THE British Labour Party spokeswoman on Northern Ireland, Dr Marjorie Mowlam, said yesterday it was now for Sinn Fein to say or do "whatever is necessary" to convince the British and Irish governments they were committed to peace.
The two governments should, in turn, do all they could to keep alive the possibility of inclusive dialogue at "some point in the future".
In a letter to open the Agreed Ireland Forum, a two-day session discussing the Labour Party's Northern Ireland policy, Dr Mowlam said she "firmly believed" the talks at Stormont represented the best opportunity put together by the two governments for inclusive dialogue. However, the IRA's "callous and indiscriminate" bombing of Manchester meant that that possibility was now "even more difficult".
"It is a serious setback for the vast majority of people who want lasting peace. I share the distress of the Irish Government and people about the extent of the arms find in Co Laois which undermines confidence in both Ireland and Britain."