Reynolds accused of 'memory lapse' on deal

Discord and the Downing Street declaration: Former premier sparks controversy with call for all-party talks

Albert Reynolds, the former Irish Prime Minister, was accused of having a "memory lapse" by a British minister yesterday after disowning the Downing Street Declaration.

Mr Reynolds surprised ministers by saying he would not have signed the declaration if he had known that the decommissioning of weapons was to be made a pre-condition of Sinn Fein's participation in the all-party talks on the future of Northern Ireland.

He also urged John Major to call Sinn Fein to all-party talks, defying the threat of a boycott by the Ulster Unionists, who have warned they will not to sit down for negotiations with Sinn Fein until the IRA has made progress on decommissioning its weapons.

Sir Patrick Mayhew, Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, who is on holiday, has responded to the growing anxiety about the lack of progress in bringing Sinn Fein to the negotiating table by offering it a place in a fresh round of bilateral talks, involving all the parties.

Mr Reynolds' remarks, at a meeting in Belfast, were criticised by Baroness Denton, a Northern Ireland minister, who said: "I think Mr Reynolds' memory seems to have slipped somewhat. That isn't the worry because it is quite obvious that the question of arms was a major issue in negotiating where we went forward."

Sammy Wilson, a leading member of the Democratic Unionist Party, accused Mr Reynolds of giving the IRA approval to continue holding their arms. "Albert Reynolds must bear the responsibility if the IRA hang on to the means by which they can kill men, women and children in Northern Ireland because he has given the signal that politicians from the Republic will support them in that demand," he said.

Mr Reynolds said: "If everybody started to lay down pre-conditions, we would never have any talks starting. There is no historic precedent for handing up arms. This has not happened anywhere around the world either. This was not a pre-condition and there is no point in trying to say now that it was. It certainly was not."

He added: "It is almost 12 months since the start of the IRA and loyalist ceasefires in Northern Ireland. Sinn Fein have clearly demonstrated their position, and I believe the talks should start now."

The Belfast South Ulster Unionist MP, the Rev Martin Smyth, criticised Mr Reynolds and his Fianna Fail party, in a controversy which underlined the problems facing the Government in the run-up to the first anniversary of the IRA ceasefire at the end of the month. Government sources pointed out that the joint declaration between Mr Major and Mr Reynolds contained a requirement that only those parties which were committed "to exclusively peaceful methods" were free to participate fully in the talks.