We will never share power with Sinn Féin, says Paisley

IAN Paisley insisted yesterday there was “no way” his hardline Democratic Unionist Party would ever sit in government with Sinn Féin.

Mr Paisley said Sinn Féin was still “inextricably tied up” with paramilitarism. He also urged British Prime Minister Tony Blair not to let the party into government.

Speaking after talks with Mr Blair and Northern Ireland Secretary Paul Murphy at Downing Street, Mr Paisley said: “There will never be any conditions when we will sit in government with any body of people, loyalist or nationalist, who have an army, and that army is being used against democracy.”

The meeting, which lasted a little over one hour, was the first time Mr Paisley has held face-to-face talks with the Prime Minister for a year. They were aimed at breaking the deadlock after last month’s Assembly elections which saw his party overtake the Ulster Unionists. Mr Paisley described the meeting as “extremely useful”.

He insisted there were no issues his party was not prepared to discuss in an attempt to restore democracy to Northern Ireland.

The DUP leader said he would provide Mr Murphy with a complete record of all the issues he wanted to be addressed. Mr Paisley said the election result was “a victory for the ballot box over the bomb and the bullet” and for democracy over dictatorship.

Mr Blair will hold talks today with the leaders of Northern Ireland’s other main parties in a bid to map out plans for a New Year review of the Good Friday Agreement. Taoiseach Bertie Ahern is also due at Downing Street for talks.

Ahead of his meeting today with Mr Blair, Sinn Féin’s chief negotiator Martin McGuinness said they would be pressing the British and Irish Governments to implement what they had promised.

Mr McGuinness said: “We will once again be raising with them the outstanding commitments which they have yet to implement, including measures on policing, demilitarisation, criminal justice, human rights and equality.”