Britain's top army officers are hopeful that troops could start to pull out of Northern Ireland by Christmas.

General Sir Mike Jackson, chief of the general staff, told the Times that it was "quite possible" that the trigger for the Army's "normalisation" process in Ulster could come "this side of Christmas".

Senior military and civil service officials believe there are signs that the Provisional IRA is preparing a statement on the "end of the war".

Meanwhile, SDLP leader Mark Durkan has urged the prime minister to put pressure on unionists to agree to the early transfer of policing and justice powers to Stormont under any deal to restore devolution.