There was also nitrogen gas and other gases present and we had to establish that each of the gases which could ignite had been isolated."The furnace itself contained a large quantity of molten metal which could possibly have reacted if the conditions had been favourable.". The dissident Northern Ireland Assembly member Peter Weir was expelled from the Ulster Unionist Party yesterday for voting against David Trimble in the recent elections for the post of First Minister. The dissident Northern Ireland Assembly member Peter Weir was expelled from the Ulster Unionist Party yesterday for voting against David Trimble in the recent elections for the post of First Minister. Mr Weir was expelled after a disciplinary hearing in Belfast. A second dissident, Pauline Armitage, was suspended but escaped expulsion. The pair have been thorns in Mr Trimble's side for several years, often criticising him and withholding support in Assembly votes.The move is uncharacteristic in Unionist terms, since the party traditionally affords an extraordinary degree of leniency to critics within its ranks.

But after the Assembly vote last week, Mr Trimble accused both of being dishonourable.The rebels triggered a crisis in voting against their party leader, since their action meant he did not command the required majority of Unionist members of the Assembly. The centre-ground Alliance party was pressed into redesignating several of its members as Unionists to secure Mr Trimble's election.Mr Weir left yesterday's proceedings before the result was announced, saying he would not tolerate a "kangaroo court". He said: "There has been so much abuse of process over the past few days, I will not be party to anything but a fair trial."He said he had tried to stick by solid Unionist principle, adding: "I leave today with my head held high."Mrs Armitage said of the hearing: "We agreed to disagree. I still believe what I did was not detrimental to the party, but they had a different view, and that's life." She had earlier accused Mr Trimble of "single-handedly destroying the Union".Some in the party have argued that expulsions were inadvisable in that they, in effect, guaranteed a lessening of Mr Trimble's strength in the Assembly. Another view, however, was that there was in any event no realistic chance of securing Mr Weir's support..

The victims of the 11 September atrocities will be commemorated in special Remembrance Sunday ceremonies tomorrow as the Government seeks to reinforce public support for military action in Afghanistan. The victims of the 11 September atrocities will be commemorated in special Remembrance Sunday ceremonies tomorrow as the Government seeks to reinforce public support for military action in Afghanistan. In what the Royal British Legion said could be an annual event, those killed in the attacks on New York and Washington will be honoured as well as those lost in the two world wars.To underscore the links between the US and Britain, William Farish, the American ambassador, will become the first non-Commonwealth representative at the Cenotaph ceremony in London.Jack Straw, the Foreign Secretary, will also attend a remembrance ceremony in New York which will include representatives from all the nations who lost citizens in the attacks.The Cenotaph decision was revealed by Downing Street as it claimed Osama bin Laden was "losing" the propaganda war. In an attempt to maintain the momentum against the leader of al-Qa'ida, the Government announced it would publish next week an updated dossier of evidence implicating him in the events of 11 September.The Royal British Legion said the decision to remember the victims of 11 September alongside the war dead followed spontaneous gestures of remembrance from the public in the past week.Of the 15,000 crosses in the Legion's Field of Remembrance in St Margaret's Church in Westminster, a "substantial number" have had the words "New York, Washington, 11 Sept ember" added by the public.An annual official recognition of the 11 September victims at the Cenotaph was "very much in the realms of possibility", the Legion's spokesman said."This year, there will be an added poignancy as we remember not only those who died in the service of their country in the First and Second World Wars and in more than 70 conflicts since 1945, but also those who lost their lives as a result of terrorism," he said. "With our armed forces once again facing active service, this time in Afghanistan ... people are wearing their poppies with extra pride."Alastair Campbell, Tony Blair's communications director, said Remembrance Sunday was "a fitting time to explain why we are engaged" in Afghanistan. "We see this as an important moment and time to remember why we are engaged in the cause against bin Laden and al-Qa'ida and those who shelter them."Tomorrow is the first time since 1990 that Armistice Day, marking the end of the First World War, has fallen on Remembrance Sunday..