A letter to the Daily Telegraph which was published on 24th June 1999.

Tony Blair, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, made it clear in his Belfast speech last week that the concerns of Irish republicans, dedicated to wrenching the United Kingdom apart, are as valid as those of Unionists, dedicated to upholding it (report, June 15th).  The Unionists are portrayed as the obstacle to setting up devolved government because they decline to do what no other democracy has ever done, namely admit into government a party linked to a terrorist organisation.

As one act of appeasement of the IRA follows another, the Sinn Fein proportion of the nationalist/republican vote rises in step.  In the 1992 general election, which ushered in the “peace process”, the proportion was 28 per cent; in the recent Euro-elections (with a Northern Ireland turnout of almost 60 per cent) the proportion has risen to nearly 40 per cent.

The unambiguous plan for the handing over of arms by the Kosovo Liberation Army announced by Nato contrasts with the endless prevarication over the same issue by Sinn Fein/IRA.  Imposing moral principles on Serbia by virtually risk-free bombing is one thing.  Upholding democratic principles in the face of an opponent such as Sinn Fein/IRA, able and willing to inflict real damage – well, that for Mr Blair is evidently a different matter altogether.

A letter to the Daily Telegraph which was published on 15th April 1998.

David Trimble’s article (April 13th) shows how, sadly, he has mistaken fair words for concrete actions.  What he has agreed to is the most complex job-creation scheme for politicians imaginable without dealing with the central issue, the handover of IRA weaponry.

The only things that will actually be done are all things detrimental to the British position: an effective veto by the Irish on the functioning of the proposed Northern Ireland Assembly (strand 2, article 13); admission of Sinn Fein to executive power (strand 1, article 16); extension of the Irish government’s involvement in UK affairs (strand 3, article 5).

Under what should properly be called “security for terrorists”,  Army surveillance installations will be dismantled (section 2 (ii)), Army numbers reduced (2 (i)) and emergency powers removed (2 (iii)).

For 30 years the security forces have been handicapped by insistence on treating terrorists as non-political civil offenders.  Tony Blair and Mr Trimble, both lawyers by profession, now agree to the premature release on political grounds of people found guilty of the most wicked of crimes.  The next time Mr Blair chatters about the rule of law, we will at least know what he is not talking about.

Mr Trimble could have bargained for a tariff – say 10 man-years of remission for every ton of weapons given up.  Unless this connection is made, the Northern Ireland people – of both communities – would be well advised to vote No.

A letter to the Daily Telegraph which was published on 27th October 1994.

Anne Applebaum (article, Oct. 25th) is right to point out that, unlike the Palestinians, the Catholic Irish do have their own state, but she is wrong to say that the fight in Northern Ireland is over a “resource-free tract of land”.

On the contrary, by hard work and dedication over the centuries, the Protestant people have created the network of efficient well tended farms which has so distinguished Northern Ireland from the Republic of Ireland.  In addition, the Unionist population has made contributions to British technology, and to the British Army out of all proportion to its numbers.

Despite the mayhem and economic sabotage systematically carried out by the IRA, northern Ireland continues to deliver the best secondary school results and to have one of the most skilled and willing industrial workforces in the whole of the United Kingdom, as I have direct reason to know.

For a government to say, as this one does, that it is neutral about whether such citizens go or stay is a shameful disgrace.  Perhaps it cares more about mineral rights.  If the Republic of Ireland finally manages to get its hands on Northern Ireland, it would also obtain rights to around 1,700 square miles of the Continental shelf.