Weapons rebuff for Trimble

Loyalist paramilitary leaders last night rejected an appeal by David Trimble, the Ulster Unionist leader, to begin unilaterally handing over their weapons before the IRA to move the peace process forward.

Mr Trimble contacted the Loyalist paramilitaries to begin the process, hoping to put pressure on the IRA to end its refusal to give up some of its weapons.

Gerry Adams, the president of Sinn Fein, welcomed the move but refused to give any commitment that the IRA would follow suit. Mr Adams said: "If he can do that, it will be very welcome, because the more guns that are taken out of this situation, the better.

"Perhaps, he should talk to British military intelligence, who put most of the guns into loyalist hands."

But last night Gary Mc-Michael of the Ulster Democratic Party said: "His analysis is a non-runner and there is no question of any form of a physical gesture on decommissioning ahead of the IRA. Not while the Provisionals remain fully operational and at full capacity.

"Mr Trimble's approach was discussed, but discounted immediately. It was seen as an attempt to try and manipulate the paramilitary organisations They have had enough bitter experiences of that in the past, and they were not prepared to fall into another trap."

The moves came as momentum was building for an Ulster Unionist proposal to hold elections next year in Northern Ireland to appoint the teams to the all-party negotiations. Mr Major signalled in the Commons last week the importance he attached to the idea, which was in the Major-Bruton summit accord.

Mo Mowlam, Labour's Northern Ireland spokeswoman, at the weekend said it could provide Sinn Fein with a passport to the all-party talks. John Hume, the Social Democratic and Labour Party leader, who will meet Mr Trimble today for talks, sounded sceptical yesterday, but ministers believe that elections could act as a catalyst for progress if no movement has been made on arms by the deadline at the end of February next year.

George Mitchell, a former Democratic leader of the United States Senate, is to sit with two other members of the international advisory body on decommissioning, Finland's former Conservative Prime Minister, Harri Holkeri, and Canada's defence chief, General John de Chastelain. Their report has to be ready by mid-January

In spite of Sinn Fein's manoeuvring, it is moving towards accepting the twin-track peace process of preparatory talks and the decommissioning body set up by John Major and John Bruton, the Irish Prime Minister.

Mr Adams said Sinn Fein would be seeking to make the initiative work. "The test of any twin-track process is its ability to remove all preconditions. Unless they are removed, it's useless."

He said that he had contacted both Senator George Mitchell, who is heading the decommissioning body, and the Dublin government at the weekend after the call by President Bill Clinton in Dublin for the paramilitaries to accept the twin-track initiative with a warning that the day was over for the men of violence.