Trimble under pressure to stand down

BELEAGUERED David Trimble last night faced the threat of a new leadership challenge without the support of his deputy after he was accused of losing the trust and confidence of his troubled and split Ulster Unionist Party.

South Antrim MP David Burnside, once a close confidant, called on him to stand aside.

Mr Trimble is due to go forward for re-election next month, but opponents insist he must go if the party has any chance of recovery. Supporters of the under pressure leader fear he could be ousted on March 27.

Sir Reg Empey, a former minister in the power-sharing executive, and an ex- Trimble ally, is being urged to put his name forward.

Lord Kilclooney, the former MP John Taylor, and deputy leader, revealed last night he would back him.

Mr Burnside also claimed Mr Trimble could no longer unite the party after the failure to hold off their rivals in the Rev Ian Paisley's Democratic Unionists in November's elections to the Northern Ireland Assembly. They also fell behind Sinn Féin due to Unionist opposition to the Good Friday Agreement.

Mr Burnside declared: "There is a sea change in opinion throughout the membership who want a leadership that can unite and restore the party to its position of dominance within Unionism again."

Mr Trimble, who has fought one leadership challenge, last night pledged to resist a second one.

His spokesman said: "He considers it his duty to offer himself to the party again."

Mr Burnside called for changes at the top after walking out of a bad- tempered meeting involving MPs, MLAs and other senior party members.

One insider claimed: "Burnside got a rough ride. The meeting was angry and antagonistic towards him."

The Ulster Unionists have been hit by defections to the rival DUP. Jeffrey Donaldson and Assembly colleagues Norah Beare and Arlene Foster left last month.

Mr Burnside claimed Mr Trimble could not regain the confidence of unionist voters because "he is carrying too much baggage from the failures of the Belfast Agreement".

"The vast majority of unionist voters have no confidence in him as a negotiator. They also see him as having become totally detached from unionist grassroots opinion," he said.