David Trimble has said a merger between the Ulster Unionists and the Conservative Party is "not on the cards as things stand".

But he told the FT that talks on closer co-operation continue. "I have made no secret of the fact that I want to see Ulster Unionists at the heart of British politics," he said.

The Telegraph reports that Iain Duncan Smith would like to see the alliance between the two parties strengthened and that Trimble may be preparing an "exit strategy" in case he is forced out of Ulster politics.