THE Northern Ireland Secretary, Dr Mo Mowlam, has denied she endorsed the leaked June 20th government document. She said it was part of "a whole host of options" for handling the Garvaghy march.
"No option had been decided in my mind or among any of my officials," she told journalists in Belfast yesterday.
Dr Mowlam also admitted she had failed to make contact with nationalist residents in Belfast's Ormeau Road to discuss next Saturday's Orange march with them. "They are angry and at the moment are thinking about whether they will talk to me or not. So my use may be limited, after my failure at Garvaghy.
She said it was an "unfair interpretation" to see the document as predetermining the decision to allow the Orangemen to march down the Garvaghy Road as the "least worst" option.
"I had asked for documents to see what we could do for the next three weeks to help move an accommodation forward. It was one particular view. I can give you others. I assure you I did not endorse that document," she said.
She insisted that she had not betrayed the nationalist community. "I understand their frustration, I understand their anger, but it's unfair to say that I acted in bad faith," she said.
Dr Mowlam said she was amazed and horrified at the leak of the document and asked "what was the mentality and motivation of the person who leaked it".
She repeated that it had been her intention to go in person to tell the Garvaghy Road residents directly of her decision on the march.
"But the talks dragged on longer than I thought they would, into Saturday night. The Chief Constable had not made up his mind and I phoned to tell them I would be unable to go down. I was as straight as I could be."