TONY Blair was encouraged to meet Orange Order leaders while prime minister to "positively” influence Protestant voters who had yet to make up their minds about the Good Friday Agreement.
The Orange Order leadership had sought a meeting with Blair in 1998 following the signing of the historic peace agreement, but before the public on both sides of the Irish border had voted in a referendum on the political deal.
Papers reveal that the order had been offered meetings with the then-secretary of state Mo Mowlam and Northern Ireland Office (NIO) ministers, but had held out for a face-to-face meeting with Blair to express their concerns over the agreement.
