Executive Minister Margaret Ritchie became the first senior nationalist politician to address a unionist party conference and argued there is scope for greater co-operation between the two self-styled 'centrist' parties.

"We should be better friends," she told UUP delegates in Belfast, adding that the two parties should explore areas where practical co-operation would be of mutual benefit.

Amid increasing calls from senior UUP figures for the party to quit the Executive and form an opposition, there have been some who argue it can only be effective if the UUP and SDLP were to join forces.

Mrs Ritchie won a standing ovation from the 300-strong audience for a speech in which she demanded an end to the "double dealing, duplicity and double talk" which she said had characterised Direct Rule government over the years.

Drawing on her recent experience over the UDA-linked Conflict Transformation Initiative, where Ms Ritchie was backed on the Executive by UUP Ministers Sir Reg Empey and Michael McGimpsey, the Social Development Minister said the UUP in the past had "done the right thing" regardless of political consequences.

As with her own party, she was " disappointed" that the electorate had not rewarded such "sterling efforts", which she contrasted with what she called the "cynical carve-up" between the DUP and Sinn Fein who sought to "dominate everyone else".

To huge applause, and laughter, she concluded: "I have a simple message to those who would seek to dominate (the smaller parties) - it's quite simple. No surrender."

The South Down MLA also defended her decision to withdraw the £1.28m funding from the CTI project under severe attack from DUP Finance Minister Peter Robinson who accused her of failing to follow through on steps agreed by the Executive.

Mrs Ritchie said she believed the CTI project had been compromised from the start because of the UDA link, a link which she said she did not create.

And she also made clear she had commended rather than criticised the staff and workers of the Farset community company, which implemented CTI.

Mrs Ritchie also pledged that she was not abandoning loyalist communities and intended to see more money invested in such areas following consultations with elected representatives for the areas.