Unionists draw up Sinn Féin exclusion motion

The Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) has begun drawing up a motion to exclude Sinn Féin from the Northern Ireland power-sharing executive.

The motion, which was tabled to be debated on Monday September 24, is expected to take up to three weeks before it reaches the floor of the Northern Ireland Assembly.

It has been reported that if the motion were defeated Mr Trimble and his ministers in the power-sharing executive would leave office.

Acting Deputy First Minister Seamus Mallon argued the weekend decision by the UUP to try to remove Sinn Féin ministers Martin McGuinness and Bairbre de Brún from the executive was against the spirit of the Belfast Agreement.

Speaking on BBC Radio Ulster he said: "At this stage in negotiations to have the type of proposed motion coming from the Ulster Unionist Party, in my view, will not in any way help to solve the problem of decommissioning.

"You cannot have exclusions of this nature and at the same time have the inclusivity of the Good Friday Agreement.”

Ulster Unionist economy minister and Acting First Minister Sir Reg Empey told the same programme his party’s move against Sinn Féin was a weapon of last resort. "We have done everything in our power. We have seen our efforts repudiated time and time again," he said.

The UUP decided to seek the expulsion of Sinn Féin from the power-sharing executive after Northern Ireland Secretary Dr John Reid suspended institutions for one day for the second time in six weeks in a bid to buy more time for movement from the IRA on disarmament.

Another exclusion motion by the Rev Ian Paisley's Democratic Unionists has been signed by 29 MLAs - just one short of the figure required for it to be debated.

He has asked, and been refused a meeting with Mr Trimble in which he said he would be asking him to sign up to their DUP exclusion motion. (AMcE)