The Tory leadership has moved to dispel the impression of an emerging split in the party's ranks over the Belfast Agreement. Lord Tebbit, whose wife Margaret was paralysed in the Brighton bombing, wrote to Mr William Hague yesterday seeking an assurance that he would abide by Mr John Major's previous promise that there would be no "amnesty" for terrorist prisoners.
Last night, however, Mr Hague made it clear the changes on remission for paramilitary inmates were an "essential part" of the overall settlement plan. He told BBC radio he acknowledged some Tories were "extremely anxious" about prisoner releases but said the agreement offered a "historic opportunity" which could not be ignored.
"It doesn't make any of us feel comfortable and happy to talk about releasing prisoners. But we also have to recognise that unless there is some agreement on such things there can be no agreement at all in Northern Ireland."
Mr Andrew MacKay, the shadow Northern Ireland Secretary, said he and Mr Hague had sought assurances that early prisoner releases "would not take place unless it was clear they presented no further threat; their paramilitary associates had substantially decommissioned and had permanently renounced violence in all shapes and forms".