A senior Irish diplomat, Mr Ray Bassett, is at the centre of the controversy over the leaked briefing paper which has deeply embarrassed the Government and caused the latest difficulty in the political talks.
The Government briefing document, details of which were first disclosed by UTV on Wednesday night, was left down by Mr Bassett on a table or chair during a press conference by British and Irish Ministers at Farmleigh in Dublin. The Ministers had just finished a meeting of the British-Irish Intergovernmental Conference.
Senior officials from both governments came into the conservatory at Farmleigh to listen to the press conference.
Mr Bassett is understood to have left the conservatory at the end of the press conference temporarily forgetting that he had left down his briefing document. A journalist from UTV is understood to have picked up the document before realising what it was and left with it. The document formed the basis of her report broadcast a few hours later.
The broadcast of the sensitive information caused initial alarm at senior Government level. Mr Bassett realised quickly that his document had formed the basis of the report. The information that the disclosure had been inadvertent eased the initial alarm about a possible security breach but left the Department deeply embarrassed.
Mr Bassett is seen as one of the most effective Department of Foreign Affairs officials involved in the Northern Ireland peace process. Colleagues say he has a particular facility for the drafting and analysis of complex documents and position papers relating to the political process in the North.
He is said to be very down-to-earth and approachable. He holds the senior rank of counsellor, the rank just below that of ambassador.