Stormont deal 'a long way off'

A breakthrough in crunch talks between the Taoiseach, the British prime minister and Northern Ireland’s political leaders is still a long way off, the Democratic Unionists said tonight.

DUP negotiator Jeffrey Donaldson downplayed the chances of a deal materialising within the next 24 hours after emerging from the first round of intensive negotiations with David Cameron and Enda Kenny in Belfast.