Letter: Mowlam is right

Sir: Mo Mowlam's decision regarding the British Government's continued recognition of the IRA ceasefire is mature and should be applauded ("IRA guilty of murder but talks go on", 27 August).

The process of reconciliation can only progress through inclusive political action and there is a responsibility on all the parties involved to keep open the hard won conduits of dialogue which presently exist.

This means taking tactical decisions within the context of the big picture and the big prize. Perhaps those Unionists who cry decommissioning and who chose to boycott the Assembly earlier this year should reflect on the need to maintain a virtuous political cycle rather than reverting to a vicious one.

DUNCAN HAMILTON

St Albans, Hertfordshire