Suspension of the Northern Ireland Executive as a result of the decommissioning impasse would be "very welcome news indeed", the DUP leader, the Rev Ian Paisley, has told The Irish Times.
"We were told we could never break it [the Belfast Agreement] down, and it is now crumbling. We are succeeding in our campaign. We are pleased the whole thing is crumbling. That's what we are out to do. We want it to crumble and crumble in such a way that they [the British government] will have to start again and plan it democratically", Dr Paisley said during the DUP's Young Democrats conference in Belfast on Saturday.
Commenting on speculation that the Executive could exist in shadow form while the Northern Secretary conducted another political review, Dr Paisley said such an option could present problems for the British government.
"They will have a good few difficulties in setting up a shadow executive, both legislatively and otherwise. It can't come in by a draft order, but will require legislation.
"The first shadow executive was a ploy to get Sinn Fein in without upsetting the unionist people, saying to them that it will only be in shadow form until the IRA decommissions. This time they would bring it in as a sort of holding operation. But how long can it hold? We don't know."
Dr Paisley said that he expected nothing from Gen John de Chastelain's progress report on decommissioning. But he was concerned that the British government was trying to shift the goalposts on the subject.
"Now they say the question is not whether decommissioning has commenced, but whether the Secretary of State is convinced it is likely to commence. Now, that has changed the whole thing. But they won't get away with that, nor will Mr Trimble get away with that in his own party. He may try to fudge the issue, but then his party will split," the DUP leader claimed.
The British government wanted to save the UUP leader at all costs and would not accept his resignation. Referring to Mr Seamus Mallon's reversed resignation, he said that the Northern Secretary, Mr Mandelson, could do the same for Mr Trimble.
"Mr Trimble had a lot of very big bargaining chips - the prisoners' issue, the police issue - and he threw them away. His back is now against the wall and they are going to try and save him . . . Mr Trimble wants to be able to say to people `I wanted to resign, I did resign, but the British government didn't accept my resignation'."
Asked if the two DUP ministers would resign along with their UUP colleagues, Dr Paisley said that his party was entitled to its ministerial positions on account of its electoral mandate. The DUP would never hand any additional seats to Sinn Fein by resigning prematurely.
"We took those seats under our own conditions and we are doing the best for the people, the environment and in social areas, and we will continue to do that. We are not going to hand away that power until we see what the situation is going to be", Dr Paisley added.