The strong opposition of Brian Faulkner and his Cabinet to "power sharing as of right" for nationalists was stressed in a letter from the Stormont prime minister to his British counterpart, Edward Heath, on March 1st, 1972.
In this Mr Faulkner rejected the provision of "a permanent, even if artificial place, in the Cabinet of Northern Ireland" for the minority as "wrong in principle".
On internment, he cited the view of Dr G. B. Newe, his minister of state and a Catholic layman, of a softening in Catholic attitudes. On the question of North-South links, raised by the British Cabinet, Mr Faulkner stated the Stormont view that there could be "no sound relationship" between the two governments in Ireland until there was a more determined action against violent elements.
At a Cabinet meeting on March 21st, 1972, prior to Mr Faulkner's crisis talks in London, the Minister of Development, Mr Roy Bradford, stressed the collective responsibility of ministers and urged that the Northern Ireland delegation for the Downing Street talks should be enlarged.
However, the prime minister, supported by other ministers, felt that there was merit in being able to fall back on the need to consult Cabinet colleagues in Belfast.
For their part, the Minister of Commerce, Mr Robin Bailie, and the Minister of Finance, Mr Herbert Kirk, both gave instances of "Whitehall procrastination" on financial and economic matters which amounted, they said, to a form of "political blackmail".
At the same meeting the Minister of Agriculture, Mr Harry West, felt that the UK government had not fully honoured the security obligations entered into by its predecessors in 1969, and accused the army of being "inhibited by fear of press and television comment".
The prime minister, however, rejected this view, pointing out that the army had been prepared to pursue its aims with vigour.
Mr West was supported by the minister of state at finance who said the UK government lacked the political resolve to tackle the problems of Derry and the Border. In his view London should exert financial pressure on the Republic and abolish the specially-favoured position of citizens of the Republic living in Britain.