Bomb is hidden in chocolates for soldier

The soldier was on duty at a checkpoint at Cookstown, County Tyrone,

Northern Ireland when a motorist he stopped presented him with a tin of

Quality Street. Later, when he returned to base, a Semtex bomb was found

buried among the chocolates.

The bomb was defused.

On the mainland the IRA continued its bombing campaign when a device

exploded in London's deepest Underground station at Hampstead.

It was placed on an emergency staircase and went off during the height

of the evening rush hour. No injuries were reported but the explosion

caused severe road congestion as streets were sealed off.

A coded telephone warning gave the authorities time to evacuate

passengers. The explosion closed the Northern Line north of Camden Town.

Scotland Yard anti-terrorist officers remain on high alert.

Earlier, Defence Secretary Malcolm Rifkind said in Northern Ireland

that the Government was looking for a permanent IRA ceasefire and not

just a Christmas truce.

Most people on both sides of the Irish border yearned for a complete

end to the violence, he said.

Security chiefs in Northern Ireland, where Mr Rifkind met troops and

Army commanders, expect the IRA to declare some kind of Christmas truce,

possibly lasting 72 hours.

If there is to be one, as in previous years, an announcement could be

made today and will probably apply to mainland Britain as well.

Republican sources made it

clear, however, they were un

aware of any definite decision.

Mr Rifkind, who had talks with the Army GOC Lieutenant General Sir

John Wilsey, and soldiers based in South Armagh and Belfast, said:

''What we are really concerned about are not temporary ceasefires, but a

permanent one. A permanent end to violence.

''That is what the vast majority of people here and through-out the

country, and indeed on both sides of the frontier, yearn for. It will

come some day. It may take a while, but I believe that gradually the

terrorists are realising they cannot succeed by terrorism.

''If they wish to pursue political objectives, they must do so in the

same way as the rest of the public do -- by the ballot box and not

through other means.''

Meanwhile, US Congressman Joe Kennedy has written to Sinn Fein's

president, Mr Gerry Adams, demanding an end to the IRA campaign.

Mr Kennedy said: ''The death and destruction caused by this campaign

does absolutely nothing to advance the cause of peace, justice, and

unity on the island of Ireland.''

The Northern Ireland Secretary, Sir Patrick Mayhew, has already urged

the Provisionals to end violence, a move which be believes could allow

Sinn Fein to enter the political talks.

Mr Adams said it was up to the British Government to transform the

situation by ending partition.

Last night's bomb incident follows the twin explosion in London's West

End last Wednesday in which four people were injured. Commander David

Tucker, the head of the anti-terrorist squad, said then the IRA was

playing an ''obscene game'' with police and public.