If Sinn Fein accepts the Belfast Agreement, it would have to do so on the understanding that it was accepting the entire document, the British Prime Minister has said.
"We are encouraged if people are going to say Yes, but it has to be on the understanding that it is the whole of the document, the whole package taken together," Mr Blair said at a joint press conference with the former British prime minister, Mr John Major, yesterday in Belfast.
The men arrived in Northern Ireland yesterday to appeal jointly for a massive Yes vote in the referendum on May 22nd. They also praised each other for the role each had played in the peace process.
Mr Blair believed people would vote Yes because they would find the agreement was "a balanced, sensible package, based on sound principles". He added: "But it has got to be taken as a whole, in its entirety."
He hoped the people of Northern Ireland would give a resounding Yes vote. When they read the document, they would see it was based on sound principles and the principle of consent was accepted by everybody.
Mr Blair believed people would vote for the agreement because they would realise there was no alternative.
Mr Major supported this, saying he did not know where they could go if the agreement was rejected. He understood some of the concerns. "But if there is a No vote, I think we get knocked back quite a long way," Mr Major said.
He added: "It would be extraordinarily surprising if some people didn't have concerns. I understand why people like Mr McCartney and Mr Paisley want to say No. I just believe they are wrong."
Mr Blair, who today meets leaders of the Orange Order, said he would explore "precisely what their fears are".
He said that for years, people from the unionist community had said what was important was the principle of consent.
"We now have the greatest opportunity there ever has been for agreement to the principle of consent, across the board in Northern Ireland and in the Republic of Ireland as well. Surely that is the single most important element that is there?" he added.
He emphasised that he understood some of the concerns. This was why he was meeting the Orange Order, and others, to answer their questions on the document.
Mr Blair said Mr Major's visit to Northern Ireland was important because it indicated that people across the political spectrum could unite around the agreement because it was "fair and right and reasonable".
"Also it is important for me personally that he is here because John Major was the person who put this whole process under way. I think we wouldn't be in this position if John Major hadn't the courage to take the first steps towards peace," Mr Blair said.