Disciplinary action against three rebel Ulster Unionist MPs could "wreck" the party, it was warned today.
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South Antrim MP Mr David Burnside, who is one of the rebels facing disciplinary action, said before a meeting between Mr David Trimble and party members in the constituency that the leadership risked confrontation with some of its biggest contituency organisations.
"If disciplinary action is taken against the Rev Martin Smith, Jeffrey Donaldson and myself...it will tear us asunder and it will make us incapable of winning an election for the Assembly or Europe or the next Westminster one," he said. "It should be dropped, forgotten about and we should unite on policy."
The three MPs have been facing disciplinary action since resigning the whip at Westminster in June in a row over policy.
The trio had hoped that Ulster Unionists would have rejected proposals from the British and Irish governments for the implementation of the Belfast Agreement.
However, their protest action has sparked a bitter internal feud within the party. Ulster Unionist party officers last night decided that a meeting of the 900-member ruling council should go ahead next month to discuss the disciplinary action.
However, party leader Mr Trimble today played down the decision and said he hoped that it would finally put to rest the divisions within the party over policy.
Mr Trimble has been engaged in a series of meetings with rank and file members of the UUP across Northern Ireland, briefing them on the current state of the peace process. He met East Antrim constituency association members in Carrickfergus earlier today.
However, the meetings have been dismissed by some critics within the party as a stunt. They have accused supporters of Mr Trimble of organising meetings without the knowledge of some of his strongest critics.
Mr Burnside said he was unaware of today's meeting in his constituency until he was contacted by a journalist. Lagan Valley MP Mr Jeffrey Donaldson also has not been invited to a meeting in his constituency in Lisburn.