British Prime Minister Gordon Brown and his Irish counterpart Brian Cowen have travelled to Northern Ireland to mediate in the political crisis which is threatening to bring down the power-sharing government.

The row between Sinn Fein and the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) is about the control of policing and justice when these functions are transferred to the Northern Irish authorities from London as part of the devolution process.

The Catholic Sinn Fein wants the transfer to take place as quickly as possible and accuses the Protestant DUP of slowing the process down.

On Monday, talks broke up after only a half an hour. The two prime ministers hope to broker a deal in Belfast today.

Photo: Talks at Hillsborough Castle, residence of Queen Elizabeth II, Northern Ireland - ANP