Roy Mason, the last to believe in outright IRA defeat
Roy Mason who has died aged 91 was Northern Ireland Secretary of State from 1976 to the end of the Labour government in 1979. He was “short in stature and long in self confidence “ as David McKittrick rightly described him. He even designed his own peculiarly vented and lapelled tight fitting light khaki suits. When I last met him a few years ago at the launch of a Northern Ireland stamp, he was eloquent about his collection. He retained heavy police security at …