THE British Prime Minister, Mr John Major, fried at one stage to persuade the Government to abandon the Northern Ireland peace initiative, the London Independent newspaper has reported.
According to confidential letters between Mr Major and the former Taoiseach, Mr Albert Reynolds, the British leader opposed the initiative and was reluctant to accept it, the newspaper said.
The letters, which appear in a new book, The Fight for Peace, showed Mr Major thought the peace initiative would not produce an IRA ceasefire.
"After giving it very careful consideration, with all the intelligence at our disposal, we have very reluctantly concluded that it will not run at the present time," Mr Major wrote to Mr Reynolds.
He eventually changed his mind, and the initiative led to the blueprint for the peace, the 1993 Downing Street Declaration, and the 1994 ceasefires by the IRA and loyalist paramilitary groups.
"It also reveals the IRA and Sinn Fein played a significant role in writing the early drafts of the declaration," the Independent said.
"The research shows how the IRA and Sinn Fein had direct input into early drafts of the declaration, with Sinn Fein writing several drafts and passing them on at secret meetings with an Irish government representative."
The IRA ceasefire lasted 17 months until February 9th, when it was shattered by a bomb in the Docklands area of London, which killed two people and injured 100.
The IRA has claimed responsibility for three other bomb blasts in London.