Belfast Telegraph
JOHN MULGREW
OVER the past week the Belfast Telegraph exclusively revealed a raft of sensational insights regarding Northern Ireland's political system from thousands of secret US cables from the whistle-blowing website Wikileaks.
Journalists from both the Belfast Telegraph and Irish Independent spent hundreds of hours trawling through more than 7,000 A4 pages amounting to 2.4m words in a three-month investigation uncovering an unprecedented analysis into Northern Ireland's relationship with the US in the 21st century.
Among the many shocking revelations, it was revealed that the DUP and Sinn Fein were engaged in private talks almost three years before their power-sharing agreement. It was also revealed that the British and Irish governments had plans to crash Stormont and reintroduce direct rule if a deal on policing was not agreed.
The cables showed that the US still viewed Northern Ireland as a security issue and were keeping a close eye on proceedings with senior US officials shown time-lapse footage of the murder of two soldiers at Massereene barracks only hours after it happened.
Many of Northern Ireland and the Republic's key political figures also faced a harsh critique from senior US officials and fellow politicians. SDLP leader Margaret Ritchie received an embarrassing snub by a member of the American Consul in Belfast, branded as "stilted, wooden... with an unpleasant speaking voice".
Peter Robinson's ability as First Minister was also brought into question after cables revealed that former Secretary of State Shaun Woodward had described him as "hanging on by a thread".
In the Republic, it was revealed that Bertie Ahern was "certain" that Gerry Adams and Martin McGuinness had advance knowledge of the Northern Bank raid in 2004. Mr Adams was also labelled as "absurd" and "disingenuous" by a top diplomat based in Ireland.
Among the cables, it emerged the former Taoiseach had considered overturning a cornerstone of the Good Friday Agreement by reasserting the Republic's constitutional claim on Northern Ireland after frustration regarding the DUP's refusal to join Sinn Fein in a power-sharing government.
In a separate cable, it was revealed Mr Ahern also told US diplomats that "everyone knows" the UK was involved in the murder of Pat Finucane in 1989.
Despite the significance of the reports it's thought they have only scratched the surface, described by one Queen's University professor as "only one part of the puzzle".
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