Executive Meeting Demanded By Other Parties

There's disappointment this afternoon as what was widely billed as a vital 'crunch meeting' of the Stormont Executive failed to take place.

Ulster Unionist and SDLP Ministers have since held a joint news conference demanding that the Northern Ireland Executive does indeed sit down and actually meet.

Sir Reg Empey, Michael McGimpsey and Margaret Ritchie all complained that the DUP and Sinn Fein deadlock was delaying vital decisions on anti-suicide policies and on fuel poverty.

The top NI Government body has not formally met since June, as a result of the standoff between the DUP and Sinn Fein - mainly over the transfer of policing and Justice powers from the Northern Ireland Office to local politicians.

Despite a very high profile visit by the Prime Minister Gordon Brown this week, which he used to urge the devolution of policing and justice powers to the NI Executive, on Wednesday night, a very public row between the First and Deputy First Ministers broke out.

This followed an exchange of letters over issues that were to have been dealt with at the now stymied meeting.

Deputy Martin McGuinness wrote to First Minister Peter Robinson to say that fuel poverty handouts could be introduced by "some means outside the remit of the Executive", without necessitating a meeting of the ruling body.

However, Mr Robinson then replied that it would be an "inappropriate misuse of procedure" to do so.

But, the fuel poverty package could still be approved in the absence of the Executive meeting.

If it does, the initiative, proposed by Social Development Minister Margaret Ritchie, would include a £200 cut in electricity bills for tens of thousands of vulnerable households.

However, in the absence of the Sinn Fein representatives, informal talks are likely to go ahead between DUP, Ulster Unionist and SDLP Ministers.

See: Troubled PM Pushes For Assembly Policing Role

(BMcC)