A Tangled Web

Come On Over to My Place



Mark Devenport, at BBC Northern Ireland, talks of the British and Irish governments anxiously seeking a venue for the autumn discussions on Northern Ireland. Leeds Castle in Kent, as well as 'somewhere in Scotland', has been mooted.



I have a better idea. Why don't a select number of parties come to my modest apartment on the outskirts of Halifax? I'm sure some stunning views of the Pennine hills will provide a suitable backdrop. I would be more than willing to offer invitations to HM Government, the Ulster Unionists, the DUP, the SDLP and the Alliance Party.



I'm afraid any prospect of allowing PUP and Sinn Fein murderers over my threshold would be entirely out of the question; as would permitting representatives of the Irish Government to attend. I could not countenance discussions over an integral part of my country being co-stewarded by officials from a foreign state: a state which - until five years ago - held an immoral and illegal claim to British territory.



RSVP.