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02/07/2002
UUP to pressure Blair on eve of Hillsborough talks
It has been revealed that a top-level delegation of Ulster Unionist officials will meet with Prime Minister Tony Blair in Downing Street tomorrow morning.
The meeting comes on the eve of crisis talks scheduled to take place at Hillsborough with all the pro-agreement parties and premiers Tony Blair and Bertie Ahern on Thursday.
A spokesman for the party said the group hoped to press the British prime minister to take action against recent ‘orchestrated’ paramilitary activity across interface areas of Belfast.
The issue of ongoing street violence is also expected to be the main topic at Thursday’s Hillsborough crunch meetings.
Led by party leader David Trimble, the meeting tomorrow with Mr Blair will include Lagan Valley MP Jeffrey Donaldson, and party chairman, James Cooper.
Commenting on the meeting Mr Trimble said: “As I have said repeatedly, the Northern Ireland that we live in is not the Northern Ireland we want. We committed ourselves to an Agreement which we believed would see an end to lawlessness in our province.
"Our commitment is still there - but what of the republican movement? The evidence points the other way. We will be asking Mr Blair to deal with this problem and we will be insisting that there should be no tolerable level of violence in this country.”
(AMcE)
The meeting comes on the eve of crisis talks scheduled to take place at Hillsborough with all the pro-agreement parties and premiers Tony Blair and Bertie Ahern on Thursday.
A spokesman for the party said the group hoped to press the British prime minister to take action against recent ‘orchestrated’ paramilitary activity across interface areas of Belfast.
The issue of ongoing street violence is also expected to be the main topic at Thursday’s Hillsborough crunch meetings.
Led by party leader David Trimble, the meeting tomorrow with Mr Blair will include Lagan Valley MP Jeffrey Donaldson, and party chairman, James Cooper.
Commenting on the meeting Mr Trimble said: “As I have said repeatedly, the Northern Ireland that we live in is not the Northern Ireland we want. We committed ourselves to an Agreement which we believed would see an end to lawlessness in our province.
"Our commitment is still there - but what of the republican movement? The evidence points the other way. We will be asking Mr Blair to deal with this problem and we will be insisting that there should be no tolerable level of violence in this country.”
(AMcE)
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