Gordon Brown stays in Ulster as peace process hangs in the balance

Crisis talks to save the Northern Ireland peace process were on a knife-edge this afternoon.

Gordon Brown and Irish premier Brian Cowen were up beyond 3am today in meetings — with more talks after they managed to get some sleep.

Democratic Unionist Party leader Peter Robinson emerged just before lunch to say it was too soon to say if a deal could be struck.

At stake is the prospect of a collapse of the power-sharing executive caused by wrangling over law and order policy.

Mr Brown's spokesman said: "It was hard going but the parties engaged in good faith. There was frank discussion across a range of issues."

The Prime Minister delayed his planned return to London this afternoon, suggesting that he was hopeful of a breakthrough.

Sinn Fein's Gerry Adams and deputy first minister Martin McGuinness arrived in one delegation, with Mr Robinson leading for the DUP despite the crisis over his wife's affair with a teenager.

Republicans want the power-sharing executive to have full control over justice and policing, which some Unionists say would endanger the neutrality of the law and order system.