FORMER Secretary of State Jim Prior has been praised for his efforts to reform the prison regime and dealings with the Irish government.
The former Conservative MP, who died aged 89, served for five years in Margaret Thatcher's government and was posted to Northern Ireland during a critical period at the end of the hunger strikes.
Originally appointed employment secretary when Mrs Thatcher became prime minister in 1979, he served in the north from 1981 to 1984.
The move was widely regarded as a sign of her frustration at his refusal to press ahead more quickly with her trade union reforms in Britain.
Mr Prior is best remembered in Northern Ireland for an attempt to introduce "rolling devolution" in 1982 to elect an assembly with gradually increasing powers.
The SDLP decided not to take up seats and Sinn Féin were not asked to take part, with the body eventually dissolving in 1986.
He stood down after 28 years as an MP in Suffolk in 1987 and was subsequently made a life peer.
Political historian Brian Feeney described him as a "breath of fresh air" when he was appointed to the north and a man who helped "transform" the prison regime following the 1981 hunger strikes.
"The trouble was he was in a terrible position because Margaret Thatcher blocked everything he did," he said.
"Any attempt he made to bring in change she was opposed to it, because she sent him over here to fail.
"He was never going to be allowed to succeed, but he was a breath of fresh air. He was a British cabinet heavyweight and a welcome change to non-entities like Humphrey Atkins."
Irish Minister for Foreign Affairs Charlie Flanagan also praised Mr Prior for his work with the Irish government in the lead up to the Anglo-Irish Agreement.
“Jim Prior was Secretary of State for Northern Ireland at a very difficult time and, notwithstanding this, showed a strong commitment to engaging with both sides of the community including efforts to introduce ‘rolling devolution’," he said.
