State papers: British lord 'too bitchy' to lead north-south negotiations

The 1991 briefing document said George Thomas, Lord Tonypandy, 'has a petulant and 'bitchy' temperament and does not forgive slights, alleged or real'. Picture: John Stillwell/PA

The Irish Government took a dim view of several proposed candidates to lead key negotiations on North-South cooperation, according to newly unsealed documents from the National Archives in Dublin.

A briefing note from the Department of Foreign Affairs described some of the high-profile figures put forward by unionists and the British Government as ineffective politicians, bad lawyers and, in one case, as having a "bitchy temperament".