Adams pays tribute to detainees' suffering

Marking 20 years since the end of the 1981 Long Kesh hunger strike, the Sinn Fein leader, Gerry Adams, unveiled a plaque yesterday on Robben Island – famed for having been Nelson Mandela's jail – and dedicated it to the "shared suffering of Irish and South African political prisoners''.

Mr Adams, who on Tuesday met the former South African president, travelled to Robben Island with Pat Sheehan, one of the protesters in the hunger strike, which ended on 3 October 1981 and claimed the life of Bobby Sands and nine others.

South African unease at the unveiling of the plaque – paid for by Sinn Fein – was apparent earlier in the week when the ruling African National Congress briefly cancelled the event, claiming Robben Island's status as a world heritage site required permission to be sought from Unesco, the United Nations body in charge of culture.

The ANC changed its mind after Mr Adams's meeting with Mr Mandela who described Sinn Fein as "an old friend and ally''.

* David Trimble, the Ulster Unionist leader, emerged yesterday from crisis talks with Tony Blair to call for Sinn Fein to be thrown out of the power-sharing administration in Northern Ireland. Mr Trimble said discussions at Downing Street focused on ensuring a "soft landing" if and when the Stormont Executive collapses next week.