Tony Blair's officials told Irish counterparts they would have to 'listen to whinges' from unionist parties

British officials expressed frustration over prolonged meetings, admitting they aimed to "race through" discussions with unionist parties to focus on Sinn Féin and IRA decommissioning.

A civil servant noted that officials had to "listen to the whinges" of unionist parties but did not expect genuine engagement on key issues from them.

Jonathan Powell communicated that the focus for the meetings should be on progress, clarifying that they were not looking for negotiations but rather a re-engagement.

Both London and Dublin were under pressure to ensure IRA decommissioning ahead of the Hillsborough meeting, yet without implying impending collapse of the agreement.

Read at Irish Independent