The Northern Ireland Secretary, Mo Mowlam, has entered the Maze Prison to meet with prisoners convicted of paramilitary crimes in her bid to salvage the eight-party peace talks.

Mo Mowlam tells the BBC the purpose of her visit (4' 30")

It is the first time a British cabinet minister has held such talks.

Dr Mowlam is talking to loyalist prisoners, including Michael Stone who killed three people in a lone attack on the funeral of IRA men, and Sam McCrory, the leader of the Ulster Defence Association in the jail.

Sam McCrory: the leader of the UDA in the Maze

She is trying to persuade the 120 prisoners from the UDA and the Ulster Freedom Fighters to restore support for the Stormont talks, which are due to be resumed next week.

She may also meet prisoners from the Irish Republican Army and other republican paramilitaries who seek a united Ireland. They are held in a separate block in the Maze.

A republican protest greeted the Secretary of State outside the prison's walls but she drove straight into the prison wihout stopping to speak.

The BBC's Denis Murray reports for BBC TV News on the mood inside the Maze (1' 42")

Dr Mowlam has said she will not be pleading with men convicted of crimes including murder.

Whatever the substance of the talks, she will have to wait until Monday to see for certain if the peace discussions can continue in their present form.

A mix of praise and condemnation

While relatives of those killed in sectarian violence attacked Dr Mowlam's high-risk strategy, many inside the process praised her courage.

Pat Campbell whose son Philip, a Catholic, was shot dead by UFF gunmen, said: "It's like someone putting a knife into my heart and turning it round."

Opposing sides debate the visit on the Today programme (4' 0")

But the leader of the Ulster Democratic Party, Gary McMichael, told BBC Radio about the necessity for drastic action at this time.

"The problem we are having is that a vital element of our constituency has withdrawn their support and that is the reason why the Secretary of State is going to the Maze today and is trying to influence that situation."

He added: "She should recognise the seriousness of the situation and that the Government has not handled the entire process in the best possible way.

"There are divisions which have been created because of their mismanagement."

McMichael, whose father was murdered by the IRA, said: "There must be prisoner releases in the context of an overall settlement."

Dr Mowlam's efforts were given a boost on Thursday night when a party representing another loyalist paramilitary group, the UVF, postponed a decision on whether to pull out of the talks.

The executive of the other loyalist group, the Progressive Unionist Party, will also meet to decide whether it, as the political voice of the outlawed Ulster Volunteer Force, will attend Monday's peace talks.

John White: "I'm here as an ex-prisoner myself"

The Ulster Democratic Party prisons spokesman, John White, who met the prisoners, said that he hoped his efforts would win back their support for the peace process. "I ... served a lengthy period in prison because of my activities with the UFF," he said.

The spark for the present crisis was the December murder of the leader of the Loyalist Volunteer Force, Billy Wright, inside the Maze.
 

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