DAVID TRIMBLE

It was the people who can take peace credit

THE people of Northern Ireland can claim the credit for ending violence and saving lives, former Ulster Unionist leader David Trimble said yesterday.

Lord Trimble won the Nobel Peace Prize for his role in sealing the agreement and paramilitary arms were later decommissioned during his tenure as UUP chief.

He said: “When we had the opportunity to put a good deal in front of people, that changed the context completely. It was the people of Northern Ireland who made it clear to paramilitaries that they did not want that to continue.

“We were delighted to have reached that position because, all during the time of the Troubles, politics had not been able to deliver and we knew that sooner or later we were going to have to actually create things and we did, we had the chance to do it then and I am delighted we had the chance and we have taken that.”

Speaking about his stance that the IRA must decommission as part of the deal, Lord Trimble added: “Blair stuck by his promises to me, in a situation where the Irish Government, the US Government and Sinn Fein were all saying to Blair, ‘Don’t do this’, Blair supported the unionists at that time.”

Lord Trimble was First Minister from 1998 to 2002 when the institutions were suspended following a police raid on Sinn Fein’s Stormont offices.

The UUP was eventually eclipsed by the DUP and he stood down as leader in 2005.