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Britain: Blair Defends I.R.A. Deal Britain: Blair Defends I.R.A. Deal
(less than a minute earlier)
Former Prime Minister Tony Blair on Tuesday defended his government’s decision to give Irish Republican Army fugitives written assurances that they would not be arrested, and denied keeping the deal secret. Mr. Blair answered questions from a parliamentary panel investigating his agreement with Sinn Fein, a party once linked to the I.R.A. Several lawmakers said that he had deliberately concealed the existence of the letters that about 200 I.R.A. members received, starting in 2000. He defended the concession as necessary to secure Sinn Fein’s 2007 decision to support Northern Ireland’s police. He acknowledged that he had not told rivals or the public, but denied that this amounted to secrecy.Former Prime Minister Tony Blair on Tuesday defended his government’s decision to give Irish Republican Army fugitives written assurances that they would not be arrested, and denied keeping the deal secret. Mr. Blair answered questions from a parliamentary panel investigating his agreement with Sinn Fein, a party once linked to the I.R.A. Several lawmakers said that he had deliberately concealed the existence of the letters that about 200 I.R.A. members received, starting in 2000. He defended the concession as necessary to secure Sinn Fein’s 2007 decision to support Northern Ireland’s police. He acknowledged that he had not told rivals or the public, but denied that this amounted to secrecy.