Paisley a barrier to progress, warned Heath

ONE of the earliest architects of the northern peace process warned 30 years ago that Democratic Unionist Party leader Dr Ian Paisley would be a formidable barrier to progress and urged that he be excluded from negotiations.

State papers released to the National Archives today under the 30-year disclosure rule reveal that British Prime Minister Ted Heath was acutely worried about Paisley’s influence as Britain and Ireland entered talks on a power-sharing executive at Stormont.

He told then Taoiseach, Liam Cosgrave, in talks in 1973 that: “With these two at a conference table (Dr Paisley and William Craig), all hope of a sensible solution would be gone.”