Unionist leaders have demanded action from the government following last month's alleged IRA kidnapping.

David Trimble called for an urgent meeting on Monday with the Northern Ireland secretary to discuss what action should be taken following the attempted abduction last month of Bobby Tohill, a leader republican opponent of Sinn Fein.

The Democratic Unionists demanded for Sinn Fein to be frozen out of any future devolved government and the current review of the Good Friday Agreement.

Speaking last Wednesday in the Commons, the Ulster Unionist leader accused the government of "rank moral cowardice", threatening to walk out of the ongoing review of the Good Friday agreement unless action was taken.

"You know what the police have said, you know what the Irish government have said - I don't think there is very much doubt in this matter and we are getting the usual weasel words," Trimble said on Monday.

"I don't think anyone has any serious doubt as to what happened."

Chief constable of the Northern Ireland Police Service, Hugh Orde, said that members of the provisional IRA were behind the alleged incident, in which Tohill was found injured in the back of a van stopped in Belfast. Four men have been charged.

The British and Irish governments have delayed until tomorrow the latest talks on reviewing of the Good Friday Agreement which will now become a bid to put pressure on Sinn Fein.

The move followed the threat by Ulster Unionist leader David Trimble to lead his in a walk-out unless action was taken against Sinn Fein.

DUP leaders held a "significant" meeting with the nationalist SDLP and the Alliance Party at Stormont to propose forming a coalition to run a new Assembly.

"It is a meeting we have been trying to arrange for some time," said a spokesman.

The party also repeated its warning that it would only consider power sharingf with Sinn Fein if republican terrorist groups, including the IRA, completed the arms decommissioning.

Trimble warned the British and Irish governments would have to take action.

"During the original talks, we did have some guidelines and people gave commitments to the Mitchell Principles, and when there was a breach of that there were exclusions," he said.

"A loyalist-related party was excluded because of actions of loyalist paramilitaries and Sinn Fein was excluded because of the actions of republican paramilitaries.

"That, I think, helped to bring about an agreement, because it demonstrated that the government was serious about getting people to act peacefully."