The Northern Secretary has appealed to politicians and people in Northern Ireland to halt the slide into violence and stop "sectarian bigots" from setting the political agenda.
Speaking on ITV's Dimbleby programme yesterday, Dr Mo Mowlam admitted that the issue of the Ulster Democratic Party's continued presence at the political talks, which move to London today, presented her with a moral dilemma.
The UDP is the political wing of the UDA which is believed to have killed several Catholics in recent weeks. The two governments and the parties must decide if the UDP should remain in the negotiations, given that its military wing has breached the Mitchell Principles of democracy and non-violence.
Dr Mowlam said it was a difficult decision: "We have the competing morality of the integrity of the talks, the three murders, and the Mitchell Principles on non-violence on one side versus trying to hold the talks together and making sure more lives are not lost."
She said she was satisfied the UDP was doing its best to prevent the continued killings. "All talking that helps stop it is a plus," she said. "Are we going to let these sectarian bigots that are trying to destroy the peace process succeed? We can, both in the talks process and as a community, fight this.
"If we do, we have a chance of getting what the vast majority of people in Northern Ireland want, which is peace." She insisted she was still optimistic that there could be agreement at the talks, but a choice had to be made.