Trimble warns arms handover needed before July 1

The UUP leader, David Trimble, said that nothing except actual IRA decommissioning will prevent his resignation next Sunday as Northern First Minister.

Mr Trimble said he feels "comfortable" with the idea of quitting the post, after which he claimed there would be only six weeks to save the Good Friday Agreement, which would require nothing short of arms being handed over.

He also dismissed reports of a possible merger between the UUP and the Conservative Party as "wildly speculative", but said he was always interested in making new allies at Westminster.