THE UUP leader, Mr David Trimble, told the Northern Ireland Forum yesterday there should not now be any serious suggestion of introducing Sinn Fein into inter-party talks and the talks should continue in its absence.
In a debate on Queen Elizabeth's speech at the state opening of the British parliament, Mr Trimble said time would tell whether talks proceeding in the absence of Sinn Fein would be successful.
They, the unionists, had confidence in their ability and in their arguments. "Whether the talks succeed or not depends on the attitudes of all the parties concerned, and if it turns out that the Irish Government and Irish nationalists are not prepared to go on without Sinn Fein, then the responsibility for the failure of the talks will be theirs."
The leader of the UK Unionist Party, Mr Robert McCartney, criticised the declaration in the queen's speech that her government would maintain close and friendly relations with the Republic.
"What other government of a democratic state would declare its policy intention to maintain friendly relations with a foreign country which laid claim to part of its sovereign territory?
"The desire to maintain such friendly relations is only capable of explanation if it is accepted that the British government does not truly believe that Northern Ireland is, indeed, part of the sovereign territory of the United Kingdom."
Mr McCartney said the peace process was "not only past its `sell-by' date, but its creators should be prosecuted under the Trade Description Act for fraudulent misleading of the electorate".
He said all unionist parties rightly rejected the logic of equal recognition of traditions, which meant quite simply the immediate right of the Irish State to equal and joint authority with the UK over the territory of Northern Ireland.
The DUP leader, the Rev Ian Paisley, said the British Prime Minister was "in cahoots at this moment with the Republic's Government to try and find a way to get Sinn Fein into these talks". Mr Dick Spring was making the running and the British government was simply tagging along. There was no place for Sinn Fein at the talks and there was no place for any party that persisted in holding on to its murder weapons.
The Alliance leader, Lord Alderdice, said he believed there was little prospect of an IRA ceasefire soon. He did not think Sinn Fein had any interest in coming into the talks process now because he thought they were clear in their own minds that the talks process, as it was constructed, was unlikely to give them the outcome they wanted.