N Ireland Secretary: 'This is not the end of the road'
Talks have broken down between the five political parties in Northern Ireland.
Andy Martin, BBC Ireland correspondent, told Today's Evan Davis: "There were high expectations of this process in the hours leading up to the collapse of these talks - there was a great deal of optimism from the political parties. They felt there was a chance a deal could have been brokered."
Northern Ireland Secretary Theresa Villiers said she was hopeful of further progress being made in the longer term: "This is not the end of the road, it is important that we build on the progress that has been made."
She continued: "I think it's positive that it was a process put together by the Northern Ireland political leadership... and not the UK or Northern Ireland governments."
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4's Today programme on Tuesday 31 December 2013.
31 Dec 2013
- From the section Northern Ireland