Mo Mowlam, Britain's Northern Ireland Secretary, met loyalist terrorists in the Maze prison on Friday 9 January. She offered to meet republicans as well. The meeting was unprecedented and Whitehall has said it was entirely self motivated by Dr Mowlam.

SDLP and DUP representatives debate Mo Mowlam's visit on BBC Radio's Today (Dur : 4'17")

The visit has been welcomed by Sinn Fein and the Ulster Unionists, but others see her attempt to revive the fragile peace process as an act of desperation. Britain's national papers are split over the visit.

The Daily Telegraph "bizarre, offensive, and naive in the extreme'.
Daily Express "Mowlam should not sentence our democracy to death".

The Conservative party has questioned what Dr Mowlam could achieve by talking to the prisoners that she could not achieve by talking to the political parties associated with them. They say the paramilitaries will now know how to get direct access to the Northern Ireland Secretary.

For a special report on the Maze prison click here

Dr Mowlam's visit was an attempt to to persuade the Protestant prisoners' groups to take part in the peace talks after they withdrew their support earlier in the week. We asked you "Should prisoners take part in the peace process". You can read the reaction here.

Clearly Dr Mowlam thinks prisoners must be involved. But is the Secretary of State right to visit convicted terrorists?

I do hope you've not allowed some of the pathetic Hollywood portrayals of IRA 'heroes', Matthew, to influence you - Mickey Rourke as a 'nice' IRA man (eugh).The real terrorists are murdering scum, quite happy to kill innocents and bystanders - they're not Brad Pitt...
Steve Switzer, England

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