Trimble accuses Blair of 'uncertainty' in Northern Ireland peace process

David Trimble attacked Tony Blair for his handling of the crisis-hit Northern Ireland peace process on Wednesday, accusing him of "slithering into appeasement" of the IRA.

He won rapturous applause after criticising the Government for "uncertainty and failing to grasp the nettle" in the province despite its resolute stance against Osama bin Laden. Mr Trimble told the Conservative Party Conference in Blackpool that Mr Blair had made a "good beginning" in Northern Ireland. But he warned: "Then came the implementation. He left much of that process to other people."

He told delegates that Ulster Unionist Party ministers would withdraw from the province's power-sharing executive "by about this time next week" if the IRA failed to start decommissioning its weapons.

His stance was backed by Quentin Davies, the shadow Northern Ireland Secretary, who accused the Sinn Fein leader, Gerry Adams, of "hypocrisy" and attacked the Government for giving too many concessions to republicans.

Mr Trimble denied his party had threatened to pull out of the Northern Ireland executive to exploit the mood in the aftermath of terrorist attacks on America. But he criticised the Government for failing to act with the same resolve in Northern Ireland as in the fight against international terror.

He said: "If the response to bin Laden and the Taliban is clear cut, unfortunately in Northern Ireland, the position is not so clear.We can go back over the last few years and say we would have liked this or that done differently. But the point today is that I and my party are now bringing matters to a head in order to force Sinn Fein and the IRA to decide."

Mr Davies told delegates that Britain must make no distinction between terrorists in Northern Ireland and abroad and called for action to halt funding for Irish terror groups from the US. He also condemned Gerry Adams for describing the IRA as "freedom fighters" but insisted the peace process must be allowed to continue.