Deputy first minister under fire from Gerry Adams

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.

As parties prepared for a fourth day of talks in Weston Park on the Shropshire/Staffordshire border, nationalists and republicans clashed over their approach to talks.

Sinn Fein president Gerry Adams rounded on the acting Northern Ireland Deputy First Minister for claiming republicans had given the SDLP and other parties no sense of their position on decommissioning.

The West Belfast MP argued: ‘‘He can’t have it both ways.

‘‘Mr Mallon has failed to attend any of the bilaterals between Sinn Fein and the SDLP at Weston Park Hall and indeed, before that.

‘‘He doesn’t seem to realise that the elections are over. He needs to get real and stop being grumpy and he needs to fulfil his responsibility even in the acting capacity of Deputy First Minister.

‘‘Seeking to score points off us in public while refusing to engage with us in private is not the way to make this process.’’

Mr Adams’ criticism of his nationalist rival was seen as further evidence of the sour atmosphere among the Northern Ireland parties as they headed back to the talks with the Prime Minister Tony Blair and Taoiseach Bertie Ahern following a one-day break for the Orange Order’s Twelfth of July celebrations.

Mr Mallon had reported on Wednesday before leaving that progress was being made on the policing and demilitarisation issues but republicans were giving nothing away on disarmament.

Ulster Unionist sources also expressed frustration at Sinn Fein.

There is also considerable anger among some about the British and Irish Governments’ management of the process following the decision to send the smaller pro-Good Friday Agreement parties home last Monday.

The cross community Alliance Party and Women’s Coalition are expected to return to Weston Park today.

However the loyalist paramilitary linked parties, the Progressive Unionists and Ulster Democratic Party will not attend.

Mr Adams, who was accused yesterday by the PUP’s David Ervine of being either oblivious or uncaring about the impact of his demands on unionists, today vowed to defend his party’s position.

While acknowledging some progress had been made in discussions with the two Prime Ministers, he said the British Government was ‘‘still resisting the need to fully deliver on its obligations under the Good Friday Agreement.

‘‘The positions outlined so far fall short of public commitments already given.

‘‘The challenge for all the parties is to reach an understanding of each other’s views and to collectively shoulder our responsibilities in order to resolve the outstanding difficulties.

‘‘In the main these difficulties can only be resolved by Mr Blair’s government getting the context right.’’

Sources in Belfast and Dublin were today expecting the negotiations to begin late this afternoon, with the possibility of them extending into the night and possibly tomorrow.

‘‘That will very much depend if we are getting somewhere but the Taoiseach and Mr Blair would not be going back if they didn’t think it was possible,’’ an Irish Government source said.

Failure to reach agreement at Weston Park will leave the British and Irish Governments with two options.

They could let the Assembly vote on a new First and Deputy First Minister go ahead in the wake of UUP leader David Trimble’s resignation from the Stormont Executive, with fresh Stormont elections taking place in the event of no-one being elected.

The other option would be to suspend the institutions before the Assembly vote in an attempt to buy more time to achieve a deal on decommisisoning, policing, the scaling down of Army fortifications and the ending of sanctions against Sinn Fein.