A big lie that prevailed through much of the Troubles period was that the British Government did not - and would not - talk to terrorists. In fact, Edward Heath s Government negotiated the first IRA ceasefire in June 1972. The British offered a meeting between the Secretary of State, William Whitelaw, and the IRA leadership.
The IRA learnt a lot from that process. They knew by the time it was over that the British would talk to them again some day.
The British had effectively disclosed their understanding of what a ceasefire entailed. It was simply to be an agreement that the IRA would not shoot soldiers, or police officers, and would not bomb property. Killing civilians and other paramilitaries didn t ruffle British ministers.
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