Mr David Trimble is today meeting the British Defence Secretary, Mr Geoff Hoon, seeking assurances that the home element of the Royal Irish Regiment will not be disbanded.
Doubts over the future of three local battalions of the RIR numbering 3,000 troops created an opportunity for Lagan Valley MP Mr Jeffrey Donaldson to call an Ulster Unionist Council meeting for next Monday.
Mr Donaldson expanded the nature of the UUC gathering to table a motion demanding a flat rejection of the Hillsborough Joint Declaration. This has been interpreted by many Donaldson and Trimble supporters as an effective leadership challenge.
As part of Mr Trimble's efforts to resist this threat, the UUP's 110-member executive on Friday approved by a large majority a motion demanding that the home RIR be retained.
Mr Hoon is expected to provide such assurances to Mr Trimble when they meet today. A statement to this effect is expected shortly, according to reliable sources. None the less Mr Donaldson is insisting the UUC meets in Belfast on Monday to vote on his motion rejecting the joint declaration. He signalled that he would quit the UUP if the motion failed.
Mr David Burnside, a senior ally of Mr Donaldson, however urged him not to resign from the party if the vote goes against him.
Mr Burnside said he would be supporting the Donaldson motion. While he would remain in the UUP irrespective of the outcome of the meeting, Mr Burnside said that "post-Trimble and post-Paisley" the UUP and DUP should unite in one party.
There were certainly no indications of any retirement plans from DUP leader the Rev Ian Paisley yesterday. He insisted that no unionist could tolerate the joint declaration.
The SDLP leader, Mr Mark Durkan, said after his meeting in Dublin yesterday with the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr Cowen, that the British and Irish governments must press ahead with the implementation of the declaration and not be "simply spectators at another internal heave in the UUP".
Mr Durkan said the governments must inject impetus into the political process. "It is not enough for the governments to say that they want elections in the autumn. They have to engage in every effort to make this happen."
