'No further' Northern Ireland executive meetings amid crisis over IRA

There will be no further meetings of Northern Ireland's power-sharing executive - unless there are "exceptional" circumstances - amid a political crisis over the alleged shooting of a man by the Provisional IRA.

Northern Ireland's First Minister Peter Robinson has said "business will not be as usual" until the situation is resolved "satisfactorily".

Father-of-nine Kevin McGuigan was shot outside his home in Belfast, last month, in what is believed to be a revenge attack.

Mr Robinson added: "In my view the Assembly is not fit for purpose as it stands today.

"Leaving aside the issue of the Kevin McGuigan murder it still wasn't fit for purpose. So, those issues have to be resolved.

"Unless those issues are resolved we will not have a functioning Assembly and we made it very clear without a resolution to these matters in the talks process our ministers' resignations will follow."

Crisis talks led by the British and Irish governments are due to begin at Stormont on Tuesday.

Northern Ireland's First Minister Peter Robinson has said there will be "no further" meetings of its power-sharing executive until the political crisis over the IRA is resolved.

The Democratic Unionists had failed in a bid for a four-week adjournment of the Assembly after police said members of the Provisional IRA shot a man dead in East Belfast.

But Mr Robinson said it could not be business as usual as members return from their summer break today.