Bid to put peace process back on track

Talks between the British and Irish governments this week will aim to find a way to rescue devolution in Northern Ireland and bridge the chasm between unionists and republicans.

Ulster Secretary John Reid is having his first face-to-face talks with foreign minister Brian Cowen since the restoration of direct rule at a Anglo-Irish Intergovernmental Conference at Hillsborough Castle, Co Down tomorrow.

The talks go ahead against a back drop of unionist calls – echoed by Tony Blair last week – for the IRA to disband, and the provisionals' rejection of what a senior source said were “unrealistic demands”.