We were troubled by a paragraph towards the end of our lead story on Tuesday ("Police row a threat to peace, Mandelson warns"). Bertie Ahern, in Malta, was quoted as saying that he had extensive discussions on Northern Ireland issues when he met John Hume and Seamus Mallon on holidays in Lanzarote. Since it is well-known that Mallon has warmer relations with David Trimble than with his own party leader, the implication that they were holidaying together on the sun-drenched Spanish island seemed implausible.
The SDLP spokesman, Barry Turley, shared my surprise. When he read the piece, he said, he called John Hume. No such meeting took place, Hume told him. "By coincidence, Mallon was staying in the same apartment complex as Ahern. Hume was in a different part of the island. The three never got together," Turley said.