SF urges justice power transfer progress

Martin McGuinness spoke to the Irish and British premiers today to press for progress on policing and justice in the North.

Sinn Féin’s deputy First Minister in the Northern Ireland Assembly wants the Democratic Unionists to sign up to a date for devolving security powers from London to Belfast.

He talked by telephone to British Prime Minister Gordon and Taoiseach Brian Cowen today, a Sinn Féin spokesman confirmed.

The heads of the British and Irish governments meet in Downing Street tomorrow amid growing tension over the process, with Mr McGuinness demanding a meeting with Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) leader Peter Robinson to save the power-sharing executive from collapse.

Mr Cowen said: “I think we are in a serious situation.

“I’ll be working with (Gordon Brown) in the coming days to get this matter resolved.

“We’ll do everything we can to assist the parties. They need to move forward and get decisions consistent with the undertakings of the agreements.”

Despite a measure of agreement among both power-sharing partners in Northern Ireland that policing has to be devolved at some stage, they have sparred over when that will take place.

There is also a dispute over the handling of controversial Loyal Order parades.

The DUP wants to scrap the Parades Commission, which adjudicates on and places conditions on some of the most contentious marches, but Sinn Féin accused the unionist party of giving the Orange Order a talks veto.

Mr Cowen’s visit comes just 11 days after his last talks with Mr Brown in London, as the pace of negotiations over the state of the peace process steps up.

A Downing Street spokesman said that tomorrow afternoon’s talks were “part of ongoing discussions on Northern Ireland”.

The PM and the Taoiseach talk regularly by phone and were pleased to have the opportunity to meet face-to-face.

Republicans have accused the Democratic Unionist Party of doggedly refusing to work with the Stormont parliament as the fall-out deepens over the devolution of policing and justice powers.

Sinn Féin president Gerry Adams warned yesterday that if an agreement can not be reached, then the institutions set up under the Good Friday Agreement can no longer continue.

Negotiations between the DUP and Sinn Féin on the contentious issue of policing broke down last week. Republicans claimed the DUP wanted to give the Orange Order a veto over talks involving the handling of controversial loyal order parades.

But Mr Robinson said progress was being made and republicans were creating an unnecessary political crisis.

Sinn Féin’s Ard Chomhairle (ruling executive) has drawn up a detailed brief for Mr McGuinness to inform the talks with the DUP.

Three years ago Sinn Féin backed the new policing arrangements in the North on condition the Assembly eventually took over political responsibility for law and order from Westminster.

But with unionists insisting that the conditions must be right before completing the transfer of the powers, and with Sinn Féin demanding they close a deal, the long-running dispute has now reached crisis point.

Alliance Party leader David Ford, who is expected to be nominated as the justice minister, said they should get on with striking a deal and claimed progress could have been made at Stormont.