Mr David Trimble has urged the three dissident Ulster Unionist MPs who were threatening a "split in the party" to unite behind party policy on the basis that the proposed Independent Monitoring Commission (IMC) will not give Dublin a role in Northern Ireland affairs.
His appeal appeared to fall on deaf ears, however, as his chief internal opponent, Mr Jeffrey Donaldson, insisted the Government would have a say in Northern matters through the IMC, part of whose function is to adjudicate on the state of the IRA and loyalist ceasefires.
In the event of the restoration of devolution the IMC will also have a role in suggesting sanctions against Sinn Féin ministers in the executive should the IRA be judged to be engaged in paramilitary activity.
The IMC, due to be ratified in the autumn, was part of the Hillsborough Joint Declaration and was largely created to satisfy unionists that if the IRA persisted with paramilitary activity Sinn Féin would be penalised in the executive and possibly also in the assembly.
The IMC will have four members, one each appointed by the US and Irish governments, and two appointed by the British government.
The Irish and US appointees are a retired senior civil servant, Mr Joseph Brosnan, and a former senior CIA officer, Mr Richard Kerr.
To try to reassure unionists the Northern Secretary, Mr Paul Murphy, insisted that the British members of the IMC - the former speaker in the assembly, Lord Alderdice, and a retired Scotland Yard officer, Mr John Grieve - would only deal with issues relating to Strand One matters.
"Where matters referred to the commission relate to the operation of the institutional arrangements under Strand One of the Belfast Agreement they will be considered only by those members appointed by the British government," said Mr Murphy.
The IMC will have three functions: to monitor and report on paramilitary activity; to investigate alleged breaches of pledges of office by executive minister or assembly parties; and to check that in the event of IRA acts of completion the British government is proceeding with demilitarisation.
Trimble supporters hope this announcement will boost the Ulster Unionist leader's chances of withstanding the effective challenge to his leadership from the Donaldson wing of the party at tomorrow's Ulster Unionist Council meeting in Belfast.
Mr Trimble welcomed the announcement and said three of the members - Mr Brosnan, Mr Grieve and Mr Kerr - had detailed knowledge of paramilitarism, while the Northern Ireland appointee, Lord Alderdice, was someone "who could reflect the views of the community.
It was now clear that Dublin would not be involved in Strand One issues, he said.
He therefore hoped that Mr Donaldson, Mr David Burnside and the Rev Martin Smyth who opposed the IMC for fear of Dublin involvement in Northern Ireland matters and who resigned the party whip at Westminster in opposition to the Hillsborough Declaration would now reapply to resume the whip and accept party policy as endorsed by the UUC.
"I would hope that they would see that the problem they thought was there has now been tackled, and I would hope they would take the opportunity now to reconsider their position because the concerns we were told were so important that they had to threaten a split in the party, those concerns have now been met entirely," said Mr Trimble.
He appeared to offer something of an olive branch to the three MPs, saying: "Those who called Saturday's meeting now owe the rest of us a duty to reflect. If any of those concerned want to have a chat with me about how we can deal with the situation they are welcome."
Mr Donaldson, however, said it was absolutely clear that the Government and its appointee, Mr Brosnan, would have a crucial role in determining whether ministers or parties had broken the pledge of office to abide by exclusively peaceful and democratic means.
"That allows the Irish Government and its nominee to have a major say in terms of monitoring the behaviour of parties and ministers while there is a fudge concerning other terms of the ministerial pledge of office," he said.
