Extract from a report written by John Holmes to Tony Blair, Wednesday 8 April 1998

Transcript

This was followed by a crucial tripartite meeting with the Unionists. Ahern made clear he was ready to make compromises. Trimble appreciated Ahern’s return to Belfast from his mother’s funeral and suggested both sides’ political needs could be met. In a critical intervention, Taylor said he thought that proper business could now be done. It was therefore agreed that the UUP and Irish should meet bilaterally to try to reach agreement on North/South. We subsequently gave the UUP the new text, suggesting that we thought the Irish would be ready to sign up to it.