20 August 2010 - Straight answers needed from Patterson on dissident talks says Campbell
East Londonderry MP Gregory Campbell has said that straight answers are needed from the Secretary of State Owen Patterson as to whether the Government has been in contact with dissident republican terrorists. Mr Campbell’s comments come in the wake of an interview by the Secretary of State where he refused to confirm or deny contact between the Government and dissidents. Speaking today Mr Campbell said,
"These latest comments from the Secretary of State regarding contact with dissident republican terrorists will come as little surprise to people in Northern Ireland. Everything he has said so far has left some wriggle room or space for later clarification instead of giving a simple answer to a straightforward question.
We will be meeting with Mr Patterson to flush this out once and for all. Either talks have taken place or they have not. They have either taken place with the approval or knowledge of the Government, with or without a third party. There are yes or no answers to those questions and it would be much better for everyone if the Secretary of State could step forward and give straight answers.
No-one should be opposed to talks, but there has to be a proper and firm basis for talks to take place and that must mean an end to violence and the removal of the threat which they pose to society in Northern Ireland. Unfortunately we have seen this pattern of behaviour before from the last Conservative Government when many people will remember the denials of contact with the Provisional IRA, only later to find that talks had been ongoing alongside their campaign of terrorism.
Whether Mr Patterson views talks as “meaningful” or not is not the issue but whether we have a situation once again where talks are being held with terrorists prior to the ending of violence. The equivocation and evasion coming forward from Owen Patterson only serves to confirm the suspicions in many peoples minds that the Government has engaged in contact with these terrorists. This is what delayed the political process for years in the 1980's and 90's. It was only when we laid the firm ground rules of violence ending that talks could begin. The SoS must not repeat the mistakes of the past."
Related Media Links:
DUP.org.uk - 20 August 2010