Alliance party: 'Suspend North's institutions'

The suspension of Northern Ireland’s devolved political institutions may be the “least worst option” to deal with the current crisis in the peace process, it was claimed today.

The leader of the cross-community Alliance Party, David Ford, said the institutions were in danger of being lost for years after a senior Sinn Fein official was remanded in custody last night for possessing information which is likely to be of use to terrorists.

The party’s head of administration at the Stormont Assembly, Denis Donaldson, 52, faces five charges of having documents containing the personal details of members of the security forces, including the most senior soldier in Northern Ireland, Lieutenant General Sir Alistair Irwin.

Mr Ford said it was important not to give up on the devolved administration.

“The issue of suspension may be the least worst option because suspension gives us a chance to bring the institutions back in the near future,” he said.

“If we allow things to spiral out of control this week, then we may lose them for, if not forever, at least for a period of years.”

The British and Irish governments were today engaged in frantic efforts to salvage the peace process as the province’s power-sharing government teetered on the brink of collapse.

Hardline unionists have called for a debate on the issue at Stormont today and are seeking the expulsion of Sinn Fein’s ministers from the executive.

Democratic Unionist deputy leader Peter Robinson said: “We are seeking a meeting with the Speaker of the Assembly (Lord Alderdice) to have an exclusion motion against the Sinn Fein ministers debated.

“We have 25 signatures to the motion and need five more. What we are saying is the Ulster Unionists must sign their name to it.”

Ulster Unionist environment minister Dermot Nesbitt called on the British government today to act.

“It has responsibility for Northern Ireland and for its security...and is why it must do something,” he said.

“Nowhere else in the democratic world will you find a party at the heart of government and still linked to a paramilitary organisation. Let’s cut to the chase, that’s the key message.”

Sinn Fein education minister Martin McGuinness called on unionists to “hold their nerve“, insisting his party was still committed to the peace process.

He claimed the death knell for the political institutions was sounded by the Ulster Unionist Party’s threat to pull out of the power-sharing executive at its ruling council meeting two weeks ago.

“We said at that time that the two governments would have to ensure that the damage to the Good Friday Agreement by the unionist determination to pull out of the institutions would have to be minimised,” he said.

He added: “Denis Donaldson, in my view, is a scapegoat in all of this. I have no doubt that he is entirely innocent of any allegations or charges.”

Prime Minister Tony Blair is expected to discuss the situation with Sinn Fein president Gerry Adams this week, and he is also due to meet Ulster Unionist leader David Trimble and SDLP leader Mark Durkan.

He will review the crisis in the peace process at a meeting on Wednesday night with Taoiseach Bertie Ahern.

It also emerged that Secretary of State John Reid will meet Police Service of Northern Ireland Chief Constable Hugh Orde this afternoon to discuss the charges against republicans.