Ulster Unionist Party leader Mr David Trimble was warned today his party could "implode" if he continued to pursue a "vendetta" against his critics.
In an angry speech to Orange Order members in Co Down, Lagan Valley MP Mr Jeffrey Donaldson claimed his party leader was risking destroying the UUP by refusing to take on board criticism of his policies.
Just 24 hours after supporters of Mr Trimble moved to discipline three rebels, including Mr Donaldson, who have resigned the party whip at Westminster the Lagan Valley MP warned their actions could result in an "irreconcilable split" in the Ulster Unionist Party.
"David Trimble has refused to reject the joint declaration," he told Orangemen in his constituency attending the July 12th demonstration in Hillsborough.
"In so doing he has split his party down the middle and is now embarked on a vendetta against those who oppose his high-risk policy.
"Once again he refuses to listen to our advice or to properly address our concerns - concerns we know are shared by a vast majority of unionists.
"I regret that I have used this platform to say these things but the issues are too serious to be ignored.
"There is now a real danger that unless David Trimble revises his position and draws back from the brink that the Ulster Unionist Party will implode and lose its position as the majority voice in unionism.
"If David Trimble insists on pursuing a course of action that will result in three of his MPs being thrown out of the party because of their principled stand, then the inevitable consequence of such action will be a formal and irreconcilable split in the party."
Ulster Unionist Party officers decided yesterday by six votes to three to initiate fresh disciplinary proceedings against Mr Donaldson, UUP president the Reverend Martin Smyth and Mr David Burnside after a previous bid to suspend the MPs was overturned in Belfast's High Court.
Mr Donaldson said today he and his colleagues were taking a principled stand against a political process which had seen Sinn Féin enter government before an act of decommissioning had taken place.
He claimed republicans, as he predicted, had corrupted the democratic process by serving as devolved ministers while the IRA gathered intelligence on and targeted politicians, prison officers, police and senior British army personnel.
"The Joint Declaration proposes a significant role for the Irish Government in the internal affairs of Northern Ireland Assembly," the rebel MP declared.
"This represents a clear breach of a fundamental unionist principle and is an affront to democracy.
"The declaration is also linked to a proposal to grant an effective amnesty to IRA terrorists who are 'on the run' from justice. Again this proposal fundamentally undermines the rule of law in Northern Ireland and is an insult to the innocent victims of IRA terrorism.
"On these two issues alone the joint declaration should be rejected as a way forward by all right-thinking unionists."
PA