Sinn Féin leaders arrive in London for talks with Blair

Sinn Féin President Gerry Adams today arrived at Downing Street for talks with British Prime Minister Tony Blair as the Irish and British governments finalised plans to restore the suspended Northern Ireland Assembly.

He was joined by the party's chief negotiator Martin McGuiness and spokesman Gerry Kelly.

Taoiseach Bertie Ahern and Mr Blair are due in Armagh on Thursday to announce new proposals to revive the power-sharing executive in shadow from next month, in advance of full restoration of the institutions in Belfast by November.

Democratic Unionist leader the Rev. Ian Paisley has already ruled out his party entering any arrangement with Sinn Féin.

As part of the process to get Stormont up and running again, the two governments will ask for the 108 Assembly members to be recalled and for a further allowance of six weeks for the executive to be formed.

Sinn Féin and the SDLP have warned London and Dublin against any attempt to form a shadow assembly with ‘scrutiny committees’ ahead of full power-sharing.