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No agreement after policing talks No agreement after policing talks
(39 minutes later)
The first and deputy first ministers have left Downing Street after talks with the prime minister about the devolution of policing and justice. Peter Robinson has said he and Martin McGuinness have made progress in their discussions with Gordon Brown over a budget for policing and justice.
Peter Robinson and Martin McGuinness told reporters that progress had been made, but there was still no overall agreement on a budget. The talks on devolving the powers will continue on Wednesday in New York where the first and deputy first ministers are to attend an economic conference.
They also said they would have further talks with Gordon Brown in New York on Wednesday. Monday's talks at Downing Street lasted for about two hours.
Talks last Wednesday ended without an overall package being agreed. Afterwards, Mr Robinson and Mr McGuinness gave separate news conferences.
Ahead of Monday's meeting, Mr McGuinness said it was important for the DUP and Sinn Fein to reach a deal now as there would not be a better one in the future. Mr Robinson said they discussed a wide range of issues but no overall deal had been agreed.
"We expect Gordon Brown to do the right thing by finance and believe there is responsibility on us to strike a deal," said the Sinn Fein MP. He said there was still more work to do and he would now be having discussions with party colleagues.
The two men were expected to ask Mr Brown if he was prepared to fund a budget shortfall estimated to be about £600m. The deputy first minister, Mr McGuinness, said progress was significant and he was hopeful a deal could be concluded on Wednesday
Officials have been working over the summer on the figures but sources in Belfast said the Treasury has not narrowed the gap sufficiently. Meanwhile, the Conservative Party's Northern Ireland spokesman, Owen Paterson, warned his party would not give any guarantees about the funding of policing and justice powers.
The Conservative Party's Northern Ireland spokesman, Owen Paterson, warned his party would not give any guarantees about the funding of policing and justice powers.
Mr Robinson had called on Tory leader David Cameron to approve any financial package offered by the prime minister, saying there was no point agreeing a package with one government when another might take over.Mr Robinson had called on Tory leader David Cameron to approve any financial package offered by the prime minister, saying there was no point agreeing a package with one government when another might take over.