THE Prince of Wales steamed into Belfast aboard the royal yacht Britannia yesterday amid fears that the IRA was preparing to launch a new terror campaign in Northern Ireland.

The three-day royal visit - one of the longest to Northern Ireland by a member of the royal family - comes at a sensitive time in Irish affairs during all-party talks on the future of the province.

Security was tight, on land and at sea, with heavily armed police patrolling city streets and waterways.

The prince last year made a ground-breaking visit to the Irish Republic, which was seen by many as a diplomatic triumph. Earlier this month, Irish President Mary Robinson was a guest, for the second time, at Buckingham Palace.

The prince's visit was planned more than nine months ago during the IRA ceasefire, when hopes for a lasting peace and political settlement were high.

Like royal visits to other parts of the United Kingdom, the prince's time in Northern Ireland is being spent helping to promote industry, commerce, and even tourism.

The prince, on his sixth visit to the province, has a comprehensive programme of official engagements that will take him to the republican stronghold of Londonderry and into so-called bandit country.

Sinn Fein, sounding the only sour note of the day, condemned the visit. Belfast Councillor Alex Maskey said visits of royalty, ``particularly those accompanied by warships, only reinforce the view of many that the British occupation of the six counties is an outdated hangover from the days of empire.''

q Former US Senator George Mitchell returned to the multi-party Northern Ireland talks yesterday, after four days in America, to find that almost no progress had been made in his absence.

A plenary session, with all the parties and the British and Irish governments in the same room under the chairmanship of Mr Mitchell, was scheduled to open today but was in doubt last night as the parties continued to wrangle.

At the centre of dispute was the role and powers of Mr Mitchell as chairman of the talks, and the agenda, and where the thorny issue of decommissioning terrorist weapons should be addressed.

Meanwhile Irish Premier John Bruton revealed yesterday that a new IRA weapon had been discovered in the bomb factory found last week in Co Laois.

Mr Bruton told the Irish Parliament that police had uncovered ``bombs of a new type'' which were in the process of being assembled at the bomb factory in Clonaslee. He also said police believed the bombs were intended for early use.