Did Tony Blair and Bertie Ahern save the Good Friday Agreement?
Oh absolutely. When we saw the draft that came from [Senator George] Mitchell’s office, and especially the provisions on north-south cooperation, we knew there was no deal. As a matter of courtesy, and to soften the blow, having a good working relationship with Tony Blair, I thought I had better phone up Downing Street. I got John Holmes [No 10 adviser on Northern Ireland] and said we had done such and such and this isn’t going to work unless the government is prepared to make changes. He said, ‘Don’t worry as soon as we saw the draft we knew there was a problem; we’re coming over’. The three of them came over – Blair, Holmes and [Jonathan] Powell, [chief of staff]. The secretary of state wasn’t excluded. But the NIO was effectively excluded. Mo [Mowlam] was still there. She wasn’t bumped out of the situation, though she did make the sarcastic comment about only being the tea lady. That was more in jest. You might like to say that while we didn’t appreciate it at the time, here is a te
