Blair hopes awards will act as a spur

Mr Tony Blair has said he hopes the Nobel awards to Mr David Trimble and Mr John Hume will be a "a spur" for the completion of the Belfast Agreement and the creation of "the lasting settlement for the future".

Hailing the Nobel laureates, the British Prime Minister signalled there should be no resting on laurels. The world was watching Northern Ireland with admiration and willing its people to complete the peace process, he said yesterday, soon after the awards were confirmed.

Speaking from Chequers, Mr Blair said: "It's often hard for us to understand just how much the eyes of the world have been on the peace process in Northern Ireland, and how much joy around the world the process has brought."

With his sights clearly set on what promises to be a frantic period of renewed negotiation over coming weeks, Mr Blair continued: "So let's not use it just to mark the progress we have made but as a spur to get the rest of it done and get in place the lasting settlement for the future."

Dismissing speculation that he might have expected to share in the award, Mr Blair said: "No, I think it's fine. The way they have done it is absolutely the right way. This is about Northern Ireland and the people of Northern Ireland. These are the people who have taken risks. It's right that the whole community in Northern Ireland should feel part of it."

Probably the most prestigious prize in the world had been granted to symbols of community unity, said Mr Blair. "The world is watching with admiration and it's willing us on."

Mr John Major, the former prime minister, echoed these sentiments, saying: "I am delighted that David Trimble's and John Hume's contributions to the peace process have been recognised in this way. I hope that such well-deserved recognition will encourage all the parties involved to continue to strive for a full and lasting peace."

The Conservative leader, Mr William Hague, said no two men had worked more courageously for peace than Mr Hume and Mr Trimble and he was thrilled they had been jointly awarded the prize.

Mr Hague said: "The prize is also a tribute to many other men and women who have worked with David and John, who have stood up to the men of terror, and who have given the people of Northern Ireland a historic chance for peace. I hope this award is more than just a recognition of the great achievement of the past five years. It should also be an encouragement to the politicians at Stormont to turn the Good Friday Agreement into a genuine and lasting peace."

The former Northern Ireland secretary, Mr Peter Brooke, said: "I am exceptionally glad for John Hume and David Trimble, and that the prize should be awarded for this achievement. This was an issue which needed to be resolved fundamentally within Ireland. It is also a considerable vicarious compliment to the House of Commons, since they are both members of it."

But Mr Andrew Hunter, chairman of the Conservative backbench committee on Northern Ireland, said: "I fear the award may be somewhat premature. There can be no political stability or permanent peace until the private armies decommission their weapons."

Mr Colin Parry, the peace campaigner whose son, Tim, was killed in the Warrington IRA bomb attack in 1993, said: "I'm sure both men will feel it's a statement of approval from the international community for what they are trying to do, and hopefully it will help them in their commitment. It certainly cannot harm the peace process. It legitimises the whole business and the progress being made. It also sent a message to the men of violence.

"It's going to make it extremely difficult to pretend, which I never thought they could anyway, that they have some legitimate purpose in engaging in armed conflict."

PA adds: Dr Mo Mowlam received the Freedom of the City of Sheffield yesterday in recognition of her role in the peace process. "You do not get change unless the people are with you. They are continuing to walk down that road to freedom and down that road to peace shoulder to shoulder," she said.