Extract from a report written by John Holmes to Tony Blair, Thursday 9 April

Transcript

After a long period of silence from the Irish, during which the Prime Minister tried in vain to contact the Taoiseach,

It was a disaster — the Irish had altered the balance fundamentally, reintroducing the necessity for Westminster legislation throughout the text and putting all the responsibility in the hands of the two governments. There was fury on our side that the deal had so quickly fallen apart. The Prime Minister quickly told Ahern that the text could not be seriously reopened, but he was ready to see whether the UUP might accept one or two amendments. A difficult negotiation between me and Teahon/Gallagher followed. I agreed to try on the Prime Minister and, if he agreed, the UUP, half a dozen small but significant textual changes.