The SDLP have reacted angrily to today's announcement by the two UUP MPs, Jeffery Donaldson and David Burnside, in which they said that they no longer support the continuing efforts of the Irish and British Government to try to establish a lasting peace in the North.
The deputy leader of the SDLP, Seamus Mallon, attacked the two MPs and accused them of promoting personal ambitions at the expense of the people of Northern Ireland.
Both men made the surprise statement today and the move has come as a major blow to the leadership of David Trimble and to the peace process.