Sinn Fein MPs would not take their seats at Westminster even if the oath of allegiance to Queen Elizabeth was dropped, Mr Gerry Adams has told The Irish Times.
The chairman of the parliamentary Labour Party, Mr Clive Soley, suggested an amendment of the oath after the speaker of the House of Commons, Ms Betty Boothroyd, yesterday upheld her ruling barring Mr Adams and Mr Martin McGuinness from having office facilities in the Palace of Westminster.
Mr Soley said an oath of allegiance to parliament and to democracy would "call Sinn Fein's bluff" and deny the party "having a propaganda victory". However, Mr Adams said the question of the oath was "a bit of a distraction".
While a change might be good for British democracy, it would not alter Sinn Fein's position. Asked if he could see himself sitting in the Commons following a change to the oath, Mr Adams said: "No, because the issue for us is the claim of that parliament to jurisdiction in Ireland." Asked if it could be assumed Sinn Fein
would sit in any new Northern Ireland parliament or assembly emerging as part of a political settlement, Mr Adams said: "Well, I don't think we should assume anything . . . Sinn Fein's point of view is that an internal settlement is not a solution."
Mr Adams was speaking after a "very frank . . . quite cordial and friendly" meeting with the speaker, but he attacked her "unilateral" decision to reverse previous practice by denying him and Mr McGuinness access to Commons facilities. He said the party would appeal the ruling to the European Court of Human Rights.
Mr Adams said Ms Boothroyd's decision was discriminatory and should be reversed. "It's part of the old knee-jerk old agenda at a time when that agenda was about marginalising and demonising people, about denying people their rights." It was "absurd" he was denied access to Westminster when next Thursday he would enter 10 Downing Street for talks with the British Prime Minister.
In a statement, Ms Boothroyd said her ruling would apply to any MP not taking a seat for any reason: "Those who choose not to take their seats should not have access to the benefits and facilities available in the house without also taking up their responsibilities as members and participating in the democratic process."
Mr Adams said her ruling was also contradictory, as the two Sinn Fein MPs were permitted the use of Commons stationery and free postage to deal with constituency matters. By her "undemocratic decision", the speaker had shown "she sees the people of Mid Ulster and West Belfast and republicans generally in Ireland as secondclass citizens".