Transcript:
The Prime Minister met Trimble and Taylor, and put the Irish changes to them. Since they did not fundamentally alter the balance of the text, they accepted four of the six amendments, to our relief. The Irish were in turn satisfied. So the deal seemed to be back on, and attention could switch back to the wider problem of whether Sinn Fein would sign up to a deal, not least since Ahern had made increasingly clear that a deal would be almost impossible for the Irish if they did not. Ahern had already spent hours with Adams trying to persuade him that the deal was worth accepting, and listening to Sinn Fein demands for improvements, particularly on policing, security, the Irish language and prisoners (whom they insisted all had to be out in a year). Dr Mowlam had also been engaged in tough negotiations over the latter point for two days, with us deliberately refusing to reveal our hand. Sinn Fein’s public line had meanwhile turned very negative and it looked as if they were preparing to disassociate themselves from any agreement.
Notes
- ‘Dr Mowlam’ is Marjorie (Mo) Mowlam, the British Secretary of State for Northern Ireland.