In his farewell speech as Ulster Unionist leader yesterday, David Trimble urged the British and Irish governments to adopt a less "indulgent" approach to the republican movement.

Trimble's exit coincided with the arrival in Belfast of the new secretary of state, Peter Hain, who promised that achieving a lasting peace in Northern Ireland would be a priority of Labour's third term.

"I want to work very actively," Hain said.

"The prime minister told me on Friday night when he appointed me it was an absolute priority for him. We are determined to take it forward and you just need to rebuild trust."

Ian Paisley's Democratic Unionist Party took nine out of the province's 18 seats in the election.

The Ulster Unionists lost five seats in the general election, including Trimble's in Upper Bann.

"Rather sadly my view would be that the unionist electorate who voted the way they did last Thursday are voting for a stalemate," Trimble said.

On the attitude of the British and Irish governments to Sinn Féin, he added: "I don't think that republicans have yet realised that they will have to disband the private army and government isn't making it clear to them that they must.

"The reluctance of government to use the terms which I have just used is in itself a mistake.

"The fact that government is still not putting pressure on the republic movement is also a mistake. Peter Hain will be a failure unless he changes his approach."

Meanwhile, DUP MEP Jim Allister yesterday used his parliamentary privilege to name three possible suspects in the controversial Robert McCartney murder case.