The UK Unionist leader, Mr Bob McCartney, has accused the British government of "buying entirely into the concepts of Irish nationalism about nationality, the nation and territory". At a press conference in Belfast yesterday, he said he agreed with views expressed by the Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, at the Bodenstown commemoration last Sunday.
Mr Ahern had asserted that the British government was effectively out of the equation in relation to the North's future, Mr McCartney said. He believed this was "an accurate statement" of the constitutional position in the event of the agreement being passed at referendum.
Mr Martin McGuinness of Sinn Fein had also given a "perfectly reasonable analysis" of the constitutional position at his party's ardfheis when he said the Act of Union and the Northern Ireland Constitution Act of 1973 would be rendered inoperable.
Mr McCartney challenged the UUP leader, Mr David Trimble, to a TV debate on his assertion that the agreement strengthened the Union. "That statement is manifestly untrue, and if Mr Trimble believes otherwise, he should have the courage to defend his view before the people of Northern Ireland, so that they can have this matter determined before they say Yes or No to it in any referendum," he added.
The UK Unionist leader was also critical of people who he claimed were championing the cause of the Northern Ireland Office in supporting the agreement. He included among these the editors of the Belfast Telegraph and the News Letter. Mr McCartney also criticised Mr Chris Patten, who, he said, as governor of Hong Kong, had supervised British withdrawal. Was he now engaged in preparations for the lowering of the flag nearer to home, he asked.