Northern Ireland Negotiations at Standstill

Britain's Prime Minister Gordon Brown sits beside his Irish counterpart Brian Cowen at a plenary session with the British and Irish governments at Hillsborough Castle in Belfast on Jan. 26. (Paul Faith/WPA Pool/Getty Images)

Three days of talks to forestall the collapse of Northern Ireland’s power-sharing government ended in deadlock yesterday.

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown and Ireland’s head of government, Brian Cowen, left the talks, giving Northern Ireland’s Democratic Unionist Party and Sinn Féin two days to reach a settlement on the transfer of policing and justice powers from Westminster to the Northern Ireland Assembly.

If the parties fail to reach an agreement, Brown and Cowen say they will publish their own proposals including a timeline for the transfer. Though talks are at a standstill Brown and Cowen were not defeated.

In a statement recorded by the BBC, Brown said, “We believe we can move forward,” and that the strength of Northern Ireland’s government will give “no leeway” to those who disrupt the peace process.