Brown meets leaders in N Ireland

It is the first British Irish Council [BIC] meeting to be held at Stormont, hosted by Northern Ireland First Minister the Rev Ian Paisley and Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness.

As well as leaders of the Scottish and Welsh assemblies, the summit will also be attended by the leaders of the administrations in the Isle of Man, Jersey and Guernsey.

The event is being staged the day before the first meeting of the North-South Ministerial Council in Armagh since the return of devolution to Belfast.

Mr Paisley's Democratic Unionist Party insisted there needed to be a British-Irish meeting before he would attend a North-South meeting. They argue the so-called east-west relationship has become the poor relation of the North-South body.

Both were set up under the Good Friday Agreement and the BIC job is to focus on policy areas where the UK administrations and the Irish government could co-operate.

Each leader will give a report to the meeting on progress on their allotted speciality. Issues being examined include drugs abuse, environment, tourism, transport, the knowledge economy, social inclusion and minority languages.

For Scottish First Minister Alex Salmond it will be a second visit to Stormont in a matter of weeks.

Last month the SNP leader agreed with Mr Paisley and Mr McGuinness areas where their administrations in Belfast and Edinburgh could co-operate.

The also discussed working together with Welsh First Minister Rhodri Morgan's Assembly on issues which they could jointly lobby the Westminster government.