Northern Ireland Secretary Peter Hain today appealed for people in the North to “judge me on my record” after a BBC investigation which revealed he expressed anti-unionist views before Labour came to power.
Mr Hain said that Northern Irish politics have been “completely transformed” in the wake of the Belfast Agreement and that his focus is on securing long-term peace.
Prime Minister Tony Blair was fully aware that he had expressed the controversial opinions, which Mr Hain did not renounce, when he made the appointment.
The BBC's Politics Showconducted an inquiry into his views on Northern Ireland going back to the 1970s.
It said that he had expressed strong anti-unionist views and called for British withdrawal from Northern Ireland , although he never supported the IRA.
In an interview on the show, Mr Hain said: “Although it's fascinating that you've delved into all these events decades ago...what my job is is to get on with the process of getting the process of democratic politics back on the road, entrenching the peace settlement and I ask you to judge me on my record.”
He added that the political landscape had changed dramatically since he expressed the opinions in question.
“The whole of politics in Northern Ireland was frozen in the past and that has been the problem and until we got the Good Friday Agreement, which opened up a whole new world for Northern Ireland and indeed elsewhere, that has changed everything.
“My job now as Secretary of State for Northern Ireland is to take this process forward and that I'm determined to do, whatever old clippings you dig out,” he said.
When asked how he could act as broker in Northern Ireland , he said he had worked effectively with unionists.
“I've had very good meetings with unionist leaders, Democrat Unionist Party, Ian Paisley and his team, I've had good meetings with the Ulster Unionists and I continue to intend to have those,” he said.
Mr Hain confirmed that Mr Blair knew of his background when he appointed him to the job.
He said: “The Prime Minister knows about everything when he appoints Cabinet Ministers.”
In his younger years, Mr Hain also campaigned against apartheid in South Africa, where he was brought up.