Britain Denies Assuring Leader About Irish Unity

Irish nationalist leader Martin McGuinness claimed here Sunday that he had received private assurances from the British government last year that it was working toward a united Ireland.

McGuinness’ explosive statement came in a BBC television interview during his first visit to Britain since Prime Minister John Major lifted an exclusion order on him Friday.

The vice president of Sinn Fein, the political arm of the Irish Republican Army, declared Sunday that early last year he had met with a government official who spoke with “the full authority of the British prime minister and the secretary of state for Northern Ireland, Patrick Mayhew. There is no doubt about that.”

McGuinness refused to identify the official or indicate whether he was a politician or civil servant, but he added, “I think the British government is slowly disengaging from Ireland.”

Mayhew immediately denied McGuinness’ claims, declaring, “This is patent nonsense.

“No British government representative,” he said, “has ever been or will ever be authorized to say that we support a united Ireland unless it is by the consent of the people of Northern Ireland.

“We believe it is for the people of Northern Ireland to decide the future of Northern Ireland. So long as it is their wish to remain in the United Kingdom, the British government will uphold that wish. This has always been our position, and it will never change.”

Ever since December’s Downing Street Declaration by Major and Irish Prime Minister Albert Reynolds, Northern Ireland unionists have worried that some secret deal may have been made to encourage the current IRA cease-fire.

Major has repeatedly insisted that no secret agreements have been reached.

The British view Sunday night appeared to be that McGuinness was engaged in “mischief-making,” as one official put it, aimed at reassuring IRA hard-liners who are still not convinced that they should participate in the peace process.

Major and Reynolds will meet in Britain today to discuss the next step in the complex process of setting up all-party talks and an agenda on the future of Northern Ireland.