Minister denies resignation was forced on him

The Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr Andrews, has denied weekend newspaper reports that either the timing or fact of his resignation had been forced on him by the Taoiseach.

He said yesterday he had indicated some time ago his intention to go and liaised closely about timing with Mr Ahern, whom he admired, but "the decision to go was mine and mine alone, and the timing was mine and mine alone. Stories and suggestions to the contrary are simply wrong." Speaking to journalists on the fringes of a meeting of EU foreign ministers, Mr Andrews acknowledged tributes paid to him by the Portuguese Minister, Mr Jaime Gama, as president of the council, and said that as a parting present, the Luxembourg minister pledged to support Ireland's candidacy for the UN Security Council.

Mr Gama said he would never forget what Mr Andrews had done for East Timor as envoy of the Finnish presidency. Mr Andrews was a man who showed great conviction and had dedicated his life to politics, he said to a round of applause from colleagues.

Asked how he hoped he would be remembered, Mr Andrews said that "in my 35 years in politics I have given politics a good name". He did not claim to have been perfect and "the moral high ground had never been my position in politics". He had great respect for the profession of politics and the dedication of most politicians.

"I was never a whinger and went on the Lemassian theory, `never explain, never complain'," he said.

Asked what foreign initiatives he would want to be remembered for, Mr Andrews said he hoped his trips to Somalia, both alone and with the former President, Mrs Mary Robinson, had "saved some lives".

He said his involvement in the campaign against British miscarriages of justice and in East Timor "made a little difference".

He refused to be drawn on the role of Mr Charles Haughey beyond paying tribute to the latter's contributions as Minister for Finance and Justice and in helping the arts and artists. "What happened subsequently was tragic," he said. "I don't want to dance on anyone's grave."

Mr Andrews's final foreign engagement takes place today in Strasbourg where he will report to the Council of Ministers parliamentary assembly and then answer questions on his visits to Moscow, Bosnia and Kosovo as the chairman of the Council's Committee of Ministers.