NORTHERN Secretary Peter Hain last night bluntly warned squabbling Unionist and Republican leaders to cut a deal before Tony Blair loses power.

The North may not get the same level of British government focus when the next Prime Minister takes over, secretary of state Peter Hain warned today.

A party linked to the loyalist paramilitary group the Ulster Volunteer Force is to meet the North's Independent Monitoring Commission (IMC), it was revealed today.

Reg Empey’s Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) were in the red by almost £500,000 (€730,480) last year, it was revealed today.

Eyewitness claims that the Ulster Volunteer Force was involved in extortion and other criminal activities were today cited by Ulster Unionist MP Lady Sylvia Hermon as a reason for her unease over her party’s decision to link up with the Progressive Unionists in the Stormont Assembly.

Democratic Unionist MEP Jim Allister was accused of shameless opportunism today after he attacked rival Ulster Unionists for joining forces at Stormont with a loyalist politician.

Another Ulster Unionist has defected to the UK's Conservatives, it emerged tonight.

Ulster Unionist leader Reg Empey today vowed to stick with his strategy of persuading loyalist paramilitaries to abandon violence, despite criticism from a senior colleague.

Two girls were arrested today over alleged death threats made against a young friend of murdered schoolboy Michael McIlveen.

The British government will today release the second report by a commission appointed to monitor republican and loyalist paramilitary activity in Northern Ireland.

FORMER Taoiseach Albert Reynolds yesterday revealed he held secret talks with loyalists in their Belfast heartland 10 years ago to secure their ceasefire.

Former Taoiseach Albert Reynolds held secret talks with loyalists in their Belfast heartland 10 years ago to secure their ceasefire, he said tonight.

Loyalist paramilitaries today threatened to quit peaceline talks in Northern Ireland over a ceasefire body’s demands for all organisations to cut links with terrorists.

Crucial talks between British Prime Minister Tony Blair and Sinn Féin leader Gerry Adams will take place tomorrow, following the release of a report which threatened to expose senior members of Sinn Féin in Provisional IRA leadership roles.

LEADING members of Sinn Féin are operating at the highest echelons of the IRA, according to an international group monitoring peace in the North.

Terrorist violence in Northern Ireland has surged since the Good Friday peace deal was signed six years ago, a scathing new report claimed today.

The British government will reveal today if it would impose financial punishments on Sinn Féin for alleged IRA ceasefire breaches.

Assembly committees should be established to scrutinise the work of direct rule ministers in Northern Ireland, the British government was told today.

Northern Ireland Assembly parties are to be asked by the British government at a series of meetings this week for their opinions on a review of the Good Friday Agreement.

Taoiseach Bertie Ahern today arrived at Downing Street for the latest round of talks aimed at kick-starting Northern Ireland’s stalled political process.

Pro-Good Friday Agreement parties need to stand up for the accord, a senior member of the SDLP claimed today.

David Trimble’s troubled leadership was under intense pressure tonight as he prepared to take charge of a new Ulster Unionist Assembly party left hopelessly split over the Good Friday Agreement.

Taoiseach Bertie Ahern and Prime Minster Tony Blair will have to face up to the reality that a majority of unionists want a new settlement in Northern Ireland, they were told today.

IAN PAISLEY’S Democratic Unionists last night surged to the top of the North’s election poll to threaten the future of the Good Friday Agreement.

Ian Paisley’s hardline Democratic Unionists tonight surged to the top of the Northern Ireland’s election poll to threaten the future of the Good Friday Agreement.

Ian Paisley’s Democratic Unionists were tonight leading David Trimble’s Ulster Unionists in the battle for Northern Ireland Assembly seats.

Plans to restore a power sharing government in Northern Ireland tonight faced an indefinite delay as hardline unionists who rejected the Good Friday Agreement strengthened their vote in the Assembly Election.

Supporters of Ulster unionist leader David Trimble were bracing themselves today for the release of a series of commitments by anti-Good Friday Agreement members of his party standing in the Northern Ireland Assembly election.

A loyalist political party was today unveiling five basic principles as part of its manifesto for this month’s Northern Ireland Assembly Election.

Politicians in Northern Ireland were today anxiously waiting to learn if there will be moves over the next five days involving unionists and republicans to secure a pre-Christmas Assembly election.

Politicians in Northern Ireland were tonight anxiously waiting to learn if there will be moves over the next five days involving unionists and republicans to secure a pre-Christmas Assembly election.

President George Bush’s special adviser on Northern Ireland Richard Haass today urged “bold thinking and bold acting” in a bid to move on the Northern Ireland peace process.

Northern Ireland Secretary Paul Murphy tonight expressed hope that the province’s politicians could overcome their differences and restore devolution.

David Trimble’s Ulster Unionists were today urged to acknowledge the need to ensure equal treatment for Northern Ireland’s Catholic and Protestant communities under the Good Friday Agreement.

THE US special envoy to Northern Ireland said he was optimistic that a breakthrough could be made in the peace process in advance of next May’s elections.

Loyalists will only play a part in talks to resolve the problems in the Northern Ireland peace process if they are fully inclusive, Progressive Unionist leader David Ervine warned today.

The loyalist Progressive Unionist Party may quit the Northern Ireland Assembly over the crisis threatening to engulf the peace process, it emerged today.

There is no evidence that the IRA is poised to resume its terror campaign, Northern Ireland Secretary John Reid insisted today hours after it emerged that a republican hit list had been found.

Catholic parents today breathed a huge sigh of relief after loyalists called off protests outside the Holy Cross primary school in north Belfast.

A loyalist terror group seen as a cover for the Ulster Defence Association tonight admitted raking a north Belfast community centre with gunfire.

Prime Minister Tony Blair’s bid to bring stable Government to Northern Ireland is doomed, it was claimed tonight.

SDLP deputy leader Seamus Mallon is trying to score points against Sinn Fein while refusing to engage with them during negotiations, Gerry Adams alleged today.

Taoiseach Bertie Ahern and Britain's Prime Minister Tony Blair are today resuming attempts to save the Northern Ireland peace process with talks on the Shropshire/Staffordshire border.

Taoiseach Bertie Ahern and British Prime Minister Tony Blair were today flying to Northern Ireland in a last-ditch bid to prevent the peace process going into freefall.