JONATHAN POWELL says Tony Blair had vision and courage "in spades" while admitting he could be irritated by the prime minister for not "sticking to things" once they had been decided.
"I take a very strong view, once you've decided to do something, you should really see it through, and he would sometimes be a bit [of a] flibbertigibbet and change his mind afterward."
Of the first meeting with Sinn Féin in Downing Street, Mr Powell writes: "We put it off as long as we could but eventually we had to agree to see them on December 11th. There was a huge sense of occasion and everyone in No 10, from the principal private secretary, the most senior civil servant, to the messengers who delivered the tea, had been talking about it for days beforehand . . .
"Some had said they would not talk to Adams and McGuinness, and others that they would not shake their hands as a matter of principle . . . Alistair [Campbell] had even sent me a memo proposing we put off the erection of the traditional Christmas tree outside the front door of No 10 which was due to happen that day.
"He did not think we wanted a picture of Adams and McGuinness in front of festive decorations."
Mr Powell and Mr Campbell were left "in fits of giggles" after Mr Blair famously announced he "felt the hand of history" as he arrived at Hillsborough days before Good Friday in 1998.