THE British government still holds to the principle that all party negotiations must be in place as soon as possible and there still remains a possibility of achieving that by the end of February, the Northern Secretary has said.
Sir Patrick Mayhew, speaking yesterday in Larne, Co Antrim, implied that Mr Spring had exceeded the boundaries of diplomatic procedure in his weekend remarks about British tactics.
"I thought it rather surprising language, and I thought it was rather a pity that something of this character was said outside the channels of communication which it is the purpose of the Anglo Irish Agreement to provide and which are operated," he said. "But I think I've said publicly everything that needed to be said last night."
This was apparently a reference to similar remarks he had made when his officials called representatives of some Northern news media to a late night briefing at Hillsborough Castle on Sunday, at which he gave an early rejoinder to Mr Spring's comments.
Sir Patrick also thought it important for people to recognise that the British government accepted all the recommendations in the Mitchell report and that they wanted to see other people accept these recommendations too.
"I think there is a lot of misunderstanding about the kind of elective body or election process that we had in mind," he said. "I am not at all surprised to find nationalists saying they were not going to take part in any assembly. The point is that nobody is suggesting any assembly - nothing with legislative powers, nothing with administrative powers."
The Northern Secretary did not provide any more specific information about Mr Major's election proposal. Replying to questions about the detail, he said: "Well, the precise form that that election will take is not possible to say before we see in the political track what the parties are willing to agree to."
"We want to see intensive progress made in that political track, and that is indeed what Mitchell in his report urged.
As for aiming at all party talks by the end of February, as undertaken in the Anglo Irish Joint Communique, he said: "We certainly hold to the principle that all party negotiations must be in place as soon as ever possible, and we have the firm aim, and had the firm aim, with the Iris Government, of the end of February. Now that still remains a possibility."
Meanwhile, an SDLP delegation had meetings at Stormont yesterday with delegations from the fringe loyalist parties, the PUP and UDP, at which all sides said there was broad agreement on social and economic aims.
The very fact of such meetings, said SDLP leader Mr John Hume, underlined the transformation that had already taken place in the Northern communities. It was essential to all sections of the community should talk to on another.
All were agreed at yesterday's meeting that the major objective had got to be, as soon as possible, all party talks, he added. The SDLP was not against electoral processes nor was it against proposals for Northern Ireland institutions being on the agenda for discussions leading to elections.
But the SDLP's view was that elections were only postponing the real task which was getting around the table to work for a better future, and that should be done as soon as possible. Last week's British suggestion of an electoral process was only prolonging the situation.
Mr Hume welcomed today's meeting between the SDLP and Mr Major "because I presume he will brief us in full on his overall position".
Meanwhile, the DUP leader, the Rev Ian Paisley, predicted yesterday that both Sinn Fein and the SDLP would take part in an election.