Northern Ireland�s power-sharing government seemed set for crisis yesterday after Sinn Fein signalled a crucial cabinet meeting planned for Thursday was unlikely to proceed.

Northern Ireland's power-sharing government seemed set for crisis yesterday after Sinn Fein signalled a crucial cabinet meeting planned for Thursday was unlikely to proceed.

Gordon Brown is due to meet political parties for talks in Belfast tomorrow and it was hoped the Prime Minister's arrival would coincide with confirmation that Sinn Fein and the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) had made progress on the issues dividing them.

However, the scene now seems set for increased political tension.

The two parties are split on a range of issues and while the most serious is the devolution of policing and justice powers to the assembly, their dispute also includes education reform, promotion of the Irish language and the future of the Maze prison site.

The Northern Ireland Executive has not met since June. Senior Sinn Fein Assembly member John O'Dowd said yesterday that his party was unlikely to agree to holding a meeting planned for Thursday because of insufficient progress in talks with the DUP.

"The final decision rests with the joint ministers of Martin McGuinness and Peter Robinson but in my opinion I do not believe there has been enough progress made towards partnership government for an executive meeting this week," he said.

The two parties are the largest in Northern Ireland and they dominate the cabinet table, as well as sharing the joint office of First and Deputy First Minister.