Sir, – Regarding Renagh Holohan's excellent piece on the late Mike Burns in An Irishwoman's Diary (March 8th), I suggest that the "slightly obscure" British-Irish Inter-Parliamentary Body, of which I had the honour to be joint clerk for seven years, along with a Westminster colleague, might be more accurately described as a discreet, but proactive group that, over a remarkably short space of time, broke down many barriers and misunderstandings that had existed from time immemorial. Joint committees of elected members produced a range of reports that cemented relationships between both parliaments over the intervening years. The original steering committee that drove the engine was co-chaired by Jim Tunney and Peter Temple-Morris, along with Peter Barry, Dick Spring, Stuart Bell and David Winnick. Apart from the inspired choice of Mike Burns as press officer, the Irish members had ongoing access to the expertise within the Department of Foreign Affairs, as did their Westminster counterparts from within the then British Foreign and Commonwealth Office. – Yours, etc,
PATRICK JUDGE,
Dún Laoghaire,
Co Dublin.