Transcript of an interview with David Trimble, First Minister of Northern Ireland, by David Frost for BBC Breakfast with Frost on 23 January 2000. On 6 January the IRA issued a statement declaring that the decommissioning of their arsenal would be dependent on reductions in the British military presence in Northern Ireland. Six days later David Trimble intimated that he would resign as First Minister of Northern Ireland if there was not sufficient progress on decommissioning in February. In this interview Trimble explains his position. On 11 February Peter Mandelson, then British Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, suspended devolved government on the basis of unsatisfactory movement on the decommissioning issue. Breakfast with Frost was a weekly current affairs programme on BBC.
Date of Release/Broadcast: 23 January 2000
Name of First Interviewee: David Trimble
Role at time of Interview: First Minister of Northern Ireland and leader of the UUP
Interviewer: David Frost
Purpose: News
Media: Transcript
Copyright: © BBC Breakfast with Frost
Link: Read the transcript
Programme/Book/Article: BBC Breakfast with Frost
Time Period: covered 2000
Key Individuals: David Trimble, John de Chastelain, George Mitchell, Peter Mandelson, Gerry Adams, Martin McGuinness
Key Words: UUP, IRA, decommissioning, IICD, Sinn Fein, Westminster, Oath of Allegiance