Brown holds talks with North's leaders

The North's first and deputy first ministers, along with their counterparts from Wales and Scotland, are at talks with the British prime minister Gordon Brown in London today.

Brown is expected to demand budget cuts.

All four ministers are expected to resist the proposals for £5bn (€5.6bn) more cuts in public spending over the next few years.

When Peter Robinson and Martin McGuinness from the North, Alex Salmond from Scotland and Rhodri Morgan from Wales meet Brown, they will make common cause against the proposed cuts.

Mr Salmond has already called the budget cuts "utter madness". He said it was vital to increase spending on major public infrastructure projects to lift the economy out of recession.

British Chancellor Alastair Darling called on him to stop blustering and work on ways of making Scottish spending more cost-effective.

Stormont's position is that London made budgetary promises when devolution was restored which must be delivered.