Mo Mowlam ‘critical but stable’
Ex-cabinet minister Mo Mowlam is widely popular
Former Northern Ireland Secretary Mo Mowlam is critically ill, hospital officials have said.
The popular and charismatic ex-cabinet minister oversaw the negotiations which led to the 1998 Good Friday Agreement.
Ms Mowlam, Labour MP for Redcar between 1987-2001, is well-known for her outspoken views and tactile charm.
A spokeswoman at King’s College Hospital said Ms Mowlam, 55, had been admitted at the weekend. She described her condition as “critical but stable”.
She would not give further details of Ms Mowlam’s illness or say whether it was connected to a previous brain tumour.
Controversy
Ms Mowlam, who is married to merchant banker Jon Norton, was popular with voters, partly because of her determination to carry on as Northern Ireland secretary despite treatment for a brain tumour which caused hair loss.
In 1998 she took a particular political risk by going inside the Maze Prison when it became clear that the peace process would only succeed with the backing of the prisoners. The loyalist UDA/UFF prisoners had previously withdrawn their support for the process.
She spoke to the prisoners face-to-face for 60 minutes, and two hours later the paramilitaries’ political representatives announced they were being allowed to rejoin the talks.
She told reporters at the time: “I didn’t negotiate, I didn’t do a deal. If you want progress, you ain’t going to get it if you don’t have talks.”
Standing ovation
She made the peace agreement a personal triumph, but reconciliation eluded her.
In 1999 she was replaced as Northern Ireland secretary by Peter Mandelson, and became Tony Blair’s cabinet “enforcer”, seen by some as merely being a minister for the Today programme.
Her time in the cabinet was somewhat marred by a steady flow of reports that someone in a high place was “briefing against her”.
There were also claims that Mr Blair was annoyed that the 1998 Labour Party conference had given her a standing ovation during his speech - a charge denied by the prime minister.
I’ve respected this woman ever since I read about her walking into the Maze prison in 1997. Over the past eight years, my admiration of her has only increased. It makes me sad to read that she is critically ill, and I sincerely hope that she would be well soon.
Comment by P. K. Sharma — 15/8/2005 @ 5:45 am