Tony Blair's former chief of staff has defended his decision to meet with an on-the-run republican terror suspect as part of peace negotiations in Northern Ireland.

Jonathan Powell said yesterday holding talks with "distasteful" people was often necessary to broker deals as he explained his encounter with senior Sinn Fein figure Rita O'Hare in Dublin more than 14 years ago.

Ms O'Hare, Sinn Fein's representative to the United States, is one of the most high-profile fugitive republicans, having skipped bail to the Irish Republic in 1972 after her arrest in connection with the attempted murder of a soldier.

Mr Powell was giving evidence to the Northern Ireland Affairs Committee inquiry into the contentious government scheme that saw letters sent to on-the-run republicans assuring them they were able to return to the UK as the authorities were not seeking them.

Ms O'Hare was unable to obtain one of the letters as she is still subject to an outstanding arrest warrant.

Mr Powell was also quizzed on a comment he had made during a meeting with Sinn Fein to the effect that Ms O'Hare should not travel to Belfast as it might result in her arrest.

Conservative committee member Oliver Colvile questioned why he had not asked that Ms O'Hare return to Northern Ireland to go through due process.

Explaining why he had told her not to return, Mr Powell said: "Had she come back, been arrested feeling she had fallen into a trap by me trapping her into coming back, the peace process would have been dead - it would have been a very bad idea."

Mr Powell, who said Ms O'Hare was a strong supporter of the peace process, denied he had de-prioritised justice.

"In the Good Friday Agreement we had provisions on releasing prisoners, I find that extremely distasteful to release prisoners after only two years -people who had murdered people - but it was a necessary part of the agreement, it's a balance of an agreement.