BBC denies seeking interview with IRA

Sinn Fein has sanctioned senior party activists and former republican hunger-strikers to take part in a BBC documentary on the…

Sinn Fein has sanctioned senior party activists and former republican hunger-strikers to take part in a BBC documentary on the history of the party and its relationship with the IRA. However, even before the screening of the documentary, Provos: the IRA and Sinn Fein, the BBC has been forced to deny that the series presenter, Peter Taylor, has been seeking an interview with a senior member of an active IRA unit.

The four-part documentary, which may be shown in the autumn, is understood to deal with the history of republicanism during the past 30 years. Sinn Fein confirmed yesterday that it had agreed to "conditional and limited co-operation" with the producers.

A party spokesman, Mr Richard McAuley, denied reports that the party had refused to allow members to participate in the documentary. While Sinn Fein was "aware of the risks" of taking part in the project, he said, Mr Taylor had produced "enormously effective" programmes in the past ad dressing the conflict in Northern Ireland.

Asked if the programme presented a political risk for Sinn Fein as it faced the prospect of entering multiparty talks in September, Mr McAuley replied: "I don't know. We took this very much on face value. We knew what we wanted to say and the way Sinn Fein is presented by the British media. A lot of information [in the documentary] will come from our enemies. I don't know what conclusions will come from the programme."

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While the president of Sinn Fein, Mr Gerry Adams, and its chief negotiator, Mr Martin McGuinness, were not interviewed, Mr McAuley confirmed that former hunger-strikers Mr Raymond McCartney and Mr Brendan Hughes did take part.

A BBC spokeswoman said the organisation "categorically" denied seeking an interview with an active high-ranking member of the IRA.

"It is not to its knowledge seeking interviews with any currently active IRA members nor has it any plans to seek any such interviews. There is no question of the programme glorifying terrorism."