Video interview with Andrew Mackay, Shadow Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, and Mo Mowlam, Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, for ITN on 13 July 1999. On 2 July the British and Irish governments published ‘The Way Forward’, a document setting out a process for the formation of the Executive on 15 July and the beginning of decommissioning soon after. One week later the UUP Executive rejected the proposals as being fundamentally unfair. In response Tony Blair stated that failsafes on decommissioning would be built into legislation on the devolution of power to Northern Ireland. Members of the Conservative Party and UUP pressed unsuccessfully for stricter measures in the bill. Ahead of the parliamentary debate on the proposed legislation Mackay and Mowlam discuss its importance to progress in the peace process.
Date of Release/Broadcast: 13 July 1999
Name of First Interviewee: Andrew Mackay
Name of Second Interviewee: Mo Mowlam
Role at time of Interview: Andrew Mackay (Shadow Secretary of State for Northern Ireland), Mo Mowlam (Secretary of State for Northern Ireland)
Purpose: News
Media: Audiovisual
Copyright: ©2013 ITN All rights reserved
Link: Watch the video
Programme/Book/Article: ITN
Time Period covered: 1998-1999
Key Individuals: Andrew Mackay, Mo Mowlam
Key Words: Conservative Party, UUP, British government, IRA, Belfast Agreement, Good Friday Agreement, decommissioning, power-sharing, failsafe, ‘The Way Forward’