The Orange Order, which has 80,000 members in Ulster and a large membership overlap with David Trimble's Ulster Unionist Party, called on its members and supporters to vote `no' in the forthcoming May 22 referendum on the agreement.

The pro-British fraternal body's rejection of the peace deal came two days after the Irish Republican Army (IRA) issued a blunt statement saying it was not prepared to hand over its weapons as stipulated under the accord.

This was despite the fact that the IRA's political arm, Sinn Fein, the voice of Catholic Republicans, is expected to endorse the peace settlement at a special congress on May 10.

It gave the `no' campaign waged by hardline unionists powerful ammunition.In a statement Saturday the Orange Order said it ``will not be recommending acceptance of theagreement,'' struck April 10 by the British and Irish governments and Northern Ireland political leaders.

Last month, the Orange Order said it could not recommend the deal as it stood, and asked for clarifications on the issues of police reform, release of prisoners and disarmament of paramilitary forces.

The organisation complained that Prime Minister Tony Blair failed to respond to a request for a meeting to discuss the settlement, which aims to end three decades of bloody sectarian violence in the British-ruled province.

Blair, Major campaign

British Prime Minister Tony Blair and Conservative predecessor John Major go to Northern Ireland Wednesday to campaign for a `Yes' vote in a referendum on the Ulster peace plan, officials said on Friday.

They said Blair and Major, who was one of the original formers of the Northern Ireland peace process, might speak publicly side by side in support of the historic April 10 peace accord.