McGuinness offers 'sin' meeting with Paisley

Sinn Féin’s Martin McGuinness today offered to meet Ian Paisley on the issue of sin if it helped move the peace process forward.

The Mid Ulster MP was responding to comments from the Democratic Unionist leader that Gerry Adams could go to his Belfast church any time and discuss repentance and sin.

Mr Paisley, who is the Moderator of the Free Presbyterian Church, said in a radio interview broadcast in Northern Ireland: “If Mr Adams wants to hear me preach, he is welcome. The doors of Martyrs’ Memorial Church are open to him. He can hear me preach at any time.

“If he came into this room and said: ’I would like to talk to you, Ian about sin and how you get rid of it, about what the Gospel is’, I would talk to him.

“But that is not political. Negotiations on the future government of the country is entirely different.”

Mr McGuinness said he was encouraged by the comments from the DUP leader in an interview broadcast on BBC Radio Ulster.

“I am prepared, and I know Gerry would be willing, to meet Ian on the issue of sin if it helped to break the ice,” the former Stormont Education Minister said.

“We would be willing to meet him on the basis that we are all sinners including Ian, and I think it would be interesting.

“It is very much Sinn Féin’s view that one of the difficulties in the current process is that we have not Ian and (DUP deputy leader) Peter Robinson sitting across the table to talk to the likes of Gerry and myself.”

Meanwhile Mr McGuinness welcomed the contribution from the Moderator of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland, the Rev Ken Newell, that four independent witnesses should be appointed to view an act of disarmament, including a Protestant minister who could represent the victims of violence.

“Ken Newell has consistently made a useful contribution to this debate in poo-pooing the notion of a photograph,” he said.