Tony Blair is set to launch a fresh round of Northern Ireland talks.

The prime minister was working with the Irish Taoiseach Bertie Ahern over the weekend to bring the Northern Ireland parties to Downing Street this week.

Blair will hold a series of separate meetings in a bid to break the deadlock over the future of the Northern Ireland Assembly.

The exact day has yet to be decided as there are a series of votes in the EU parliament which will require key members of several delegations.

The result saw the DUP - which is opposed to the Good Friday Agreement - become the largest party in the Northern Ireland assembly.

Sinn Fein overtook the SDLP to become the largest nationalist group.

The DUP is refusing to hold talks with Sinn Fein and as a result there have been no elections for leader and deputy leader of the Assembly.

Officials say the meetings will be used to assess the chances of brokering any kind of deal.

Northern Ireland secretary Paul Murphy has hinted that the issues could be built into the review of the Good Friday Agreement due next year.