1 FEBRUARY 1986, Page 24

Sir: In 'Ulster's secret Irishness' (4 Jan- uary) I wrote

that the setting-up of a quasi-autonomous state of Ulster, should the present agreement fail, would entail four prerequisites. Inadvertently I did not spell out the fourth, though I hope it was implicit in my article. Should both the Protestant and the Catholic communities accept some settlement, it would of course have to be guaranteed by the British and Irish governments, who would have to intervene if, say, the settlement was threatened by a political or paramilitary coup.

Brian Inglis

23 Lambolle Road, London NW3