NI parties 'negotiating in a vacuum'

The British government seems to be in the dark about what exactly the IRA will do to revive power-sharing in Northern Ireland, a senior Ulster Unionist claimed today.

In a criticism of negotiations to restore the Assembly, former Stormont Economy Minister Sir Reg Empey queried how much the British government actually knew about the wording of an IRA statement addressing disarmament and the winding down of paramilitary activity.