Ahern expresses fears for peace talks

Former taoiseach Bertie Ahern said he is concerned about the impasse in the talks process in the North.

Speaking in Belfast having been among the hundreds of people who attended a memorial service for Northern Ireland’s former first minister, Ian Paisley, Mr Ahern said he was worried the British government may be focussed on next year’s Westminster elections and that he had written to the speaker of the House of Commons, John Bercow, about his concerns.

Mr Ahern said the focus in British politics might be towards the rise of the UK Independence Party, adding: “I do understand political considerations are elsewhere.”