THE British Prime Minister has replied to proposals by Mr John Hume designed to secure a second IRA ceasefire. The Irish Times understands the SDLP leader received Mr John Major's response over the weekend and that it is to be published shortly.
It is understood Mr Major has rejected demands for Sinn Fein's automatic entry to multi party talks following the restoration of the ceasefire, and the party's acceptance of the Mitchell principles.
Sources also say the Prime Minister has implicitly rejected suggestions that the talks process should operate to a prescribed timetable. This would appear to give added significance to comments yesterday by former Sinn Fein chairman Mr Mitchel McLaughlin, who anticipated a British rejection and warned Mr Major of a potentially "lethal miscalculation".
However there were conflicting signals last night about the precise terms, and likely impact, of Mr Major's restatement of British, policy on the talks process. And it was unclear whether it could be subject to any final changes after consultations with the Irish Government before publication.
It is understood Mr Major's response to Mr Hume came in thee form of a draft statement or newspaper article. There are suggestions that London intends to publish the text in a Belfast newspaper later this week, although 10 Downing Street last night refused to confirm the correspondence with Mr Hume or any plans to publish.
A spokesman said only: "We are in touch with various parties to the talks. We don't want to comment on speculation, about private communications.
Mr Hume was in Europe and could not be contacted last night. But sources close to the SDLP leader said he remained "upbeat" and that Mr Major's response was not regarded as "slamming the door". At the same time, unionist sources expressed some concern about a passage in the British statement, believed to run for five pages, dealing with "confidence building measures.
However, senior Ulster Unionists declared themselves satisfied that Mr Major's statement reiterates the need to test any new ceasefire by "words and deeds". This is taken to mean an unspecified period would have to elapse before the Northern Secretary, Sir Patrick Mayhew, would invite Sinn Fein to join the talks process.
The British statement is believed to carry the promise that Sinn Fein would gain immediate entry to bilateral talks with officials upon the restoration of the ceasefire and that discussions with British ministers would follow swiftly on the same basis.
However, Ulster Unionist sources claim to have been assured these discussions would not embrace "substantive" issues before Sinn Fein's admission to the Stormont talks process. And while London might have suggestions to make about a desirable timescale for the talks, Mr Major is said to accept that that is not in his gift and is a matter ultimately for the parties to the talks.
SDLP sources last night suggested the British government could still achieve Sinn Fein's admission, if it wished, by building a gap around the Christmas recess.
But determined SDLP optimism was in stark contrast to the comments earlier in the day by Mr McLaughlin. Predicting rejection of the republican conditions for a second ceasefire, he said: "The ball is very firmly in the court of the British government. We are awaiting the response of John Major ... there is nothing more we can do."
He said he feared the British government was going to "shift the goalposts again" and he warned: "It would be yet another lethal miscalculation if the British government were to do that."