Trimble appeals for IRA to disband

The crisis in Northern Ireland may force the peace process "back to the drawing board", David Trimble said yesterday when he renewed calls for the IRA to disband to break the political deadlock.

Speaking at a Conservative conference fringe meeting, the Ulster Unionist Party leader warned: "There is a real chance that a historic opportunity might be lost."

He saidrepublican leaders were already preparing the ground for the abolition of the IRA. But he added: "We had had four and a half years for implementation [of the Good Friday Agreement]. It's time to fast-forward to the end of the process."

On Tuesday Mr Trimble issued an ultimatum to the Government to begin moves to expel Sinn Fein from the province's power-sharing Executive by next week, or else face Unionist resignations. He said yesterday that merely suspending the Northern Ireland Assembly would be "wishful thinking" and only delay dealing with the real issues confronting the province.

He also dismissed the idea of calling fresh elections, saying that would allow Sinn Fein to "gobble up" the moderate SDLP. "Here is a situation where the republicans have been caught red-handed. The thing to do is not to reward them but – I was going to say rap their knuckles but it requires more than just a rap of the knuckles, it needs firmer action than that," he said.

"If the Government has not got the courage in this situation where there is clear justification to exert that pressure then there is a real chance that our historic opportunity might be lost."

Quentin Davies, the shadow Northern Ireland Secretary, said the Government should not respond to the crisis by suspending the Assembly but throw Sinn Fein out of the Executive if a motion for its expulsion was not passed.