Row over Westminster changes

By Anne Cadwallader

BELFAST — The British government is actively considering changing the law to allow Sinn Fein MPs to exercise their right to use office facilities at Westminster without taking an oath of allegiance to the British monarchy.

Sinn Fein has two MPs, Gerry Adams and Martin McGuinness, who took legal action this year to vindicate their right to office accommodation at Westminster, but failed to overturn a ruling by the speaker of the House of Commons, Betty Boothroyd.

Although neither MP would consider sitting, speaking or voting in the chamber, which is against Sinn Fein’s constitution, each is in favor of taking advantage of Westminster as a lobbying and financial resource to boost Sinn Fein’s profile in Britain.

Their refusal to take an oath of allegiance to the British state has so far been a bar. But if the law is changed they would be able to use the facilities at the Palace of Westminster like other MPs.

The British government has already announced it intends changing the law to allow anyone elected to the Northern Ireland Assembly or Oireachtas in Dublin to sit as an MP at Westminster, if elected.

This has been welcomed by the SDLP, who said it was another sign of the "growing maturity" in relations between the two jurisdictions. Sinn Fein also welcomed the move and asked Dublin to take reciprocal measures to allow TDs to sit at Westminster.

Not everyone has been happy over the decision, however, with Unionists claiming the British move goes against the principle of consent outlined in the Good Friday agreement that they regard as a final statement on Northern Ireland’s constitutional place within the United Kingdom.

Michael McGimpsey of the UUP said it made as much sense as allowing members of the German parliament, the Bundestag, to sit at Westminster, and other Unionists also called the move another concession to republicans.

The British minister responsible for constitutional matters, Jack Straw, is expected to introduce proposals to remove the bar on TDs taking seats at Westminster and in the Northern Ireland Assembly.

The plan is being seen as part of a package of "confidence-building" measures designed to bring pressure on the IRA to begin decommissioning before the Feb. 5 date set by the Ulster Unionists for another meeting of their ruling council meeting.

The UUP will decide then whether it will remain within the power-sharing executive with Sinn Fein. If there has no movement on IRA decommissioning by then, UUP leader David Trimble, will face renewed opposition from his party’s right-wing.

London meetings

The British government announcement comes as another two political institutions were set up under the terms of the Good Friday agreement. The British-Irish Council and the Intergovernmental Conference both held inaugural meetings in London on Friday.

The British-Irish Council is being seen by Unionists as the embodiment of their link with London, Edinburgh, Wales and other parts of Britain. The Intergovernmental Conference replaces the Anglo-Irish Conference set up by the 1985 Hillsborough Agreement.

First Minister David Trimble hailed the council as a radical step to further enmesh Northern Ireland into the British political landscape.

"Those who fear this is a slippery slope to some nasty destination will discover that it is not, that things are much better for all of us in a relationship where we can work together," Trimble said.

Deputy First Minister Séamus Mallon said he was confident republicans would put their arms beyond use. "There will be decommissioning. I do not know how it will happen or the shape or form — that is something for General de Chastelain. But I believe that it is now absolutely imperative that it happens," he said.

If the newly created institutions failed, both the national and international communities would point the finger at Sinn Féin and the IRA for not honoring their obligations under the Mitchell review, Mallon said.

The inaugural meeting of the Council was held at Lancaster House in London on Friday, Dec. 17. The Irish and British prime ministers attended, along with ministers from Northern Ireland, Scotland, Wales, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man.

In another development, an influential IRA prisoner became the 308th person to be freed early under the terms of the Good Friday agreement. Padraig Wilson, from Belfast, was a former commanding officer of republicans in the Maze prison, and was tipped to become the IRA’s go-between with the decommissioning commission.

Wilson served eight years of a 24-year sentence for conspiracy to murder and cause explosions. At the time the IRA representative first met the decommissioning commission, however, Wilson was still behind bars.