British Secretary, Sinn Fein Chief Meet

Marjorie Mowlam, Britain’s secretary for Northern Ireland, met with Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams for their first direct talks 16 days after the Irish Republican Army’s truce. Most pro-British Protestant leaders have refused to meet with Adams when talks on the British-ruled province’s future resume in September, with Sinn Fein participating for the first time. “I took the opportunity to tell Sinn Fein face to face that I was pleased the IRA had declared a cease-fire,” Mowlam said after the Belfast meeting. Adams said he pressed Mowlam to oversee a negotiating process that would end British rule and unify the province with the rest of Ireland.