SF move puts pressure on Unionists

The North's Secretary of State Peter Hain today shifted the onus for restoring devolution in Northern Ireland onto Ian Paisley’s Democratic Unionists as he praised Sinn Féin’s advance towards an historic endorsement of policing.

Even though the party leadership exposed itself to potential splits by agreeing to press ahead with a special conference to consider overturning a policy of opposition stretching back generations, London and Dublin believe the shift holds the key to securing power-sharing and finally achieving a lasting political settlement in the North.