61.   Protestant unionist leaders refused to meet Sinn Fein at all.

62.   Protestant unionist politicians quickly accused Sinn Fein President Gerry Adams of throwing away the only explicit deadline in the landmark Good Friday agreement reached two years ago.

63.   That objection was shared by the Protestant unionists in Northern Ireland, despite their loathing for the IRA.

64.   The elections were initially proposed by Protestant unionist leaders, who said this would confirm that everyone at the table had a public mandate.

65.   The embattled band of Protestant unionists from Northern Ireland sat glumly in the House of Commons surrounded by hostility and disdain.

66.   The Irish government welcomed the move, supporters of the IRA said the gesture was too timid, but a Protestant unionist leader called it excessive.

67.   The Protestant unionist parties had demanded some commitment on disarmament before Sinn Fein joined the talks.

68.   Their anger was echoed by leaders of the Protestant unionist factions in Northern Ireland.

69.   Wilson insisted the attackers did not represent popular opinion in Larne, which has seen sporadic sectarian violence between Catholic nationalists and pro-British Protestant unionists for years.

70.   It is generally accepted, however, that the British government and the Protestant unionists will require some gesture of disarmament.