An Ulster Unionist Party member of the suspended Northern Ireland Executive, Sir Reg Empey, said yesterday he could not predict whether the Ulster Unionist Council would meet tomorrow week.
He said the party was still seeking clarification from the British government on aspects of last Saturday's IRA statement. In an implicit reference to Patten and the British flag, he added that there were "other matters" that also demanded answers.
"We are working to having the institutions restored on Monday week, but there are questions that we have been asking that demand answers before that can happen," Sir Reg said.
The UUP deputy leader, Mr John Taylor, whose declared support for the Hillsborough blueprint was welcomed by the governments as a boost for the prospects of the deal being endorsed by the council, also sounded a note of caution.
In a letter in yesterday's London Times, he sought assurances that the British Union flag would continue to fly from government buildings on designated days.
Mr Taylor, who was in Strasbourg yesterday, also told the BBC that the odds of the Hillsborough proposals being passed had dropped from 90 per cent to 60 per cent as a result of concerns over issues such as the flying of the flag and policing.
He, too, cast doubt on whether the council would meet tomorrow week. "You don't call a council meeting unless you are satisfied that you are in a position to recommend something. As far as I am concerned I would be no way in a position to recommend anything at the moment," Mr Taylor said.
Sinn Fein's chief negotiator, Mr Martin McGuinness, warned the Ulster Unionists against trying to win more concessions from the British government.
"That would be a serious mistake in our view, and it would be a serious blunder on behalf of the British government to do anything which would in any way dilute the strength of the Good Friday agreement," he added.
The DUP deputy leader, Mr Peter Robinson, was dismissive of Mr Taylor's comments, particularly his focus on the flag. He said Mr Taylor was already aware the British government was prepared to concede this demand.
"Does he really believe that the restoration of flying the flag on half-a-dozen days in the year is a worthy substitute for the destruction of the RUC, the setting up of all-Ireland bodies, the release of terrorist prisoners and placing the representatives of unrepentant and armed terror into our government?" Mr Robinson asked.
The Co Antrim Grand Orange Lodge yesterday rejected the IRA statement because it fell "far short of no guns, no government".
"In return for the very little given by Sinn Fein/IRA, we anticipate further major concessions to republicanism," it said in a statement.
