Transcript of an interview with John Reid, Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, by David Frost for BBC Breakfast with Frost on 6 October 2002. Two days earlier Sinn Fein's offices at Stormont were raided by the PSNI and three men arrested as part of an investigation into an alleged republican spy ring. Reid discusses the potential impact of these developments on political confidence in the power-sharing Executive. Ten days later Reid suspended devolution in Northern Ireland and returned direct rule from Westminster. Breakfast with Frost was a weekly BBC current affairs programme.
Date of Release/Broadcast: 6 October 2002
Name of First Interviewee: John Reid
Role at time of Interview: Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
Interviewer: David Frost
Purpose: News
Media: Transcript
Copyright ©: BBC Breakfast with Frost
Link: Read the transcript
Programme/Book/Article: BBC Breakfast with Frost
Time Period covered: 2002
Key Individuals: John Reid, Gerry Adams, Tony Blair, David McKittrick, Roy Hattersley
Key Words: PSNI, Sinn Fein, intelligence, spy ring, Columbia Three, Castlereagh break-in, Belfast Agreement, Good Friday Agreement, Mitchell principles, religion, loyalist paramilitary