Mr David Trimble has pledged to lead his Ulster Unionist Party into next May's Assembly elections despite another test of his leadership by party dissidents.
Supporters of Mr Trimble insisted that a decision by party hardliners to convene another Ulster Unionist Council meeting in the coming weeks was tantamount to an attempt to remove him as Ulster Unionist leader.
The required 60 signatories necessary to convene a meeting of the council to discuss the Ulster Unionist Party's continued involvement in the North's Executive with Sinn Féin have been lodged with party headquarters. If the names are in compliance with party rules, a council meeting must be called in September.
Anti-Belfast Agreement Ulster Unionists such as MPs Mr Jeffrey Donaldson and Mr David Burnside have endorsed the calling of the council meeting. If the British government was not prepared to take sanctions against Sinn Féin then Ulster Unionists must act, they said. Mr Trimble was reluctant to comment on the council meeting but was adamant that he would remain as party leader. "I will of course continue to lead the party into the election next May," he said yesterday evening.
Mr Trimble said he and the UUP were dedicated to "delivering the peace that people want" although people also realised that reaching that objective would not be "achieved overnight".
"They know with us that they have that guarantee of stickability, that we will stick at this issue until we achieve our objectives," he added. He made his comments after meeting the acting Police Service of Northern Ireland Chief Constable, Mr Colin Cramphorn, to discuss the continuing sectarian disorder at the interfaces.
The Deputy First Minister and SDLP leader, Mr Mark Durkan, urged Mr Trimble to resist the sceptics in his party. "To join in tactics or approaches that inherently threaten the institutions only plays into the hands of anti-agreement elements and would betray the public interest," he added.
Earlier, Sinn Féin chairman Mr Mitchel McLaughlin said that Mr Trimble must "champion" the Belfast Agreement against the challenges of his No wing. Mr McLaughlin also predicted that Sinn Féin would eventually join the Policing Board.
Sinn Féin has been calling for the disbandment of the PSNI special branch, greater accountability in relation to policing, and a Northern Ireland department of justice that would oversee policing. The Police Oversight Commissioner, Mr Tom Constantine, is shortly due to publish his report outlining whether there should be changes to police legislation that could also facilitate Sinn Féin joining the Policing Board. "We have now secured a commitment from Tony Blair that he will introduce amending legislation that will bring the policing arrangements up to the minimum threshold of Patten," said Mr McLaughlin.
Mr Trimble responded: "There can be no question of Sinn Féin with any integrity moving onto the Policing Board unless it has addressed its responsibilities to stop violence from republicans."
