Hain dismisses talk of delay on deadline

Northern secretary Peter Hain has warned the North's politicians that they must "put up or shut up" in relation to the restoration of devolution at Stormont.

The warning comes as the DUP continues to insist that it will not agree to power-sharing until Sinn Féin proves its commitment to the rule of law.

The British government has set March 26th as the deadline for the parties to reach agreement on sharing power or face the indefinite suspension of devolution.

However, the DUP's stance has fuelled speculation that some sort of fudge may be agreed that would extend this deadline until the unionist party can be convinced to come on board.

Speaking this morning, Mr Hain insisted that this was not the case.

He said there must be a "functioning" Executive on March 26th or else devolution will be suspended for many years and politicians will stop getting paid.