Northern Ireland, by John Humphrys for BBC On the Record on 15 February 1998. Five days later Sinn Fein was excluded from the ongoing multi-party talks for seventeen days as a consequence of perceived IRA links to two killings in Belfast on 9 and 10 February. The UDP had been similarly expelled from the talks in January following UFF/UDA involvement in earlier Belfast killings, possible re-entry dependent on the maintenance of the UFF ceasefire. Mallon discusses the potential implications of Sinn Fein's exclusion from the talks. On the Record was BBC's flagship political programme.
Date of Release/Broadcast: 15 February 1998
Name of First Interviewee: Seamus Mallon
Role at time of Interview: Deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland and deputy leader of the SDLP
Interviewer: John Humphrys
Purpose: News
Media: Transcript
Copyright: © BBC On the Record
Link: Read the full transcript
Programme/Book/Article: BBC On the Record
Time Period covered: 1996-1998
Key Individuals: Seamus Mallon, Mo Mowlam, John Hume, George Mitchell, Martin McGuinness
Key Words: SDLP, Mitchell Principles, Sinn Féin, Irish government, British government, American government, UUP, UDP, IRA