The European Commission of Human Rights yesterday rejected a case against the British government by the Sinn Fein president, Mr Gerry Adams, and the Labour MP Mr Tony Benn, describing it as "manifestly ill founded".
The commission, which vets applications to the Strasbourg court of human rights, said the complaint about Mr Adams's exclusion from Britain under the Prevention of Terrorism Act was "inadmissible".
The dispute began in September 1993 when Mr Benn invited Mr Adams to address MPs and journalists at the House of Commons. The home secretary intervened, signing an exclusion order.