Northern Ireland Secretary appeals for calm

The British minister responsible for Northern Ireland, Mo Mowlem has urged all parties in peace talks to move the process forward as quickly as possible in order to counteract the fear and despair over more sectarian killings.

She said the latest Anglo-Irish peace proposals were the ones which all sides must use as the basis of negotiation despite their rejection by the political wing of the IRA, Sinn Fein which wants the unification of Ireland Dr Mowlem, political leaders in Northern Ireland and the family of the latest sectarian victim, the Roman Catholic manager of a taxi firm, all appealed for restraint and the end to tit for tat killings.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service