Northern Ireland Secretary Dr John Reid is today considering another suspension of the North's political institutions in the hope it would enable the IRA to move on disarmament.
Just hours after unionists joined nationalists in new policing structures, Dr Reid arranged talks with Sinn Féin president Mr Gerry Adams to discuss the ongoing crisis over policing and weapons decommissioning.
With the Assembly and power-sharing executive facing a midnight deadline tomorrow to elect new First and Deputy First Ministers, the British government was expected today to announce a one-day suspension of the institutions in an attempt to prevent them collapsing.
The one-day suspension will give the North's parties six weeks to build on Wednesday night's IRA statement in the hope that it will lead to disarmament.
But unionists dismissed the statement and are believed to favour a longer-term, indefinite suspension with a review of the Belfast Agreement.
Ulster Unionist leader Mr David Trimble is under pressure from some in his party to move to exclude Sinn Féin from government if there is a one-day suspension and then threaten to withdraw his ministers from the executive in a bid to force long-term suspension.
But British and Irish Government officials said the IRA's offer to intensify its disarmament talks could resolve the issue if unionists are prepared to give the process another six weeks.
Dr Reid, who will fly to Brussels this afternoon for talks with the Irish Government ahead of any move to protect the political institutions, was expected to also discuss policing with Sinn Féin's Mr Adams before leaving Belfast.
PA