Mayhew dismisses retirement rumours as proximity talks deadline closes in

AS THE proximity talks draw to a conclusion, Sir Patrick Mayhew has stated his intention of remaining as Northern Secretary at least until the next Westminster general election. He expects there is more than a year left in Mr John Major's government.

There was another busy round of preparatory talks in Dublin and Belfast yesterday, with parties fairly fixed as to their preferred election method leading to all-party negotiations on June 10th.

As tomorrow's deadline for the end of proximity talks approaches, it is clear there will be no all-party agreement on an electoral model.

The British government will have to choose the system of election and, according to the North's Political Minister, Mr Michael Ancram, a decision will be made shortly.

The SDLP and DUP advocate a list system whereby, with Northern Ireland as a single constituency, people would vote for parties rather than individuals. This approach is broadly supported by smaller parties such as the Ulster Democratic Party, the Progressive Unionist Party and the Workers' Party.

The UUP and the Alliance Party prefer an election under proportional representation whereby party candidates would be elected to 18 five-member parliamentary constituencies.

The SDLP and the DUP met the Ulster Unionists in separate meetings in Belfast yesterday but there was no agreement.

Sinn Fein remains isolated from the process. Mr Gerry O'hEara, the party's Northern chairman, yesterday criticised the SDLP deputy leader, Mr Seamus Mallon, for stating at the weekend that the two governments could not meet Sinn Fein at ministerial level while the IRA ceasefire was not in operation.

Yesterday Sir Patrick, despite rumours to the contrary, said he planned to remain at the helm at Stormont during the lifetime of this British government. He forecast his government would survive until April next year.

Reports that he was planning to vacate the Northern Secretary post after the scheduled all-party talks began on June 10th were "wishful thinking on somebody's part", he told BBC Radio 4 yesterday.

He believed the job should be carried out for a "whole parliament". "I very much hope to be Secretary of State right up to the end, but whether I am or not depends on the Prime Minister. There will be no complaints from me one way or the other," he said.

With the exception of Sinn Fein, all parties to the proximity talks - the two governments, the SDLP, UUP, DUP, Alliance, Democratic Left, Workers' Party, and the Northern Ireland Tories - were involved in bilateral consultations yesterday.

Sir Patrick repeated that because of the ending of the IRA ceasefire, Sinn Fein was "excluding itself from the negotiations process.

He was delighted at President Clinton's decision to exclude Sinn Fein president Mr Gerry Adams from his administration's St Patrick's Day celebrations.

"Disapproval" of "Sinn Fein/IRA" was being made very manifest in Washington.

It was important, said Sir Patrick, that the Ulster Unionists should have met the Government last night. He described it as a "historic first", although Mr John Taylor, UUP deputy leader, said all Ulster Unionist leaders since, 1921 had met the Government "in their time".

DUP leader the Rev Ian Paisley criticised Mr David Trimble for travelling to Dublin last night to meet the Government when, he said, matters internal to the North would be raised at Government Buildings.

Mr Trimble rejected this claim. The DUP was "living in the past", he said yesterday morning. His party had been careful to make it clear to Dublin that it was only dealing with Strands Two and Three.

But after the DUP and UUP met yesterday both agreed that while there might be differences on the method of election there would be unionist unity after the election.

"We are friends. We are part of the unionist family ... although, of course, family fights are pretty tough too," said Dr Paisley.

Sir Patrick was criticised yesterday for stating that while there would be immunity for those decommissioning their weapons, this did not amount to an amnesty in respect of anything that may have been done with the gun in the past".

The Pat Finucane Centre in Derry complained this was in contravention of the Mitchell report which recommended that decommissioned arms should be free from forensic examination. The British government was being "highly selective" in its interpretation of the report, said centre spokesman Mr Paul O'Connor.