Part of the debate – in the House of Commons am 12:00 am ar 13 Rhagfyr 1973.
Would the Minister not agree that the two letters—I invite him to print them in the OFFICIAL REPORT—did not invite Mr. Craig or myself to open-ended talks, but invited us to give our opinion on one matter—the Council of Ireland—and not the other matters in paragraph 112 of the White Paper? Will he not concede to the House that the letter asking us to go to the Sunningdale talks was delivered to the House of Commons at three o'clock? We replied immediately, and the letter was delivered at six o'clock to the Castle. Therefore, there was no need for a plane to be standing by next day, because our firm refusal to attend had already been notified. I have a copy of the letter. The Minister said we were invited to open-ended talks, but we were not. We were invited to express an opinion on only one matter, the Council of Ireland.