FROM: D J R HILL
POLITICAL DEVELOPMENT TEAM
29 JULY 1996
cc: PS/Secretary of State (B&L) - B
PS/Sir John Wheeler (B, L&DFP) - B
PS/Michael Ancram (B, L&DENI) - B
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TALKS, 24 JULY 1996: POSTSCRIPT
Readers of your excellent record of what transpired on Wednesday 24 July might find it helpful to know how the events of the final round table meeting affected Seamus Mallon's mood and attitude.
2. He\, like the rest of us\, had been expecting the Chairmen's "compromise" draft rules of procedure to be endorsed that day in the round table "conferring" session by sufficient consensus\, ie with the support of both Governments\, the UUP and the SDLP. As the SDLP press notice of the previous day had effectively set that as a target\, it was also politically important for the SDLP to see it achieved.
3. The last minute DUP proposal to defer decisions until the plenary on Monday 29 July\, adopt consensus) by unanimity and then rules 30-36 (on sufficiency of vote on formal amendments to the other rules caught Seamus Mallon\, and others\, by surprise and they failed to spot all the implications.
4. In particular\, Seamus Mallon was outraged when after the excitement caused by Paddy Roche's (UKUP) intervention\, the UUP indicated that they would supporting some at least of the DUP proposed amendments to the draft rules of procedure. Seamus Mallon persistently tried to get the UUP to confirm that they would support the rules as drafted\, but without success.
5. By the end of the evening he was in a foul mood
a) with the UUP for what he had perceived as a gross breach of faith, _and_
b) with Senator Mitchell for, as he saw it, failing to force the draft rules though on the face of Unionist prevarication.
6. I understand that after the end of the round table meeting he had a long and rancorous private meeting with Senator Mitchell\, who tried to explain that
a) as the issues were bound formally to come up at the plenary whenever the rules were put forward f o r ratification, there had been no point in pushing them to a vote in the round table "conferring" session, and that by accepting the DUP proposal it had proved possible to free up the following day (Thursday 25 July) for discussion of the draft agenda; and
b) the UUP could hardly be expected to vote against many of the DUP amendments, but were content (as were the DUP) to accept that these would not be passed by "sufficient consensus" - because the Irish Government and SDLP at least would vote against - and to support the current draft if that emerged unamended for formal ratification.
7. This cut no ice with Seamus and the atmosphere took another turn for the worse when Senator Mitchell invited Reg Empey to join them.
8. The upshot is that Seamus Mallon is\, or was at the end of last week\, very disillusioned with Senator Mitchell ("I don't want to hear any more about the Senator being pro-_nationalist_"\, said Martha Pope) _and_ with the UUP. He was still in an apocalyptic mood when the Secretary of State saw him privately on Thursday afternoon.
9. David Ervine of the D{P}UP was also a little sore as he had indicated the PUP's full support for the Chairmen's draft compromise rules\, before it transpired that the UUP were not going to do likewise; and the PUP were left (the UDP having cannily reserved their position) as the only Unionist/Loyalist party to do so.
(signed)
D J R HILL
POLITICAL DEVELOPMENT TEAM
CB x22317
