Mr. Jonathan Powell:

I believed it was important in government to reach out to the loyalists. Mo Mowlam was particularly successful at doing that. The committee will remember her visit to the Maze Prison at a crucial moment in the Good Friday Agreement process. I met the brigadiers of the Ulster Defence Association, UDA, when I was in government to see if I could move them in the direction of politics rather than crime. I thought the idea of the loyalist council was good because leaving the loyalists behind and ignoring them is not an answer. Issues of crime must be dealt with but there is serious deprivation in loyalist areas. There is a figure, which I believe to be true, that some loyalist enclaves in Belfast have the lowest educational attainment rates in Europe. That is worrying. Turning our backs on loyalists, or just using them as cannon fodder, if you like, as some politicians do, is a big mistake for the stability of the future of Northern Ireland. It is important to offer a political way forward for loyalism. The crime needs to be dealt with hard and properly by the police. I know that is difficult but the police need to find a way to do it, and are beginning to do so.

We have to have the political route for them to find a way out. That has not been entirely successful. I have not actually seen the council for some years now. I still think it is important to try to do that. Politicians of all parties and the British Government should all try to reach out to loyalism and encourage them down that route. The loss of David Ervine was tragic. He provided the kind of political leadership that could have really taken us somewhere. Without him, there needs to be some political leadership.

In terms of the bomb hoax threat, I thought that was appalling and absolutely terrible. This is the risk if we do not find a political route forward for loyalism. They are going to go and do completely daft, illegal and horrible things like that. That actually reinforces me in my belief that we need to find a way. That may not be the right vehicle or the right way but just to turn our backs on it would be a big mistake.