On the surface Hume appeared to have breached the general rule that mainstream politicians should not speak to those associated with violence. Yet although few knew it at the time, the Hume–Adams channel was just the tip of an iceberg, since for years many surreptitious contacts had taken place. It was not only Hume who had been in touch with the republicans but also the Catholic Church, the Irish government and, above all, the British government. London’s line to the republicans stretched back not just for years but, intermittently, for decades. Almost all of this was however hidden from
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