Thatcher 'expressed fears of Asian rising'
Margaret Thatcher voiced fears of an Asian rising in Britain if Irish nationalists were allowed to express their identity in Northern Ireland, newly declassified government files reveal.
In a peace-building summit between the then Prime Minister and Ireland's premier Garret FitzGerald in 1984, Thatcher said she failed to understand why nationalists were calling for reforms in policing, justice, equality and power-sharing.
During talks in the run-up to the 1984 Anglo-Irish Agreement, the Tory leader warned FitzGerald that “if these things were done, the next question would be what comes next? Were the Sikhs in Southall to be allowed to fly their own flag?”
During exchanges between the two leaders at Chequers, her official residence, she also claimed that permitting Dublin an official role in the running of Northern Ireland would plunge it into civil war. During the exchanges, which were described by witnesses as “rapid and vigorous”, Thatcher feared the wider consequences of addressing Catholic alienation in relation to ethnic minorities in Britain.
At one point Thatcher suggested redrawing the boundary between the north and south of Ireland which Garret FitzGerald immediately rejected, warning it would be a “fatal mistake”. The pair later discussed a federal Belgium-style model – under a monarchy. She did reject Dublin's suggestion for a new “system” of governing based on agreed policies between Britain's secretary of state and an Irish government minister.
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