Civil servants opposed Mowlam wish to write Famine article, files show Northern Ireland secretary could detract from Blair statement of regret, officials feared Thu, Dec 31, 2020, 00:03 Mark Devenport Northern Ireland secretary Mo Mowlam wanted to write an article criticising the wrongs of all parties during the Famine. Photograph: Reuters/Corbis
Northern Ireland Office (NIO) civil servants believed a magazine article by their new secretary Mo Mowlam on the 150th anniversary of the Famine could detract from the widespread praise garnered by Tony Blair’s statement of regret in June 1997. One senior civil servant feared Mowlam would produce something “likely to be shredded by the professional historians”, according to files released in Belfast today.