A first visit to Northern Ireland by Gordon Brown as the new British prime minister that was pencilled in for Friday week in Belfast is now likely to be postponed, according to official sources.
Mr Brown was next week due to attend a meeting of the British-Irish Council, which along with the North-South Ministerial Council, is one of the key institutions of the Belfast Agreement. First Minister the Rev Ian Paisley was particularly anxious that Mr Brown should be present for the British-Irish gathering which Taoiseach Bertie Ahern and senior Irish Ministers are also expected to attend.
He warned last week that if Mr Brown did not attend the British-Irish Council meeting, neither would he be present.
However, "diary difficulties" for Mr Brown, who is due to replace Tony Blair as prime minister this evening, will almost certainly force the deferment of the council, sources told The Irish Times.
It is also likely to have the consequent affect of forcing the postponement of a scheduled North-South Ministerial Council meeting in Armagh next Wednesday. The North-South meeting would normally take place without the presence of the British prime minister.
However, Dublin and London are conscious of the sensitivities of unionists who believe that the east-west link should have parity with the North-South connection.
They now feel both the British-Irish and the North-South council meetings should be deferred so that the two meetings could take place within days of each other, the sources added, possibly in the third week in July.
