Blair, though clearly shaken by the killings, persevered with the process and attempted to maintain its momentum. Crucially, London and Dublin together laid down that IRA decommissioning was not a precondition for Sinn Féin entry to talks. In what was seen as a calculated gamble by Blair and Mowlam it was announced that political talks would begin in earnest in September, and that Sinn Féin would be allowed in six weeks after a new IRA ceasefire. Part of the gamble lay in the possibility that, if Sinn Féin were allowed in, Trimble might lead his Ulster Unionists out.
