DOCSLIB.ORG

SHOOTERS: Britain's Military Reaction Force

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
SHOOTERS: Britain's Military Reaction Force 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.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Birth of the Blanket Protest
    Birth of the Blanket Protest Ned Flynn H Block 4, Long Kesh Ned Flynn, from Andersonstown in West Belfast, was nineteen years of age in 1976 when he was sentenced and became the second man to enter the historic blanket protest in the H blocks. As we commemorate the twentieth anniversary of the beginning of that campaign, he reflects on how the protest started. Twenty years ago, Britain's three-pronged strategy to break the republican struggle was in full swing, i.e. normalisation, Ulsterisation, andcriminalisation. Normalisation involved the British Government portraying the conflict to the international community as one which was well under control, with a degree of normality now evident Ulsterisation involved the six-county, sectarian militias of the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) and Ulster Defence Regiment (UDR) taking primary control of security, with the British army now playing a secondary back-up role. Criminalisation was a media-orientated policy, overseen by Northern Ireland Office (NIO) officials, that portrayed the repub- lican struggle as acts of criminals, with terms such as 'mafia-type gangsters,' 'godfathers,' 'racketeers,' and 'drug barons' being circulated daily by the media. Futhermore, the struggle was represented as sectarian, and this portrayal was fuelled by British military intelligence who organised Loyalist death squads and even recruited a Military Reaction Force (MRF) within the nationalist community, mercenaries who were ordered to carry out attacks on nationalists and attribute them to loyalists. To reinforce criminalisation, Britain declared that any republican prisoner captured after March I, 1976 would be classified as a criminal rather than a POW, and as such, would be treated accordingly.
    [Show full text]
  • THE APPARATUS of IMPUNITY? Human Rights Violations and the Northern Ireland Conflict: a Narrative of Official Limitations on Post-Agreement Investigative Mechanisms
    THE APPARATUS OF IMPUNITY? Human rights violations and the Northern Ireland conflict: a narrative of official limitations on post-Agreement investigative mechanisms Committee on the Administration of Justice January 2015 The Apparatus of Impunity? Committee on the Administration of Justice (CAJ) © Committee on the Administration of Justice January 2015 The material may be reproduced, free of charge, in any format or medium without specific permission, provided the reproduction is not for financial or material gain.The material must be reproduced accurately and not used in a misleading context. If the material is to be republished or issued to others, acknowledgement must be given to its source, copyright status, and date of publication. This publication is available on our website. CAJ Committee on the Administration of Justice 2nd Floor, Sturgen Building 9-15 Queen Street Belfast BT1 6EA Tel: 028 9031 6000 Fax: 028 9031 4583 [email protected] www.caj.org.uk ISBN 978 1 873285 94 7 The Apparatus of Impunity? Committee on the Administration of Justice (CAJ) THE APPARATUS OF IMPUNITY? Human rights violations and the Northern Ireland conflict: a narrative of official limitations on post-Agreement investigative mechanisms Committee on the Administration of Justice January 2015 The Apparatus of Impunity? Committee on the Administration of Justice (CAJ) Recent comments from key Council of Europe and UN human rights bodies in relation to existing mechanisms investigating the conflict in Northern Ireland: The absence of any plausible explanation for the failure to collect key evidence at the time when this was possible, and for attempts to even obstruct this process, should be treated with particular vigilance.
    [Show full text]
  • The Challenge of the Relationship Between Politics and Paramilitaries for Achieving Peace in Northern Ireland During the Troubles
    From Sunningdale to Good Friday: The Challenge of the Relationship Between Politics and Paramilitaries for Achieving Peace in Northern Ireland During The Troubles Cynthia Rudd McKaughan Faculty Advisor: Dr. Susan Thorne History March 27, 2018 This project was submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in the Graduate Liberal Studies Program in the Graduate School of Duke University. Copyright by Cynthia Rudd McKaughan 2018 Abstract The British government made three official attempts to end the conflict in Northern Ireland, known as The Troubles: the Sunningdale Agreement of 1973, the Anglo-Irish Agreement of 1985, and the Good Friday Agreement of 1998. Drawing on media coverage and the actual text of each agreement, as well as the considerable body of scholarly research on each individual process, this project identifies the issues confronting the British government in all three instances: which organizations in Northern Ireland to include at the negotiating table, what role the British government would play in Northern Ireland in the treaty’s aftermath, what security measures to take to stop the violence while ensuring human rights, how to address the political challenges posed by paramilitary organizations, and whether or not to include other nations in negotiating the peace, as well as in Northern Ireland’s affairs once the Troubles ended. The Good Friday Agreement succeeded where its predecessors failed primarily because of the decision to include representatives of paramilitary groups despite their history of complicity in violence. All sides finally agreed to participate in a political power-sharing arrangement that militants on both sides long viewed as a betrayal to the cause for which they willingly killed and died.
    [Show full text]
  • MONITORING the MINISTERS EURODAC to Fingerprint All “Illegal Immigrants”; Dublin Convention Unworkable; New “Crimes” of “Association”
    statewatch monitoring the state and civil liberties in the UK and Europe vol 8 no 2 March - April 1998 MONITORING THE MINISTERS EURODAC to fingerprint all “illegal immigrants”; Dublin Convention unworkable; new “crimes” of “association” Since the Council of Justice and Home Affairs December (see Statewatch, vol 7 no 6). The earlier version Ministers (JHA Council) was set up in 1993 under the explicitly referred to “drug trafficking, trafficking in human Maastricht Treaty it has held 14 meetings, the latest beings and terrorism” (Article 1.1) and “intimidation, threats, was in Brussels on 19 March. Its meetings now tend to violence” (Article 1.3). These precise terms have been replaced by more general, and potentially all-embracing, terms. Article 1 pass largely unreported, the latest got little, or scant, now refers to “crimes or other offences” and “include” (thus not coverage in the media. The UK press covered the exclusively) the crimes and offences set out in Article 2 of the introduction of EU-wide driving disqualifications Europol Convention and its Annex - this originally listed 18 (which was not actually adopted) and the UK-Spain “crimes”. The list of “crimes” falling under Europol's remit is ongoing row over the status of Gibraltar. Yet far- being extended all the time and is now to include terrorism (see reaching decisions affecting the civil liberties of EU below). The JHA Council can extend the list of crimes without citizens and the rights of asylum seekers and refugees any reference to the European or national parliaments. figured prominently. Moreover, as the work of the JHA The scope of the measure defined as “punishable by a three- Council steadily moves from just policy-making to year term of imprisonment or a more serious penalty” has been policy-making and practice there is even more changed to “a maximum of at least four years or a more serious penalty”.
    [Show full text]
  • The Military's Role in Counterterrorism
    The Military’s Role in Counterterrorism: Examples and Implications for Liberal Democracies Geraint Hug etortThe LPapers The Military’s Role in Counterterrorism: Examples and Implications for Liberal Democracies Geraint Hughes Visit our website for other free publication downloads http://www.StrategicStudiesInstitute.army.mil/ To rate this publication click here. hes Strategic Studies Institute U.S. Army War College, Carlisle, PA The Letort Papers In the early 18th century, James Letort, an explorer and fur trader, was instrumental in opening up the Cumberland Valley to settlement. By 1752, there was a garrison on Letort Creek at what is today Carlisle Barracks, Pennsylvania. In those days, Carlisle Barracks lay at the western edge of the American colonies. It was a bastion for the protection of settlers and a departure point for further exploration. Today, as was the case over two centuries ago, Carlisle Barracks, as the home of the U.S. Army War College, is a place of transition and transformation. In the same spirit of bold curiosity that compelled the men and women who, like Letort, settled the American West, the Strategic Studies Institute (SSI) presents The Letort Papers. This series allows SSI to publish papers, retrospectives, speeches, or essays of interest to the defense academic community which may not correspond with our mainstream policy-oriented publications. If you think you may have a subject amenable to publication in our Letort Paper series, or if you wish to comment on a particular paper, please contact Dr. Antulio J. Echevarria II, Director of Research, U.S. Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute, 632 Wright Ave, Carlisle, PA 17013-5046.
    [Show full text]
  • S465-CAJ-Submission-To-UNHRC
    Submission from the Committee on the Administration of Justice (CAJ) to the United Nations Human Rights Committee in response to the Concluding Observations on the 7th Periodic Report of the UK under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) (S465) June 2017 Follow up Procedure: “accountability for conflict-related violations in Northern Ireland” (CCPR/C/GBR/CO/7, paragraph 8). The Committee on the Administration of Justice (CAJ) is an independent human rights NGO with cross community membership in Northern Ireland and beyond. It was established in 1981 and campaigns on a broad range of human rights issues. CAJ seeks to secure the highest standards in the administration of justice in Northern Ireland by ensuring that the government complies with its international human rights obligations. This submission will address Concluding Observation 8 (“accountability for conflict- related violations in Northern Ireland”) which the Committee sought action on as a matter of urgency and which was consequently selected for the Committee’s follow up procedure. A summary of our views in relation to the five sub-areas identified by the Committee is followed by each of these areas being examined in further detail. The UK issued a response in August 2016 a year on from the recommendation. This submission is cognisant of this response and developments since. This includes the November 2016 report of the UN Special Rapporteur on the promotion of truth, justice, reparation and guarantees of non-recurrence, Pablo de Grieff, on his mission to the UK which focused specifically on the legacy of the Northern Ireland conflict.1 The 2017 Universal Periodic Review of the UK by the Human Rights Council also engaged the subject matter of the Committee’s concerns, and led to the following recommendations: 1 UN DOC A/HRC/34/62/Add.1, Report of the Special Rapporteur on the promotion of truth, justice, reparation and guarantees of non-recurrence on his mission to the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, 17 November 2016.
    [Show full text]
  • Dáil Éireann
    DÁIL ÉIREANN AN COMHCHOISTE UM FEIDHMIÚ CHOMHAONTÚ AOINE AN CHÉASTA JOINT COMMITTEE ON THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE GOOD FRIDAY AGREEMENT Déardaoin, 16 Eanáir 2014 Thursday, 16 January 2014 The Joint Committee met at 10.20 a.m. MEMBERS PRESENT: Deputy Seán Crowe, Senator Jim D’Arcy, Deputy Frank Feighan, Senator Mary Moran, Deputy Martin Ferris, Senator Mary M. White. Deputy Brendan Smith, Deputy Jack Wall, In attendance: Deputy Dessie Ellis, Senator Jim Walsh, Mr. Paul Maskey, MP, Mr. Conor Murphy, MP, Dr. Alasdair McDonnell, MP, and Ms Margaret Ritchie, MP. DEPUTY JOE MCHUGH IN THE CHAIR. 1 CIvIC FORUM FOR Northern IRElAND: SDlP The joint committee met in private session until 11.10 a.m. Civic Forum for Northern Ireland: SDLP Chairman: We are running a bit late but we will try to move along as swiftly as possible. As members are aware, representatives from the SDlP are here to discuss the Civic Forum for Northern Ireland. The forum was provided for within the Good Friday Agreement to pro- vide for a broad range of voices in community relations and stimulate informed public debate in respect of key societal challenges. As yet, it remains a non-implemented provision of the agreement. We are discussing the value of a consultative forum and steps required for its imple- mentation with representatives from the SDlP. On behalf of the committee, I am very pleased to welcome John Dallat, MlA, who is a neighbour of mine across the Border and who visits Donegal quite a bit and has reasons to be there. I also welcome Ms Dolores Kelly, MlA, who has also been pushing this agenda for a long period of time and Ms Caroline Mc Neill, who is policy advisor to the party.
    [Show full text]
  • The Mcgurk's Bar Bombing: Post-Script
    CONTENTS PAGE INTRODUCTION 3 THE BOOK: THE McGURK’S BAR BOMBING 4 THE KITSON EXPERIMENT 5 RUNNING BATTLES 6 CONSTITUTIONAL CRISIS 7 INFORMATION WAR 8 NEW EVIDENCE 8-18 SEAT OF THE EXPLOSION 9 TARGET: GEM BAR 10 OPERATION CLOSED DOOR 11 BRITISH ARMY OBSERVATION POSTS 12 UNMASKED: COVERT BRITISH MILITARY OP 13 SUSPECT CARS AND A NEW WITNESS 14-15 ‘MISSING’ FILE SURRENDERS ITS SECRET 15 MoD WITHHOLDING EVIDENCE TODAY 16 WHO LIED? 17 GENERAL SIR FRANK KITSON 18 ABOUT THE AUTHOR 19 McGurk’s Bar Bombing Post-Script Post-Script will: This booklet regards our battles with organs 1. Discuss what I have discovered since of the British state including the Ministry of then, buried deep in dusty archives. Defence, the Royal Ulster Constabulary/ Police Service Northern Ireland and the Office 2. Publish new evidence of on-going British of the Police Ombudsman since the state cover-up and collusion – nearly publication of my book, The McGurk’s Bar half a century after it buried the truth. Bombing, in 2012. 3. Name the person whose dirty fingerprints The McGurk's Bar cover-up and collusion are all over the heinous McGurk’s Bar lie. continues to this day. 2 Introduction y name is escape in a car. All of the MCiarán MacAirt. evidence proved that too. I am the grandson of John But, before we even buried our and Kathleen Irvine who were loved ones, the British state two of the many victims of the buried the truth. Before we McGurk’s Bar Massacre of 4th December 1971.
    [Show full text]
  • Collusion, Counterinsurgency and Colonialism: the Imperial Roots of Contemporary State Violence Mark Mcgovern
    Collusion, Counterinsurgency and Colonialism: The Imperial Roots of Contemporary State Violence Mark McGovern Abstract: This article examines the nature of collusion between the British state and paramilitary organisations during the conflict in Northern Ireland in the context of British counterinsurgency theory and practices in colonial campaigns. To do so it will briefly outline the pattern and logic of collusion in Northern Ireland before examining some of the key works in the tradition of British counterinsurgency theorists reflecting on earlier imperial practices. Collusion will be understood as an expedient coercive state practice, premised on a ‘doctrine of necessity’, designed to remove ‘enemies’ and induce fear in a target population via a strategy of assassination in which the appearance of adherence to the rule of law is a political end shaping the specific forms of state violence involved. Such a practice, it will be argued, is not an aberration in the tradition of British state counterinsurgency violence, it is exemplary. Keywords: Collusion, Counterinsurgency, Imperialism, State Violence, Northern Ireland Introduction: Collusion and Conflict in the North of Ireland Despite its considerable failings the 2012 release of the de Silva report into the loyalist killing of human rights lawyer Pat Finucane in his Belfast home in 1989 confirmed one thing beyond any doubt; collusion between British military intelligence and RUC Special Branch with loyalist paramilitaries during the conflict in the North of Ireland was widespread, institutionalised and strategic in nature. While long suspected, the true scale of such collusion was still something of a shock; not least the astonishing revelation that over 85% of all the intelligence held by loyalists in the late 1980s and used in the planning of an escalating campaign of sectarian killing and targeted assassinations originated from state intelligence sources.1 Indeed, this may well be an underestimation.
    [Show full text]
  • A History of Undercover Military Units in Northern Ireland 1971-1976
    COUNTER-GANGS: A history of undercover military units in Northern Ireland 1971-1976 Margaret Urwin A joint publicationCounter-gangs: by Spinwatch, A history of Justice undercover for themilitary Forgotten units in Northern and the Ireland Pat Finucane 1971-1976 Centreå s å About the Author Margaret Urwin has worked with Justice for the Forgotten, the organisation representing the families and survivors of the Dublin and Monaghan bombings, since 1993 and, over the last decade, with the families of other cross-Border bombings. Justice for the Forgotten merged with the Pat Finucane Centre in December 2010. A native of County Wexford, Margaret is a graduate of the Open University and NUI Maynooth – MA (Hons) Local History, 2001. Her publications include: A County Wexford Family in the Land War: The O’Hanlon Walshs of Knocktartan, (2001), Four Courts Press; ‘The Murder of Charles Daniel Boyd’ in Hanging Crimes, (2005), Mercier Press; ‘The Effects of the Great Famine (1845-9) in the County Wexford Parish of Bannow/Ballymitty’ in The Journal of the Wexford Historical Society, 1996. Counter-gangs: A history of undercover military DISCLAIMER units in Northern Ireland 1971-1976 Views and opinions expressed in this publication November 2012 are those of the individual contributors and do British Cataloguing-in-Publications Data. not necessarily reflect those of Public Interest Investigations, Spinwatch, The Pat Finucane Center, A catalogue record for this report is available from the or Justice for the Forgotten. British Library. ISBN 978-0-9570274-1-1 ORDER COPIES This report is available to download free of charge via [email protected] Spinwatch website: spinwatch.org Printed and bound in the UK To order hard copies, order online on the Spinwatch COPYRIGHT bookshop: www.spinwatch.org/book-shop E-mail: Public Interest Investigations © 2012 [email protected] All rights reserved.
    [Show full text]
  • “The Northern Ireland Peace Process: Attempting to Deal with the Past
    “The Northern Ireland Peace Process: Attempting to Deal with the Past” Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health, Global Human Rights, and International Organizations Testimony of Eugene Devlin March 11, 2014 Ladies and gentlemen: My name is Eugene Devlin, and today I am a proud American citizen, having made my home in this fine country since 1978. I am in the business of owning and operating restaurants. This opportunity to participate in the legislative process, through this hearing, is very much appreciated. I was born in Ireland, in 1954, in Andersonstown, a suburb of Belfast, County Antrim in the Province of Ulster. The recent “Northern Ireland” Troubles erupted during my teen-age years. I had neither art nor part in the Troubles, but on the night of the 12th of May 1972, the Troubles came to me – up close and personal. Returning by cab from a school disco, with my friend Aiden MacAloon, I had failed to notice a car following us, nor did I notice that car’s unusual turn, illuminating us with its headlamps. We were nearly home, and on familiar turf. Suddenly a number of shots rang out, and I fell wounded, whilst my companion managed to get over a hedge. My left arm was shattered by, what I was later told, was a 9mm bullet, fired from a British “Sterling automatic” sub-machine gun. I was first taken to the Royal Victoria Hospital, and then transferred, under heavy guard, to the military wing of the Musgrave Park Hospital. After surgery I spent about a year with my arm in a cast, followed by months more in a sling.
    [Show full text]
  • 'You Will Be Responsible to the GOC.' Stovepiping and the Problem Of
    ‘You will be responsible to the GOC.’ Stovepiping and the problem of divergent intelligence gathering networks in Northern Ireland, 1969- 1975. ABSTRACT From the beginning of Northern Ireland’s Troubles, two different strands of British intelligence were developed in Northern Ireland that failed to effectively cooperate or coordinate their efforts with one another. Though the JIC, the Office of the UK Representative and later the Northern Ireland Office were all aware of (and often opposed) the lack of singular control over intelligence in the province, they were unable to wrest control of security intelligence from the hands of the Army and Special Branch. This problem, which emerged as a result of both the developing nature of the deployment in the early 1970s and from the fear of alienating RUC Special Branch meant that a Security-Forces-controlled intelligence ‘stovepipe’ emerged that exclusively served the purpose of enforcing law and order rather than aiding in the UK government’s wider political strategies. Records from the UK National Archives show that at times this stovepipe operated without reference (and at times in opposition) to the political initiatives also being tried by the UK government in the province. The Northern Ireland Troubles (c.1968-1998) was a rapidly changing conflict in its early stages. The nature of the deployment of the British army in August 1969 to ‘aid the civil power’ (i.e. the devolved, Unionist controlled, Northern Ireland Government) led to a confused response by both the United Kingdom (UK) and Northern Ireland (NI) governments and their respective institutions which resulted in the UK’s intelligence agencies responding to the situation along separate policy pathways.
    [Show full text]