Ms Ann Nolan:

It was very Patrick. I ... you know, in some ways it made no difference because he was pre-empting the Government's decision. I think it probably was unhelpful to the Government but I don't think it really changed anything. It was probably unhelpful to our negotiation position, which was probably our immediate reaction, if I was being really honest about it, because for us at that point, down in the trenches, we were more interested in the small print of what was being agreed. You know, what are we committing to, is it things we don't want to take off it? You didn't want someone coming along pre-empting that. But, even in that, I'm not sure if it really made any difference. It's more an emotional reaction when you're very involved.