken place.

"Otherwise, our ministers will be resigning from the executive."

Mr Thompson said he understood if the de Chastelain report indicated no IRA decommissioning had taken place, letters of resignation for David Trimble and the party's ministers in the executive would come into effect on the day of the council meeting.

Sinn Fein President Gerry Adams has warned that ultimatums will not work in relation to IRA disarmament.

Speaking after a 45-minute meeting in Washington with US President Bill Clinton on Wednesday, Mr Adams called on Mr Trimble to show leadership in helping to move the peace process forward.