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Senior SDLP figure used only his first name in correspondence, saying that wealthy industrialist ‘offers himself as a spokesman for moderate Irish nationalist opinion and would commit to participate actively in the House of Lords’
Dr Michael Smurfit pictured at his house on the K Club in 2016. Photo: Mark Condren
A senior SDLP figure was involved in a clandestine attempt to get a top Irish business figure into the House of Lords, declassified files reveal.
A secretive series of discussions involved a senior UUP figure, the SDLP figure and Downing Street — but ultimately failed, despite the Monaco-based senior businessman agreeing to become a working peer.