McAleese role in peace process is defended by Hume

John Hume last night gave his support to the Fianna Fail/ Progressive Democrat presidential candidate, Prof Mary McAleese, when he described as "absolutely false" and "an absolute outrage" the allegations surrounding her role in the peace process.

And Mrs Brid Rodgers, the senior member of the SDLP and former senator whose purported comments about Prof McAleese in the leaked Department of Foreign Affairs memoranda provoked the controversy surrounding her, said she wished to "refute the unworthy implications from some quarters" being ascribed to Prof McAleese's role in the peace process.

Mr Hume's comments, made in a statement, followed a day of controversy over weekend reports of the leaked memoranda. The strength of the controversy forced Prof McAleese to abandon the "no comment" response to which she stuck rigidly on Sunday night by holding a press conference on Inis Mor.

In his statement, Mr Hume said any suggestion that Father Alex Reid, the Redemptorist priest leading the peace mission in which Prof McAleese was involved, and a third person, Mr Jim Fitzpartick, chairman of the Irish News newspaper, "were engaged in anything other than work for peace and a total end to violence, is not only absolutely false it is an absolute outrage".

The memoranda, written by a Department official, attributed comments to the Mrs Rodgers that the three were a "triumvarate" pushing a Sinn Fein agenda and that the Irish News had "become more pro-Sinn Fein".

Mr Hume said: "The leaking of confidential documents of the Department of Foreign Affairs is to be unreservedly condemned. The real public interest is not the contents of the documents but who was the person or persons who leaked them. If any newspaper is aware of who did this they should name them immediately because it is clearly in the public interest that they be named."

Speaking to reporters on the Aran Islands Prof McAleese said she would not be stepping down as the Alliance leader, Lord Alderdice, had called on her to do and sacrifice her candidacy for the peace process.

Prof McAleese suggested Lord Alderdice might be "confused" by reports of separate leaked documents which did not relate to her but could, it had been said, threaten the peace process.

The SDLP leader also defended the Irish News. "As its readers know, the Irish News, throughout the last 30 years, has been one of the clearest most powerful and most consistent media voices opposed to violence and to all organisations engaged in it as well as being a clear and powerfully consistent supporter of the peace process from its beginning."

In her first public statement since the weekend, Mrs Rodgers said: "I want to make it absolutely clear that at no time did I convey [nor do the contents of the leaked document suggest] that in my view any of the three people concerned could be in any way identified with support in any shape or form for, or ambivalence towards, violence."

On Sunday night Prof McAleese refused to answer questions on the latest details. She said she had already dealt "absolutely comprehensively" with the issue in television interviews last week and had no intention of answering further questions.

Yesterday morning in an interview with Galway Bay FM she maintained this position. At one point she told the interviewer he should tell the listeners what she had said on the Late Late Show and on Questions and Answers.

However, by mid morning her press handlers agreed that she would give an interview. The Minister for Environment and Rural Development, Mr Dempsey, acknowledged that she had been following his advise on Sunday night "and my advice was wrong".

At her island press conference, Prof McAleese outlined her role with the Redemptorist Peace Mission, which she said was done in the "name of the Gospel and in the name of God". Asked about her contact with Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams she said: "He's not a personal friend. He's not a person I go out with at night. He's not a person that I converse with in the normal course of events.

Gardai are hopeful of an early outcome to their investigation into the leaking of Department of Foreign affairs memos, the deputy leader of Fianna Fail,Ms Mary O'Rourke, suggested last night.

Speaking on RTE's "Question and Answers" she said that "it appears from some information on the latest leaks on Sunday that there will be a clear path to uncovering who did the leaks and I think it will be very interesting."