Unionists silent on arms progress: McGuinness

Senior Ulster Unionists have refused to go public on private admissions that the IRA’s decision to allow arms dumps to be examined was a powerful development, Sinn Fein’s chief negotiator Martin McGuinness claimed today.

As Prime Minister Tony Blair prepared for Downing Street talks with the Rev Ian Paisley’s hardline Democratic Unionists, there was still no sign of the republican leadership moving on demands for the Provisionals to begin disarming.

President George W Bush’s special envoy to Ireland, Richard Hass, is also having talks with the Northern Ireland Secretary John Reid today amid growing fears in Belfast that the latest outbreak of sectarian rioting which left nearly 40 police officers hurt could spread.

First Minister David Trimble has already threatened to resign if the Provisionals fail to meet his July 1 deadline to start emptying the dumps.

But Mr McGuinness, the MP for Mid Ulster, claimed today that senior members of the party had conceded the arms inspections were a big response by the IRA.

He said: ‘‘I won’t name them, but several individuals who are very influential within the leadership of the Ulster Unionist party have told me in the course of recent months, they regarded the international inspectors’ efforts as a very powerful development.’’

Mr McGuinness said: ‘‘Whilst privately they concede to me that they consider this to be a powerful development, I say in response ‘Why don’t you say that publicly?’ Of course they sit there and say nothing.’’

Meanwhile Mr Paisley is set to tell the Prime Minister of the need for major changes to the Good Friday Agreement.

With parliamentary representation increased from three to five, a DUP spokesman said: ‘‘We will emphasise the point that we do now obviously speak for the vast majority of unionists who are opposed to the Belfast agreement and the problems they have with it.’’