Ulster Unionists could walk out of talks to restore devolution over moves to keep cross-border bodies functioning.
After an hour-long meeting with the Northern Ireland Secretary Mr Paul Murphy at Stormont, Ulster Unionist leader Mr David Trimble denounced recent Dáil legislation aimed at maintaining the North-South implementation bodies.
The British-Irish Agreement (Amendment) Bill 2002 introduced by the Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, in the Dáil two weeks ago was passed to allow the Government to assume joint control of the six bodies after the suspension of power sharing. The UUP says the arrangement was for the governments to "maintain" the bodies but not make policy decisions.
Emerging form the talks with Mr Murphy this evening, Mr Trimble said staff in the Northern Ireland Office had been "duped" and warned his party would walk out of the current round of talks aimed at restoring power sharing if the matter was not resolved.
Senior Ulster Unionists told The Irish Timesthe legislation is a "unilateral" amendment of the Belfast Agreement, that appears to "bypass the principle of consent".
The party has taken legal advice and will raise the matter in talks with the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr Cowen, on Wednesday.