No deal yet as St Andrew’s talks continue into afternoon

Talks between the North's political parties at St Andrew's in Scotland look set to run into the afternoon in a final push to secure progress on moves to restore devolution.

The talks began on Wednesday, but no breakthrough has been achieved so far.

An announcement on the outcome of the discussions was expected this lunchtime, but this has now been delayed to allow for more negotiations.

The sticking point is understood to be sequencing of steps to be taken by Sinn Féin and the DUP in order to restore power-sharing.

Sinn Féin wants the power-sharing Executive up and running before it will hold a conference to end its opposition to the PSNI.

The DUP, however, is refusing to enter any power-sharing arrangement until after Sinn Féin has taken this step.

The Irish and British governments have put forward their own proposals in an effort to end the impasse, but it is unclear if any agreement will be achieved before close of business today.

DUP sources say the November 24th deadline set down by Dublin and London appears to be slipping and more negotiations are likely beyond this week's talks.