TONY Blair’s former aide, Alastair Campbell has revealed that the 1987 Enniskillen bombing was one of the atrocities that “constantly came up” during the Labour leader’s time as Prime Minister.

But on the eve of its 26th anniversary, Mr Campbell has been talking about the Blair government’s reluctance to hold public inquiries into such terrorist attacks.

He has explained some of the atmosphere behind the scenes before the signing of the Good Friday Agreement in 1998 when people like Ken Maginnis, then MP for Fermanagh-south Tyrone, refused to be in the same room as republicans and how Blair’s strategy was not to get “locked in the past”.

“I think Tony was always of the view that this process moves forwards or backwards; it doesn’t stand still. If you had been constantly launching big inquiries into some of the atrocities of the past who knows where it would have ended,” said Mr Campbell, in an interview with The Impartial Reporter.

Blair was elected Prime Minister after leading Labour to victory in the 1997 general election, 10 years after the Enniskillen bomb which killed 11 people and injured 63. A twelfth victim, Headmaster Ronnie Hill, died in 2000 after being in a coma for 13 years.

Although the then Northern Ireland Secretary Mo Mowlam did visit Enniskillen on a number of occasions, Blair did not.

According to Mr Campbell, the Prime Minister was “struck” by Omagh following the bomb there in 1998 and the strength of its people.

“Tony and Bill Clinton went to Omagh and met families of people who were killed and injured and felt this wave of people saying you have got to carry on,” he said.

But, explained Mr Campbell, Blair soon discovered that some politicians found the prospect of carrying on a difficult pill to swallow.

“I can remember Ken Maginnis at one point saying I don’t feel very comfortable being in the same room as people who plotted to kill my family,” he said, adding that Blair attempted to improve relations between unionist and nationalist politicians by encouraging them “to absorb the past”.

Asked specifically why Blair did not launch an inquiry into the Enniskillen bomb, which nobody has ever been brought to justice for, Mr Campbell said: “I think you have got to be careful that every time someone calls for a big public inquiry that you should have one; I think the feeling maybe, wasn’t. You know, Bloody Sunday pressure was enormous.” “You could have ended up with a little of what you had, in a totally different context, south of the Border; constant inquiries and tribunals, whereas in a sense, what the peace process was about was trying to move on and not get locked in the past,” he added.

Reiterating his point, Mr Campbell said Blair was “pretty reluctant” to launch an inquiry into Bloody Sunday, but added: “I think that come the end of it there was a sense that maybe, despite the cost and everything else, it was worth it.” Mr Campbell, Blair’s former director of communications, released his new book this week in Belfast. ‘The Irish Diaries’, published by The Lilliput Press, documents Blair’s role in the Northern Ireland peace process; exploring the tensions, all-night talks, tough negotiations and personality clashes between the various politicians in the run up to the signing of the Good Friday Agreement.

“Looking back, I think one of the most extraordinary moments was when [Gerry] Adams and [Martin] McGuinness and their colleagues came to Number 10, because I remember there were people in there who were inside the building when a mortar bomb was landed and there were people there who worked for Margaret Thatcher; that was a big moment,” said Mr Campbell.

“Tony once said negotiating with Sinn Fein was like watching unity in motion,” he said, “There was tension at the start but as time passed that basic judgement was made that these guys were serious. There were times when you felt they were trying it on a bit or maybe pushing too hard for some things, but we were constantly reminded of the past by both sides.” “There were times when you scratched your head and thought, how can this mean so much? The fact is that it did mean so much and that became incredibly difficult at times,” he said.

Recalling his relationship with the senior Sinn Fein politicians, Mr Campbell said: “There was always something really direct that I liked about McGuinness. I can understand that some people would be offended by that but you can only be honest about what you saw and how you felt. I always sensed with Adams that I was never quite sure what he was getting at; you always got a sense that there was a bigger game going on.” Earlier this week, former U.S. envoy Dr. Richard Haass flew into Belfast to continue his all-party talks on issues such as parades, flags and the past.

Mr Campbell said the flags issue, which flared up following Belfast City Council’s decision to fly the union flag on designated days only, was a reminder that you “have got to be very careful”.

“You can’t be complacent, you have to understand the depth of feeling, you have got to understand the history, you have got to understand why people feel as strongly as you do,” he said.

“The political make-up of that Council at that time and part of public opinion responded in the way that it did and it flared up and became a big issue. But it didn’t require David Cameron to fly in to sort it out, certainly whenever Tony was there he was forever flying in to sort out things.” Praising the “significant change” in Northern Ireland today, Mr Campbell said people here “shouldn’t underestimate” the developments, including that of Peter Robinson and Martin McGuinness who “not that long ago disagreed with each other on absolutely everything – now they are sharing decisions”.