The Ulster Unionist Party last night decided to seek legal advice to determine if an Ulster Unionist Council meeting, which opponents of Mr David Trimble want to convene for early next month, would be legally valid.
The UUP party officers in seeking legal opinion have postponed until next week a decision on whether the meeting can be legally called.
Most of the party officers including Mr Trimble and his chief internal opponent Mr Jeffrey Donaldson were gathered at party headquarters in east Belfast last night. Opponents of Mr Trimble want the UUC meeting to convene to discuss a motion calling for the lifting of disciplinary proceedings against Mr Donaldson and two other MPs, Mr David Burnside and the Rev Martin Smyth, who resigned the party whip at Westminster.
Unionist sources also said that Mr Trimble was prepared to pre-empt this latest threat to his leadership by convening himself a UUC meeting for early next month, effectively seeking support for his pro-Belfast Agreement policies and leadership.
As the Donaldson and Trimble camps try to gain advantage over each other they continued to advertise that they saw little point in seeking a compromise.
Although some Ulster Unionists feel Sir Reg Empey could serve as a middle-ground candidate for the leadership, the pro- and anti-Belfast agreement blocs of the party appear intent on a battle to the finish.
Sir Reg Empey and fellow Belfast councillor Mr Jim Rodgers, who in recent weeks were attempting to broker a deal between the disputing sides, were due to meet Mr Donaldson on Tuesday. However, that meeting was rendered pointless when, to the surprise of Sir Reg and Mr Rodgers, they learned that Donaldson supporters had already lodged the necessary 60 signatories with party HQ to try to call yet another UUC meeting.
Both Donaldson and Trimble supporters appeared happy to portray this as a move to undermine the Empey-Rodgers mediation efforts, and equally to try to puncture any leadership ambitions Sir Reg may be harbouring - notwithstanding Sir Reg's insistence he was acting purely in aid of Ulster Unionism.
Former UUP minister Mr Michael McGimpsey went on the offensive against Mr Trimble's internal opponents yesterday, saying he was dismayed they were intent on convening another UUC.
This was letting the IRA "off the hook" on its requirement to cease all paramilitary activity, he said. "It seems that every time the republican movement is cornered some unionists can't but help step in and construct an escape hatch for them. This cannot be allowed to continue.
"All unionists need to be reminded of how far we have come and how tantalisingly close we are to forcing republicans to stand down their private army and dump arms," Mr McGimpsey said.
Ahead of next month's UUC meeting the British government is expected to announce the formation of the International Monitoring Commission, comprising four members, one each nominated by the Government and US administration, and two nominated by the British government, with one of them from Northern Ireland.
Mr Donaldson has protested that this would give Dublin an unacceptable role in Northern Ireland affairs because the Government would have a say in potentially imposing sanctions against Assembly members.
London, however, is expected to announce modifications to the commission so that Mr Trimble can argue that the Government will have no such role.
Such a move would provide some assistance for Mr Trimble ahead of the forthcoming UUC.
