THE Northern Ireland Secretary, Dr Mo Mowlam, is to fly to Washington to brief President Clinton ahead of his visit to London at the end of this month.
There was speculation in London last night that President Clinton would make a significant statement on Northern Ireland during his six hour stop over on May 29th, increasing pressure on the IRA to renew its ceasefire.
This news came as British officials and Sinn Fein prepare for their first meeting in Belfast tomorrow following a speech made by Mr Blair last week in which he made the offer of talks. The Sinn Fein president, Mr Adams, will make an official response to the offer today.
Mr Blair yesterday completed his round of discussions with leaders of the parties in Northern Ireland. A Downing Street spokesman said Mr Blair had "friendly" meetings with Lord Alderdice, of the Alliance Party, and Mr Robert McCartney, of the UK Unionists. "The Prime Minister listened carefully to their views on the way forward," a spokesman said.
Speaking during a visit to the House of Commons yesterday, Sinn Fein's chief negotiator, Mr Martin McGuinness, confirmed the meeting with British officials at Stormont saying he wanted the talks to be "innovative" and "imaginative".
"We have had talks with the British government before and we have been over this ground in the past," Mr McGuinness claimed. He hoped the talks would address all the issues on the table "fairly speedily".
Meanwhile, Mr Adams insisted that responsibility for rebuilding the peace process lay not only with Sinn Fein but with all politicians.
"We have a responsibility. So has Mr Blair. So have all the other political leaders. So have the Irish Government. The first thing that is required are real and meaningful negotiations which deal with the substantive issues that surround the conflict in our country. We would like to think that the majority that Mr Blair has will empower him to play a leadership role, along with the Irish Government in bringing that about," he said.
Describing the attempt by the two Sinn Fein MPs to challenge the Speaker's ban on their use of facilities in the Commons from tomorrow, Dr Mowlam said what she wanted to see was not propaganda games but people interested in "inclusive talks".
Earlier, the Tory MP, Mr Peter Bottomley, urged Mr Adams and Mr McGuinness, to commit themselves toe peace in Northern Ireland. "We need to get people to realise that crosses on the ballot box mean more than crosses in cemeteries. I hope that those who come here today will commit themselves to peace - no more intimidation, no more violence - and a democratic process."
Last night, the veteran Labour MP, Mr Tony Benn, said he would be writing to the Speaker of the Commons, Ms Betty Boothroyd, to ask her to overturn the ban on the Sinn Fein MPs.