Trimble may face leadership challenge

Opponents of the Ulster Unionist leader David Trimble have begun private talks on the possibility of mounting a leadership challenge against him at his party's ruling council meeting on 23 June.

The move follows a poor performance in the local government elections, in which counting was completed yesterday. The UUP won 154 seats, 31 down on its performance in 1997. At last week's general election it won two new seats but lost five others, prompting much speculation about Mr Trimble's future.

It is now known that informal discussions have been going on at various levels among those elements who oppose the Good Friday Agreement and who now believe the election reverses may have left Mr Trimble vulnerable.

Although no decision is known to have been taken about mounting a challenge, the names most frequently canvassed are those of MPs Jeffrey Donaldson, 38, and the Rev Martin Smyth. Mr Smyth received 43 per cent of the vote when he stood against Mr Trimble in March last year. But he is in his late 60s and would be viewed only as a caretaker.

Mr Trimble travelled to Downing Street yesterday to meet Tony Blair. After the meeting he reiterated his threat to resign as First Minister of the Northern Ireland Assembly on 1 July unless the IRA had moved on decommissioning its weapons.

He added that the Westminster result had produced a serious situation, implicitly criticising Mr Blair by saying: "Because of the way policy has been handled over the last year or so, the centre has been weakened and the extremes have grown stronger."

Mr Trimble was accompanied by the newly elected Unionist MP David Burnside, who claimed he had information the IRA was prepared to seal one of its arms dumps. He said this would be a "con job".

The final tallies in the council elections showed Sinn Fein and the Democratic Unionists had made substantial gains. Sinn Fein went up 34 seats to 108 while the DUP increased from 91 to 131. John Hume's Social Democratic and Labour Party lost three seats to finish on 117.

The results confirm the perception that the DUP is snapping at the heels of the UUP while the republicans are trying to take the SDLP's role as the primary voice of northern nationalism.

Mr Trimble's visit to Downing Street was part of a new burst of political activity in preparation for a round of political negotiations which is due to open in Belfast on Monday. Sinn Fein representatives are due to travel to Dublin today meet the Irish Prime Minister, Bertie Ahern, and the Northern Ireland Secretary, John Reid, will hold talks with the Irish Foreign Minister, Brian Cowen.