- Event type: CREATE_FROM
Northern Ireland Brooke/Mayhew Talks 1991-1992
WORK IN PROGRESS - IN THE FINAL STAGES OF EDITING A series of talks launched by Peter Brooke, Secretary of State for Northern in Ireland, which began in April 1991, and were carried on intermittently by Brooke and his successor, Patrick Mayhew, until November 1992.
Office of the Strand 1 Chairman (British Government Delegation)
In order to adequately reflect the role of the Chairman and his staff in re-drafting documents and controlling the flow of information during bilateral negotiations, we are representing them as a separate committee. In contrast to other Quill negotiations, in these Talks much of the actual work of negotiation and making proposals took place in bilateral meetings between the Chairman and the party delegations. The minutes of these sessions have been preserved in the same format as the minutes of the plenary sessions, and the sessions are modelled from the minutes as separate Committees (British Government/Alliance Bilaterals, etc.). The Chairman would move between these meetings, reporting on the positions of the other delegations and trying to reach accommodation. It is beyond the scope of the current project to model all the internal government meetings which took place during the Talks (although documentation for at least some of them exists in the National Archives), but we can draw on evidence within the sources we are using to show that proposals and agendas for the bilaterals were agreed within the Government team. For example, in a particular round of meetings, the Chairman will open the meeting with a near-identical agenda and summary of the current position of the other parties. To adequately model the fact that the flow of ideas between the delegations was filtered by the Chairman in this way, we have set up a committee called the 'Office of the Chairman' to show the conclusions of each bilateral discussion passing through the Chairman's Office and being redrafted before being passed on to the next delegation.
To see the full record of a committee, click on the corresponding committee on the map below.
Session 12474: 1991-05-08 07:00:00
Conclusions from bilateral meetings on 7 May and 8 May are considered and compiled by the Chairman before being presented to the other delegations.
Document View:
Conclusions of Meeting with the SDLP on 8 May at 11.15am
Conclusions of Meeting with the SDLP on 8 May at 11.15am
Confirmation of the SDLP Position:
- Alternation between London and Dublin.
- If the Unionists wanted a meeting in Northern Ireland, the SDLP would accept a symbolic meeting in Armagh. They had not discussed any other locations.
- A European location was not acceptable. It would show a lack of "political courage".
- 50% alternation between London and Dublin.
- Everything was on the table.
- The Talks should take Place where the Governments were located.
- If the Unionists did not want a "Dublin deal" the SDLP would be prepared to meet them by saying they were not unduly concerned where the Talks started or finished.
- It was important to preserve the confidentiality of the proceedings. It was breaking the spirit of the Talks if interviews were given by members of delegations on their way in or out of the Buildings. He had complained to the Unionists about statements by one of their delegation which had appeared in The Newsletter.
Additional Notes from the Meeting:
- The SDLP were concerned that the Unionist leaders were not accurately representing the SDLP position to the rest of their delegations.
- The meeting rooms were too small and restrictive. The SDLP delegation cannot leave "to take some air" without being exposed to the press.
Decisions yet to be taken
- Conclusions of Meeting with the SDLP on 8 May at 11.15am (introduced on 1991-05-08 07:00:00 - CREATE_FROM - e823786) [This document]
Document Timeline
- Conclusions of Meeting with the SDLP on 8 May at 11.15am (introduced on 1991-05-08 07:00:00 - CREATE_FROM - e823786) [This document] [view current proposal at this moment]