SDLP leader in talks with UK govt officials

UK government officials were today holding talks with nationalist SDLP leader Mark Durkan as intense efforts to restore devolution in Northern Ireland continued.

The former Stormont Deputy First Minister travelled to London for a meeting with British Prime Minster Tony Blair’s chief of staff Jonathan Powell as frantic behind-the-scenes efforts to secure a ground-breaking statement from the IRA on its future and to deliver stable power sharing institutions.