Major 'to accept IRA ceasefire'

JOHN MAJOR is ready to announce his acceptance of the IRA ceasefire and his willingness to hold early talks with Sinn Fein writes Stephen Castle. His change of stance follows a speech yesterday by James Molyneaux, the Ulster Unionist leader, indicating that he was prepared to move the peace process forward.

Mr Major, who has hitherto insisted that the IRA declare its ceasefire permanent before progress can be made, is expected to drop his reservations either this week or on 26 October, when the Commons next debates Northern Ireland.

The trigger for this came in Mr Molyneaux's speech to his party conference in Co Antrim yesterday, in which he made clear he did not see the word 'permanent' as an obstacle. 'It is deeds and not words which will provide the necessary assurances,' he said.

This formula, likely to be repeated by Mr Major, gets both him and the peace process off the hook. Once the Government's working assumption is that the ceasefire is permanent, talks with Sinn Fein can begin at any time, perhaps by Christmas.

Mr Molyneaux also said yesterday that he was involved in bringing about the ceasefire by loyalist paramilitaries that was announced last week. 'I had a duty to talk to them. If I hadn't done that and if another 100 people had been murdered before Christmas, I couldn't have lived with my conscience.'

Mr Major is likely to bring the loyalists into exploratory talks at the same time as Sinn Fein, to discuss both the practical consequences of ending violence and their transition to constitutional politics.

The Sinn Fein leader, Gerry Adams, returned from his three-week visit to the US and Canada yesterday demanding an early start to political dialogue and complaining that Mr Major's approach to the peace process had been 'hesitant, slow and reluctant'.