Conlon address: Mr Gerry Conlon, who received a personal and written apology for his wrongful imprisonment from Mr Tony Blair last week, expressed sincere thanks to the SDLP for its backing.
Mr Conlon, in a powerful and at times emotional address, commended the British prime minister for displaying more courage than the judiciary or the police in admitting that grievous mistakes had been made.
"We knew that the judiciary would never have the courage or the police have the decency to do what Tony Blair did," he said.
He repeatedly thanked the SDLP for backing his case and those of the rest of the Guildford Four, the Maguire family and of Judith Ward.
"What happened to the Conlons and the Maguires happened also to Johnny Walker [ of the Birmingham Six] who is from Derry. This happens across the world."
Mr Conlon said he "lost a little humanity" when he was sent to prison and saw what happened to him as opposed to other prisoners.
"I was lucky, I had my Da with me. He was a man who supported this party. If he had got out of jail before me, I would not have had to wait as long as I did," he said.
Referring to the former deputy leader, Mr Conlon said: "Séamus Mallon came to see me in prison. We knew that Séamus Mallon's voice was a voice in the wilderness. He put in place a liaison between the prisoners and the Irish embassy. He told us of the obstacles we faced. Some of them appeared insurmountable."
Recalling his father's advice to him, he said: "Giuseppe said one man working for you is better than 10 who don't care for you.
"That's why I am indebted to Séamus Mallon and to John Hume and, later, to Mark Durkan." He credited west Belfast councillor Ms Margaret Walsh with helping to build a campaign.
"My mother said - you go down and thank those people in the SDLP because they were the people who were there for you. These are the people you must support, these are the people you have to stand with. They work tirelessly to improve people's lives.
"I am happy to stand here today and thank these people from the bottom of my heart. They have made a difference. They have helped me fulfil the promise I made to my father.
"He would have been here telling people to go out and do the right thing. Help people make everybody's lives better. To my mind that's the SDLP and I would like to thank them from the bottom of my heart."
He also relayed to conference greetings from solicitor Ms Gareth Pierce. "I would say to anyone who's living in Northern Ireland today, if you want change you must support the people who are working for it.
"You have to be prepared to do what they are doing. Go out and spread the word. This party does care about the world, and I would just like to thank you all.
"I am here to pay tribute to people I believe in. They will persevere, they will go that little bit further and try that bit harder.
"This party can be the only one that should represent people that really do want change."