Prime Minister praises Sinn Fein

Prime Minister Tony Blair has today said that Sinn Fein has showed the most “remarkable” examples of leadership in modern politics.

He also added that what the Sinn Fein leaders had done was both “historic and real.”

The comments came just one day ahead of a special Sinn Fein party conference tomorrow to discuss whether they should change their policy on policing and justice systems, in a bid to allow the current Northern Ireland political process to move forward.

Last week, it seemed as though the meeting could be in doubt, following the DUPs failure to positively respond to Sinn Fein's announcement before Christmas that they were to recommend a change in policy during the meeting, instead, during the DUP leader Ian Paisley's New Year's message, he blamed Sinn Fein on holding up the process.

However, in an article published in today's Irish Times, the Prime Minister said that from recent discussions he has had with the DUP, they have implied that they intend to enter into power sharing government with Sinn Fein on March 26 and accept the devolution of policing and justice powers in or before the 2008 timeframe as long as the Sinn Fein conference delivers.

Mr Blair also added that the biggest problem in the Northern Ireland peace process had always been the reluctance of each side in having faith in each other, however he warned that the parties should not to let the current opportunity for the restoration of devolution to slip through their fingers and that if this happens then he believes it to be both “wrong and unfair” to all sections of the Northern Ireland community and a complete waste of a once-in-a-generation opportunity to form an all-party power-sharing executive.

(EF)