Mo Mowlam critically ill

**sligoman** · 03/08/2005, 6:29 PM

Mo Mowlam, the former Northern Ireland Secretary who played a leading role in the province's peace process, is critically ill in a London hospital.

"She is here and she is critical but stable," said a spokeswoman for King's College hospital, adding Mowlam's family wanted no more details made public.

Mowlam, 55, a popular and outspoken character, served in Prime Minister Tony Blair's government for four years from 1997 after recovering from a brain tumour.

Before stepping down from politics in 2001, she topped a poll as the public's choice to succeed Blair as prime minister.

Blair shifted her from Northern Ireland Secretary in 1999 to a lesser ministerial job.

From Yahoo.

**sligoman** · 03/08/2005, 6:30 PM

Hopefully she'll be ok and recover to good health

**Ringo** · 03/08/2005, 9:14 PM

Sligoman, this is one thing we'll agree on this season. She was extremely important to the peace process & is a great politician. Hope she recovers.

**Poor Student** · 03/08/2005, 9:18 PM

Best wishes to her but something sounds ominous about the lack of info on what is ailing her.

**Ringo** · 03/08/2005, 9:20 PM

Mo Mowlam 'critical but stable'

Ex-cabinet minister Mo Mowlam is widely popular
Former Northern Ireland Secretary Mo Mowlam is critically ill, hospital officials have said.
The popular and charismatic ex-cabinet minister oversaw the negotiations which led to the 1998 Good Friday Agreement.

Ms Mowlam, Labour MP for Redcar between 1987-2001, is well-known for her outspoken views and tactile charm.

A spokeswoman at King's College Hospital said Ms Mowlam, 55, had been admitted at the weekend. She described her condition as "critical but stable".

She would not give further details of Ms Mowlam's illness or say whether it was connected to a previous brain tumour.

Controversy

Ms Mowlam, who is married to merchant banker Jon Norton, was popular with voters, partly because of her determination to carry on as Northern Ireland secretary despite treatment for a brain tumour which caused hair loss.

In 1998 she took a particular political risk by going inside the Maze Prison when it became clear that the peace process would only succeed with the backing of the prisoners. The loyalist UDA/UFF prisoners had previously withdrawn their support for the process.

She spoke to the prisoners face-to-face for 60 minutes, and two hours later the paramilitaries' political representatives announced they were being allowed to rejoin the talks.

She told reporters at the time: "I didn't negotiate, I didn't do a deal. If you want progress, you ain't going to get it if you don't have talks."

Standing ovation

She made the peace agreement a personal triumph, but reconciliation eluded her.

In 1999 she was replaced as Northern Ireland secretary by Peter Mandelson, and became Tony Blair's cabinet "enforcer", seen by some as merely being a minister for the Today programme.

Her time in the cabinet was somewhat marred by a steady flow of reports that someone in a high place was "briefing against her".

There were also claims that Mr Blair was annoyed that the 1998 Labour Party conference had given her a standing ovation during his speech - a charge denied by the prime minister.

**CollegeTillIDie** · 03/08/2005, 11:00 PM

She's had cancer before... looks ominous... hope she recovers

**Green Tribe** · 03/08/2005, 11:08 PM

Best wishes to her, hoping for improvement, but unfort. does not sound good, and she is so young

I always admired her for her work in N.Ireland, she was more open and eager to move things forward unlike those other stuffy arseholes we had as NI secretaries.

**Fair_play_boy** · 03/08/2005, 11:09 PM

Mo Mowlam is one of a kind, a real gem in public life. I can't think of one Irish politician who comes even close to her cocktail of charisma, balls, humour, honesty, and earthy way of looking at things.
The news does not look good. I hope she is not suffering.

**Green Tribe** · 03/08/2005, 11:12 PM

Originally Posted by Fair_play_boy

Mo Mowlam is one of a kind, a real gem in public life. I can't think of one Irish politician who comes even close to her cocktail of charisma, balls, humour, honesty, and earthy way of looking at things.
The news does not look good. I hope she is not suffering.

Yip, hear, hear...

**Fair_play_boy** · 03/08/2005, 11:15 PM

Originally Posted by kerr's tribe

. . . she was more open and eager to move things forward unlike those other stuffy arseholes we had as NI ecretaries.

You are being WAY too kind there, KT. At least arseholes are good for something.

**Green Tribe** · 03/08/2005, 11:24 PM

Originally Posted by Fair_play_boy

You are being WAY too kind there, KT. At least arseholes are good for something.

Suppose you're right there FPB, they are rather useful....

**Aldini98** · 04/08/2005, 4:52 PM

Originally Posted by Fair_play_boy

Mo Mowlam is one of a kind, a real gem in public life. I can't think of one Irish politician who comes even close to her cocktail of charisma, balls, humour, honesty, and earthy way of looking at things.
The news does not look good. I hope she is not suffering.

Hear Hear, and intelligence, something no Irish politican has. Especially Muppet features in charge who can only read prepared statements and otherwise talk eeeerrrrr aaaaaaahhhhhh nonsense.

**Baker** · 04/08/2005, 5:00 PM

She seemed to be very well respected by all during her time up North and did an awful lot for the peace process.

Hopefully she'll be able to make a full recovery from this.

**liam88** · 04/08/2005, 5:29 PM

Have said a prayer for her.......best of luck to her.

**dahamsta** · 04/08/2005, 5:38 PM

My favourite politician. Hope she's comfortable and getting better.

adam

**Duncan Gardner** · 06/08/2005, 8:25 PM

Get well soon Mo.

Unsurprisingly, I don't quite share the high opinion of her time as NI minister.

Her time in the job was largely a combination of comic relief (telling Paisley to fcuk off, sending a Police superintendent to Boot's to buy her tampons), and absurdist theatre (remember the 'more tea Mad Dog' cartoons when she chatted with paramilitaries in the Maze).

She lost the job not because she was more popular than the jealous Blair, as was widely assumed in the British press at the time, but by misreading the basic rule of Ulster politics. It's about selling out the Prods, but subtly enough that they don't notice...

**carrickharp** · 19/08/2005, 7:33 AM

Just passed away RIP

**CollegeTillIDie** · 19/08/2005, 7:35 AM

Mo Mowlam has died. May she rest in peace. She was one of the best English politicians ever on the issue of Northern Ireland. She was also a great person with a terrific sense of humour. A terrible loss of someone so young.
Ar dheis D� go raibh a anam.