THE head of Northern Ireland’s civil service described SDLP leader John Hume as appearing to be politically “bankrupt” according to newly released documents dating from 1985.

Sir Kenneth Bloomfield made the comment in a briefing document after a US conference in Virginia in January that year.

Referring to Mr Hume, he said: “He gave a chilling impression of political bankruptcy, rather like a man who has lost a fortune by backing a particular number consistently at the roulette table and continues to stare at that number even though he no longer has a stake to play.”

He added: “The unionists put him under very skilful and sustained pressure to engage in talks about arrangements for internal government, even to the extent of throwing out the lifeline of willingness to recognise some kind of relevant interest on the part of the Irish Republic.”

Mr Hume went on to jointly receive the Nobel Peace Prize alongside Ulster Unionist leader David Trimble for their role in bringing about the Good Friday Agreement in 1998.