U.K. team in U.S. to defend policies

Press, 22 June 1981, Page 8

U.K. team in U.S. to defend policies

NZPA-Reuter London Two senior British officials have gone to the United States to defend Britain’s Irish policies. But, the Government said the mission was unconnected with the furor over Prince Charles’s trip to New York last week. London called it a routine visit, but there were clear indications that the British are anxious to counter a stepped-up campaign by Irish Republicans for American sympathy. The Republicans succeeded during the Prince’s one-day trip in staging a huge show of. moral support for their--cause of ending British rule in Northern Ire? land. . The Mayor of New York (Mr Edward Koch) .sided publicly with the Republicans, calling Britain’s Irish policy ah abomination and saying it should “get the hell out of Ireland.” Charles’s treatment in New York caused fury in England, where an outraged press denounced Irish-Ameri-cans' as contemptible and savaged Mr,/.Koch in editorials, articles.and cartoons. Britain is acutely sensitive to international criticism of

its role in Northern Ireland, where since 1969 its troops have battled Irish Republican Army guerrillas. It is also bitterly artgry over the steady flowof funds across the Atlantic to the I.R.A. from Irish-Americans.

In Washington, the British Embassy said the two officials, the Information director and the Deputy Secretary of the Northern Ireland Office, would "see Reagan Administration aides and Congressional staff on a four or five day visit, and would also go to New York City. . '

. Mr Koch said yesterday that British officials tried .to gag the world’s press when he. leaked Prince Charles’s private remarks on Ireland.

The British consulate in New York telephoned his office urgently after he told reporters what Charles said to him over lunch during the Prince's one-day trip to the city.

. "They made a request that I call up the news agencies and press and ask them not to use what I had said,” Mr Koch said. . "I said we don’t do that in this country: We don't manage the newspapers. They

evidently don't understand freedom of the press.” The call to . Mr Koch’s office was made by Patrick Nixon, executive director of the consulate's information service.

Mr Nixon said yesterday that he made clear Britain’s disapproval of the Prince's remarks being made public, but that by then it was too late to do anything about it. Mr Nixon said -he was asked to niake ;the call “on behalf of the Prince’s party.”

“We wanted to know how far this thing had gone. We thought perhaps it. had been said in one interview. We didn’t, know Mr Koch had told everybody. "I pointed out that the conversation had ~ been a private one and should not be divulged to the press. It was implicit that we disapproved.” • The Prince ■ and. Mr Koch discussed Britain's Irish troubles while cruising on the Hudson River aboard a yacht. A spokesman for Mr Koch said: "Our view is that there’ was nothing private about a conversation over lunch on a yacht full of people. The British have a different idea of protocol;”