Paisley rules out devolution deal

The DUP met John de Chastelain in Belfast

A deal to restore devolution in Northern Ireland will not be signed, DUP leader Ian Paisley has confirmed.

He was speaking after meeting decommissioning body chief General John De Chastelain in Belfast.

The British and Irish prime ministers are in Northern Ireland to publish their proposals on power sharing.

The DUP wants photographic evidence of decommissioning, while Gerry Adams says Sinn Fein is ready to share power but the IRA will not be humiliated.

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Northern Ireland's political institutions have been suspended since October 2002 amid claims of IRA intelligence-gathering at the Northern Ireland Office.

Tony Blair and Bertie Ahern are due to hold a news conference in the province later.

'Building confidence'

Speaking after the meeting General de Chastelain on Wednesday, Mr Paisley said: "It is quite clear that the IRA are not going to decommission. Nothing on decommissioning was agreed with them.

"Not only photographs, but nothing was discussed or settled about the independent witnesses, inventory and all the things that we were interested in.

"The situation is this: that the IRA are dead set on keeping their arms and going on with IRA/Sinn Fein's twofold policy of democracy and terrorism, " he said.

Mr Paisley said they wanted the IRA to supply not one photograph but "a complete, total, clear survey in photographs" of decommissioning.

Meanwhile, Mr Blair said the issues would become clear to people once the proposals were published on Wednesday.

He told the Commons that the issue was whether an agreement could be done in such a way that there was sufficient confidence on both sides of the community.

Bertie Ahern and Tony Blair plan to publish joint proposals

Meanwhile, it has emerged that an IRA statement the governments hoped would have been released as part of a new deal would have said it supported the comprehensive agreement.

"This creates the conditions for the IRA to move into a new mode that reflects the determination to see the transition to a totally peaceful society brought to a successful conclusion," it would have said.

"All IRA volunteers have been given specific instructions not to engage in any activity which might thereby endanger the new agreement."

It added: "We have also made it clear that the IRA leadership will, in this new context, conclude the process to completely and verifiably put all its arms beyond use."

This would be done by the end of December, the statement would have said.

There have been intensive negotiations between the two governments and the political parties over the past few weeks.

The main issues which have been highlighted in the latest round of intense talks include decommissioning, demilitarisation, policing and future devolved institutions.

The negotiations have been conducted through a series of British and Irish Government intermediaries because the DUP refused to hold face-to-face talks with Sinn Fein.