SHOOTERS
Britain's Military Reaction Force and Operation Everson, Part 1/2 byFOR Ciarán CHARITY MacAirt COMMISSION NI
Paper Trail (Legacy Archive Research) Ashton Centre, 5 Churchill St, Belfast, BT15 2BP [email protected] | +44 (0) 2895 818 575 Company No. NI627631 Charity No. NIC102483 The Kitson Experiment CONTENTS Britain’s Military Reaction Force PAGE he Military Reaction Force (MRF) was a covert British military T unit deployed on the streets of Belfast by counter- insurgency expert, General Sir The Kitson Experiment: 03 Frank Kitson (right), when he was Britain’s Military Reaction Force the Brigadier in charge of 39 Airportable Brigade covering Belfast and Greater Belfast in 1971. MRF teams then operated in 3 Brigade and 8 Brigade areas. Paper Trail Investigation 04 The MRF was formed around a nucleus of British Army specialists garrisoned in Palace Barracks, Holywood, and was designed to be the The Murder of Jean Smyth Campbell 05 cutting edge of Kitson’s low- intensity war against the Irish Republican Army (IRA). Kitson wrote of this battle on December 4th 1971: Operation Everson 07 "We were not there to act “It is likely that having fined down like an army unit, we the enemy organisations to the extent we have done, future were there to act like a successes will be increasingly hard terror group...” 1 Summary Conclusion 16 to achieve from an operational point of view, unless we are able to make our own organisation very much more efficient… As you know we are “... a legalised taking steps to do this in terms of 2 Further Information 17 building up and developing the MRF” death squad”
The MRF’s role in simple military One alleged member told BBC Panorama in 2013 that terms was two-fold: "We were not there to act like an army unit; we were there to act like a terror group." About the Author 18 (1) Covert intelligence-gathering and agent-handling (surveillance, Another was quoted by the British state's reconnaissance); broadcaster that the Military Reaction Force was (2) Armed contact (reaction). quite simply "a legalised death squad."2 References 19 The MRF left in its wake, though, a This report regards the second of these roles - armed trail of dead civilians and agents. contact, and the SHOOTERS of the MRF.
2 PAPER TRAIL PAPER TRAIL 3 Paper Trail THE MURDER OF INVESTIGATION JEAN SMYTH-CAMPBELL Paper Trail has linked Britain’s Military Reaction Force (MRF) to multiple murders and attempted iles that we discovered prove murders of civilians in Belfast in 1972. that Jean was killed by the FBritish Army and the Military Secret British military documents prove that the MRF Paper Trail has Reaction Force claimed “a hit” in was indeed guilty of a catalogue of murders and linked Britain’s the same area. attempted murders of unarmed civilians - including Military teenagers - in Belfast between May and September Jean’s family fought a historic Reaction 1972. battle in court against the PSNI Force (MRF) and its failure to investigate The archival evidence accounts for every single one of the murder of Jean. In 2019, an to multiple those listed by the Legacy Investigation Branch (LIB) Appeal Court in Belfast ruled of the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) when that the PSNI’s Legacy murders and 3 it launched Operation Everson , its inquiry into the Investigation Branch was not attempted Military Reaction Force, in December 2015. “practically independent” and murders of could not offer an investigation Nevertheless, Paper Trail is investigating many more civilians in sufficiently compliant with serious, unprovoked attacks on civilians, which LIB Article 2 of the European Belfast in 1972. has not included in Operation Everson, including Convention on Human Rights. the shooting of several unarmed teenagers shot in separate incidents in North Belfast during the summer The PSNI is fighting this ruling in of 1972. the Supreme Court, re-traumatiz- ing Jean’s family once more, but, Our evidence also includes files discovered by our in the meantime, has passed the research colleague, James Kinchin-White, which investigation to former Chief Con- prove that an undercover unit of the Kings Own stable Jon Boutcher’s Operation Scottish Borderers, led by then Lieutenant Julian Kenova team as a remedy for an “Tony” Ball, shot the brothers, John and Gerry independent investigation. Conway, in April 1972. In December 2015, as PSNI forced To-date, PSNI has failed to arrest any British soldiers Jean’s family to fight in court for for the attacks and only sent a file to the Public an independent investigation, Prosecution Service (PPS)4 subsequent to Paper Trail the PSNI’s Legacy Investigation JEAN SMYTH-CAMPBELL, MURDERED 8TH JUNE 1972 submitting our evidence to former Chief Constable Branch (LIB) launched an appeal Jon Boutcher whose team is investigating the for information relating to the MRF. murder of Jean Smyth-Campbell5 on June 8th 1972. The LIB did not include Jean’s delay a proper investigation into the criminal activities Following a Freedom of Information request by Paper murder in its list for investigation of the Military Reaction Force and the subsequent Trail in February 2020, PSNI could not tell us how even though the MRF recorded “a cover-ups by the British Army and Royal Ulster many man/woman hours had been spent hit” in the same area. Constabulary. investigating Operation Everson in over 4 years or Jean’s family and Paper Trail Many other families do not believe that LIB is indepen- how much the inquiry had cost until then. considered this LIB inquiry as dent and can offer an Article 2-compliant investigation in window-dressing6 at best and, any legacy investigation, especially those perpetrated by at worst, a cynical ploy to the British state or involving state agents/actors.
4 PAPER TRAIL PAPER TRAIL 5 OPERATION EVERSON It is moot whether the failure of Operation Everson and the PSNI to arrest or convict any MRF killers is an indicator of this lack of independence.”
It is moot whether the failure of Operation Civilian witnesses, including the surviving Everson and the PSNI to arrest or convict victims, strongly refute the narrative of the any MRF killers is an indicator of this lack British Army reports in these files below. of independence. In each case, the police found no trace of On behalf of Jean’s family, therefore, Paper gunshot residue when it carried out tests Trail researched the Legacy Investigation on living and dead victims. Branch's list of incidents and can now prove which undercover British military In some cases, not only has the British military refused to admit that its unit perpetrated each attack on the DATE: 6th May 1972 unarmed civilians. undercover units were involved, but also claimed at the time that the attacks were Shooting Incident: 18-year-old male shot on the Glen Road sectarian Loyalist shootings, Republican Individual MRF operatives are named in own-goals or motiveless, feeding the fear some of the files we have presented to of the local community. An MRF patrol on the Glen Road alleged further alleged that a gunman fired two Boutcher’s team including a Sergeant of it saw three gunmen (one with a rifle and shots at the patrol. the MRF who is named in at least 6 of the two with pistols) at the back of Glenveagh shootings. He is connected to many more. Drive (not Glenmore as first recorded). The secret military logs name a sergeant The MRF claimed “1 definite hit”, and of the MRF patrol but we have redacted it. Nevertheless, Paper Trail is only depicting small sections of these files and redacting names of British Army MRF operatives as legal cases are ongoing.
Paper Trail continues to work closely with the families’ legal teams whilst it examines many other unclaimed murders and attempted murders.
6 PAPER TRAIL PAPER TRAIL 7 DATE: 7th May 1972 DATE: 9th May 1972
Shooting Incident: 15-year-old boy shot outside a disco at Oliver Plunkett School,Belfast Shooting Incident: Van shot at on Kashmir Road, Belfast
A two-car MRF patrol on Glen Road a local disco and was walking home along The MRF unit (Vehicle C) alleged it was unit - whose name we have redacted - alleged that they were fired upon, their the Glen Road when he was shot from the pursuing a hijacked vehicle and the fired two gunshots at the vehicle which cars were hit and an MRF operative was passing car. No intelligence trace (NT) occupant produced a weapon. The Military hit the rear windscreen, causing the van injured. They claimed two hits in return. linked him to paramilitarism or criminality. Reaction Force Sergeant in charge of the to swerve.
Nevertheless, the MRF had actually shot a The attempted murder of the boy 15-year old boy who was admitted to remained unclaimed by the British Army hospital 15 minutes later. The boy had left in the press.
8 PAPER TRAIL PAPER TRAIL 9 DATE: 12/13th May 1972 DATE: 13th May 1972
Shooting Incident: 18-year-old male shot in Slievegallion, Belfast, around Shooting Incident: Patrick McVeigh killed and 4 males aged 18, 25, 25 and 41 injured in midnight. Riverdale Park, Belfast
Minutes later, MRF alleged it returned fire Indeed, the local parish priest corrected MRF (Vehicle G) alleged a high-velocity Although MRF claimed no hits, an 18- (after being fired upon) on seven gunmen initial British Army reports in the news round was fired at the unit when it was year-old was admitted to hospital with a with three bursts of four submachine gun that there was a “gun battle”; then, British passing a road-block manned by local gunshot wound to the left arm. bullets and six from a 9mm pistol. Army PR told the media that the attack people and a car was backing away from The MRF unit was not attacked and the was "an apparently motiveless crime.” it. MRF returned 13 rounds (8 from a The victim reported he was getting out victims were not gunmen. The MRF shot sub-machine gun and 5 x 7.65 mm). British Military Intelligence found no trace of a taxi at Slievegallion when he was four men standing near a junction, killing (NT) linking the deceased to any shot from a passing car. Patrick McVeigh and wounding the others. Makeshift barricades and vehicle paramilitarism or criminality whatsoever. The unit also shot and injured a fifth man checkpoints were manned by local Interestingly too, the British Army walking on the other side of the street. Patrick McVeigh was married with six people in communities across Belfast at alleged it later discovered a loaded children. Only many weeks later did the this time as they feared paramilitary The British Army admitted no Armalite rifle close to the Slievegallion RUC admit that the British Army shot all and/or British Army and RUC attacks. responsibility to the press or at the time. barrier and arrested the local men there, of the victims. MRF recorded that an officer from 8 including British soldier, Ranger Louis Brigade (which covered Derry and the Hammond. We now know Hammond surrounding area and not Belfast) was subsequently became an MRF agent or “armed with a Walther pistol from MRF” “Fred”. so it would appear it was not the officer's standard issue, personal Paper Trail discusses Ranger weapon. It should be noted that this Hammond's involvement with the MRF make and calibre of pistol was used by along with other agents in the Part 2 of British Servicewomen too at the time. this research called FREDS.
Patrick McVeigh, murdered 13th May 1972 Daniel Rooney, murdered 26th September 1972
10 PAPER TRAIL PAPER TRAIL 11 DATE: 26th May 1972 DATE: 22nd June 1972
Shooting Incident: 34-year-old man shot in Silvio Street, Belfast Shooting Incident: 4 males aged 18, 19, 21 and 28 shot on the Glen Road, Belfast
MRF alleged it had tailed a suspect vehicle fired one bullet at the car as it again took This shooting on the Glen Road occurred The MRF shooter was named in court as and then gave chase. When it had stopped off. Local people then accosted the MRF at the same bus terminus as Jean Smyth- Sergeant Clive Graham Williams. It was the vehicle, the MRF alleged its operative unit, which had to be rescued by a Campbell’s killing two weeks previously. subsequently proved that he had fired a had produced an identity card and the uniformed patrol of the Royal Regiment of It has been widely reported, including by non-standard issue Thompson submachine vehicle took off again. When it stopped the Wales after a police patrol allegedly Paper Trail (Paper Trail Pro Podcast7) and gun (then favoured by the Irish Republican vehicle a second time, the MRF alleged that refused to help it. Pat Finucane Centre. Army). two of the passengers in the back seat Each member of this MRF unit is named This gun belonged to Captain James produced pistols and the MRF operative in these files but we have redacted them. A British Army spokesperson originally told the Belfast Telegraph that "Our men Alistair McGregor, leader of the MRF at were not involved in this shooting at all." the time, who was also in the vehicle. The bullets for the gun came from RUC police The British Army denials began to unravel stores. within hours and Army PR then told reporters that "A group of men standing at Despite the facts of the case, civilian the bus terminus opened fire" on a British witness testimony and a litany of previous Army "mobile patrol wearing plain clothes MRF attacks recorded in British military and on surveillance duty." It claimed that and police logs, charges of unlawful the covert unit "returned fire." possession against Williams and McGregor were dropped. Williams was then acquitted These were again lies. Four unarmed of attempted murder after a pitifully brief civilians were hit and lucky to escape trial. with their lives. An infamous court case ensued in May 1973. Defence Brief below discovered by Justice for the Forgotten/Pat Finucane Centre.
12 PAPER TRAIL PAPER TRAIL 13 DATE: 26th September 1972 DATE: 15th April 1972
Shooting Incident: 18-year-old Daniel Rooney killed and 18-year-old friend injured in St. Shooting Incident: Conway brothers shot in Whiterock area, Belfast James area, Belfast
Our research colleague, James Kinchin- Again, local witnesses denounced the This document is from a Watchkeeper Log The undercover KOSB unit alleged that the White, discovered the documents below. allegations that the teenagers were armed of the Kings Own Scottish Borderers soldiers were shot at by Bryson and it Again, the soldiers of the British or had fired on the unit. This document (KOSB), which was discovered by our subsequently recovered a Star pistol at the undercover unit alleged it was fired upon does not name the MRF but affirms that research colleague, James Kinchin-White. scene. This is clearly reported by the and it returned fire, injuring one teenager the unit was recruited, deployed and British Army shooters and recorded by the It confirms British military logs discovered and killing another teenager, Daniel controlled in the same way as the MRF at Watchkeeper as a Star 9mm, serial number by Paper Trail that a quick reaction, Rooney. the same time. 1034212. undercover unit of KOSB led by Lt. Julian Tony Ball attacked the civilian Conway Civilian witnesses refuted all of these brothers. allegations and the retrieval of a weapon The archive proves that Ball's unit disappeared from the narrative when the deployed when an RUC officer allegedly British Army realised that it had targeted sighted local IRA leader, Jim Bryson, early and shot two civilians and not IRA in the morning. volunteers.
It was not Jim Bryson, though. This incident has been mistaken for an MRF attack because Lt. Ball’s covert unit Instead, the undercover KOSB unit deployed in a similar way, it acted with attacked and shot two unarmed brothers impunity and the Bitish Army never denied who just happened to be on their way to it; but the British Ministry of Defence will work. soon have to account for this in court.
A later Ministry of Defence file (above) As well as this new evidence, Paper Trail prepared for the MOD’s legal defence team can provide the details of closed logs, in July 1975 records that the undercover which will help the families’ legal unit was operating as a Mobile representatives in this particular case. Surveillance Patrol. These archives should help to clarify whether the shooting was perpetrated by BBC Panorama in 2013 examined Daniel the MRF as inferred by the former Rooney’s killing as an MRF shooting and document or a surveillance unit of the an “object of interest” was discovered resident British Army battalion, the 3rd when his body was exhumed in 2016.8 Battalion of the Royal Green Jackets.
14 PAPER TRAIL PAPER TRAIL 15 In the meantime, our research of the At a high-level NIO/MOD meeting on 2nd Operation Everson list of cases exposes June 1972, the British Ministry of Defence SUMMARY not only the modus operandi of Britain’s continued “to deny that any soldiers are killer gang, the Military Reaction Force, at operating in Northern Ireland in plain a time that our society hoped for peace; clothes as ‘assassination squads’”. CONCLUSION but also the continued failure of PSNI's Legacy Investigation Branch to bring the It does so to this day. killers to justice. hese archives prove that all of the victims were shot. Local residents But secret archives in our possession incidents involved the MRF or an accosted a unit after the shooting in Silvio These are no “vexatious claims” or “witch show it discussed expanding the role and Tundercover, mobile reaction unit Street, fearing it was a paramilitary attack. hunts”9; just hard evidence from the activities of the Military Reaction Force of the resident British Army battalion British Army’s own secret files. the following month. acting in a similar role. The archives represent the British military’s reporting of the incidents but The incident that did not involve a named the circumstances are completely MRF unit, involved a quick reaction unit of disputed by civilian witnesses and the King’s Own Scottish Borderers, which surviving victims in each case. was in plain clothes, in an unmarked car and operated in a similar way to the MRF. In some cases, the British military released information to the media, which conflicted This operation was either a botched with its own records, including allegations arrest or assassination resulting in the that paramilitaries were guilty of the attacks Indeed, Paper Trail is examining many other murders and attempted murders of unarmed near-death of two brothers. The covert unit when it knew its soldiers were involved. civilians during the same period which bear the hallmarks of MRF attacks and cover-ups. also recorded the discovery of a gun at When this author tracked the leader of the MRF to his home in Broadstairs, Kent, in 2010 to the scene, which subsequently Furthermore, none of these victims ask him about MRF operations in Belfast in the 1970s, Brigadier James Alistair McGregor disappeared from any investigation were ever convicted of any shooting (retired), did not wish to engage. (which was, by any standard, limited). incident alleged by the MRF and, of course, the PSNI says it is investigating Whilst it may be difficult to imagine that the British state and its police would sanction a This leads us to one of two conclusions: the MRF’s actions in each case. covert British military unit to shoot and kill unarmed civilians on the streets of Bradford or Bristol, they did exactly this in Belfast; and the police - past and present - have failed these (1) That the gun (a Star 9mm, serial num- These archives illustrate how covert civilian victims and their families. ber 1034212) was planted by the British British military units shot and killed military unit and then removed when the civilians at the same time as Jean’s How can these families today trust the police to offer a fair and just investigation? would-be assassins realised they had shot murder and in the same area. the unarmed brothers;
(2) That the gun was removed to avoid In fact, the archives prove that the Glen Road proper scrutiny of the covert unit for not where Jean was killed and the following Yellow Card Rules of surrounding locale under 2 Field Regiment Further Engagement and shooting unarmed (2 FD) control was a macabre hunting civilians. ground for MRF during 2 FD’s tour of duty. Information These incidents left two civilians dead and The Military Reaction Force shot four 15 injured including a 15-year-old boy. civilians in the exact area where Jean was Read some of our other research into the activities of the MRF on the Paper Trail The Military Reaction Force could have killed and a number of other civilians along website10 and in the books, The McGurk's Bar Bombing and Trope: Essays and Articles11, killed or injured many more civilians that same stretch of road. both by Ciarán MacAirt in these particular attacks. Paper Trail has given police James Kinchin-White also publishes his work in collaboration with author, Ed Maloney. Witnesses in each of these incidents investigators the details of the closed Read some of it on the Broken Elbow website12 contest the reports by the British military British military logs, which could prove that the British soldiers were shot at or whether the MRF was indeed also guilty Download Margaret Urwin’s Counter-Gangs13 via Justice for the Forgotten/Pat Finucane were in fear for their lives when the of Jean’s murder. We await their retrieval. Centre.
16 PAPER TRAIL PAPER TRAIL 17 References:
About 1. BBC Panorama: Britain’s Secret Terror Force, aired 21st November 2013
The Author 2. BBC website, 21st November 2013: Undercover Soldiers “killed Unarmed Civilians in Belfast”. Available via https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-24987465. Accessed 2nd March 2020.
Paper Trail (Legacy Archive Research) is a Paper Trail evolved from forensic research 3. BBC website, 2nd December 2015: Military Reaction Force - Breakthrough in PSNI Investigation. registered charity that offers free and into his own grandmother's murder during Available via
7. Paper Trail Pro Podcast, 2nd December 2017: General Sir Frank Kitson – War Hero or Director or Trope: Essays and Articles: One recurring theme of this Terrorism? Available via < http://www.papertrail.pro/podcast-2-general-kitson-pt1/>. Accessed 2nd collection by Irish author, Ciarán MacAirt, is that war is a dirty March 2020. business and we are diminished by the death of each and every victim. 8. Irish Times website, 22nd November 2016: Daniel Rooney Killing – “Object of Interest” Found in Exhumation. Available via < https://www.irishtimes.com/news/crime-and-law/daniel-rooney-killing- Another is that behind the horror, behind the terror, are human object-of-interest-found-in-exhumation-1.2877781>. Accessed 2nd March 2020. love stories but those who are left behind are starved of truth – the very basic, human need to know what happened to their 9. Belfast Telegraph website, 24th February 2020: Northern Ireland Secretary Refuses To Be Drawn loved ones. on Prosecutions of Ex-Soldiers. Available via < https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/northern- ireland/northern-ireland-secretary-refuses-to-be-drawn-on-prosecutions-of-ex-soldiers-38985651.html>. Accessed 2nd March 2020. MacAirt is an award-winning writer and human rights activist. These essays and articles represent a personal journey and find him trudging from the killing fields of World War 1 to the 10. Paper Trail website: Category MRF. Available via < http://www.papertrail.pro/?s=mrf>. Accessed 2nd back-streets of Belfast where death-squads roamed. March 2020.
The McGurk's Bar Bombing: On December 4th 1971, pro-state, 11. MacAirt, Ciarán, 2019. Trope: Essays and Articles. Belfast. Paper Trail Publishing. Available via British extremists of the Ulster Volunteer Force planted a no-
Ciarán MacAirt’s grandmother, Kitty Irvine, was one of 15 civilians murdered in the McGurk’s Bar Massacre. 13. Urwin, Margaret, 2012. Counter-Gangs: A History of Undercover Military Units in Northern Ireland 1971 -1976. Available via Spinwatch , http://spinwatch.org/images/Countergangs1971-76.pdf>. His painstaking, meticulous research has uncovered historic Accessed 2nd March 2020. documents hidden in archives which cast a cold light on collusion and cover-up by the State. It is a paper trail that goes to the highest levels of the Government, police and military and proves that society must learn from the lessons of the past.
18 PAPER TRAIL PAPER TRAIL 19 Britain’s Military Reaction Force and Operation Everson, Part 1/2
by Ciarán MacAirt
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