Reid insists peace document is best way forward

Northern Secretary John Reid has insisted that the make-or-break peace document circulated by the Irish and British Governments last week is the best way to secure the full implementation of the Good Friday Agreement.

Dr Reid said that the nationalists and unionists must compromise and accept the document for the good of all the people living in the North.

He said nobody can cherry-pick what aspects they support and what aspects they don't because that will lead to two different objectives and not an agreement.

Speaking on the BBC, the Northern Secretary stressed that a reformed police service and demilitarisation are not concessions to nationalists.

"Having a new democratic forum in Northern Ireland, where local politicians exercise real power to make local decisions is to benefit the whole community," he said.

"Having a police service where we can get the respect and participation of the whole community and avoid the tragedy of the next generation: these are the sort of things that are stake this week and I believe that if we can show that politics can answer these questions then we will have done a great service to people in Northern Ireland."

Dr Reid also said that the blueprint for peace is an opportunity to demonstrate that politics can work to solve the conflict in the North.

He added that the Real IRA bomb attack in London on Thursday and the ongoing loyalist campaign against Catholics are attempts to wreck the belief that politics can work.