Speaking after a meeting with An Taoiseach yesterday the North's Deputy First Minister
Martin McGuinness said that a date for the devolution of policing and justice powers to the Stormont Executive must be set before Christmas, with the transfer of powers to follow early in the New Year. McGuinness also claimed that Brian Cowen's backing for Sinn Féin's position that the imposition of preconditions for the devolution of these powers was unacceptable. Cowen will meet Gordon Brown in London tomorrow to discuss the Stormont impasse.
Meanwhile at a commemoration in Dunloy, County Antrim, Sinn Féin national chairperson
Declan Kearney accused the DUP of pursuing a train-wreck strategy and said that all the evidence showed that the unionist party had no intention of allowing the transfer of policing and justice powers to the Executive. Responding to the latest pronouncements from Sinn Féin North Down DUP MLA Peter Weir reiterated that his party would not be bullied by what he termed sabre-rattling.
My money's on a spring election.