The research is contained in a new book, written by Pat Finucane Centre researcher Anne Cadwallader. It has dramatically lifted the lid on large scale, systematic collusion in which 120 people were killed. The degree to which prominent nationalists were selected for murder constitute a form of ethnic cleansing, she said.In one telling excerpt from the book, a quote from an unpublished police Historical Enquiries Team (HET) report, referring to the killings of four people in attacks on two bars in County Armagh, says: “It is difficult to believe... when judged in concert with other cases emerging at the time, that such widespread evidence of collusion in these areas was not a significant concern at the highest levels of the security forces and of government.”Members of the RUC police and the British Army’s UDR were part of a murder organisation operating during a four year period between 1972 and 1976.“It can be demonstrated beyond a reasonable doubt that there was systemic collusion in these cases,” Cadwallader writes.While it was always believed collusion was a factor in sectarian killings in the North, the manner in which these victims were targeted speaks to an even more sinister agenda.Her research suggests killings of upwardly mobile and affluent Catholics, many with strong links to the GAA and other community organisations, were more than just sectarian in nature but designed to prevent nationalists owning land or gaining influence in rural areas.Ms Cadwallader said: “We took away all the killings from that time that were randomly sectarian in nature and then examined who was left to see if we could establish a link.“What we were left with was a list of people, who either owned land or businesses or were in the process of buying land or building a home.“They were what has been described as ‘uppity Catholics’ people of influence with standing in the community they lived”.By researching military files, RUC investigations and more recently the Police Ombudsman and the Historical enquiries Team, the investigative reporter mapped out a trail of terror that links one gang to more than 120 murders.In her book ‘Lethal Allies: British Collusion in Ireland’ Ms Cadwallader found ballistics linked many of the weapons used directly to guns ‘stolen’ from the UDR.“Dozens of UDR guns were going missing every week and records show that at no stage did the RUC carry out an investigation into this loss of weapons, many of which went on to be used in scores of sectarian murders”, she said.Robin Jackson, who was believed to be personally responsible for pulling the trigger in up to 50 killings, was leader of the gang of sectarian killers.Farms near Glenanne, near Newry, were the places where ‘the Jackal’ planned killings alongside his Crown force and loyalist conspirators.Evidence uncovered by Ms Cadwallader shows not only were the RUC aware of Jackson’s activities from an early stage, they also went to great lengths to scupper investigations that could have placed him behind bars.Jackson was never brought to justice and was still active shortly before his death from cancer at the age of 49 in 1998.The number of people he killed ranges from a conservative estimate of 50 up to more than 100, along with a killer gang that included brothers John and Wesley Somerville who were also former members of the UDR.The brothers from Moygashal were involved in murders including the deaths of three members of the Miami Show Band in July 1975.“Certainly, if Jackson did not pull the trigger himself, he is estimated to have been involved in the murders of scores of ordinary Catholics”, said Ms Cadwallader.“He had a corrupt and indefensible relationship with enough RUC officers to protect him from ever facing a murder charge, leaving him free to continue killing people for over two decades from 1973 to the 1990s”.Jackson joined D Company of 11 UDR [Ulster Defence Regiment], based at Scarva Barracks, Banbridge, in August 1973 and within two months there was an arms raid at the armoury used by his unit.He was named by a man on whose property a significant arms cache was discovered.However, it was two weeks before his home in Lurgan was searched. By then, Jackson is believed to have shot dead Banbridge trade unionist and father of three, Patrick Campbell.It was part of a pattern of killings of professional, influential, middle class Catholics. When the RUC eventually searched Jackson’s house they found bullets and a notebook containing details of more than two dozen people, including car registration numbers.He would later be pointed out in a line up by the widow of Mr Campbell but never faced trial.This charge along with those of having ammunition and personal details of Catholics were dropped by Crown prosecutors who claimed there was insufficient evidence.The book also claims that days before the attack on the Three Steps Inn in Keady, County Armagh, the RUC knew a loyalist bomb was being stored at a farmhouse owned by a serving RUC member, and asked the British Army to put it under surveillance.According to the book, the surveillance operation was ended and the bomb was then used in the attack, which proceded as planned, killing two people.It also reveals that RUC Special Branch knew the identities of four people involved in the bombing, but that no arrests were made.Former SDLP leader Mark Durkan urged the British government to come clean about the state’s role in the North’s “dirty war”. The Derry-based MP warned that the failure to get the truth about Crown force complicity would result in a “dirty peace”.Sinn Fein said the revelations added to pressure for the British government to fulfill its commitment to hold an inquiry into the murder of Belfast defence lawyer Pat Finucane, whose mother died last week.And speaking about the UDR Glenanne gang, Sinn Fein’s Conor Murphy said the activities of the Armagh gang were well known to the local community.“The UDR based in Glenanne was a unionist militia,” he said.“The members of the Glenanne gang were all either directly or indirectly in the pay of the British State. That is an indisputable fact.“The families of those people murdered by the British State policy of collusion carried out on the ground in South Armagh by the UDR Glenanne gang deserve the truth.”“There are those within political unionism today”, he added, “who were in leading roles in both the UDR and the RUC. Let them come forward and tell us what they know about collusion.”As the book was being launched on Thursday, former RUC police were controversially being told to cease contacts with the office of the Police Ombudsman. The Northern Ireland Retired Police Officers Association (NIRPOA), which advises the former RUC, said it had reached the decision after some of its members had been accused of breaching the European Convention on Human Rights, specifically the right to life.Sinn Féin policing spokesperson Gerry Kelly described it as an attempt to frustrate the work of the Police Ombudsman. And he said the timing of the statement appeared designed to attract attention away from the issue of collusion and to influence the ongoing Haass talks into dealing with the past.“In any other society an announcement by former serving Police Officers that they will not co-operate with a state agency investigating murder would be seen an as outrage,” he said.“But given the reality that the RUC Special Branch in particular was involved in the control and direction of loyalist gangs for years and in the cover-up of their activities this move will not come as a surprise.”He said people would now looking to see the reaction of unionist politicians.“The culture of concealment and cover-up which is being revealed very publicly in this statement is the very same culture and practice which gave rise to collusion, the torture of detainees, the extraction of forced confessions and the framing of innocent people by the RUC over many years,” he said.
Monday, November 11, 2013
British policing in Ireland
British Political Policing in Ireland has been around now for well over 200 years. Through out the last two centuries and right up to the present day Irish citizens have been subjected to a ‘British Police State’ in which the British Government has exercised colonial and repressive controls over the social, economic, and political life of the people of Ireland. The native inhabitants have experienced restrictions on their mobility, and their freedom to express or communicate their political and cultural views, which are subject to British police monitoring and enforcement.British Policing in Ireland has had many guises over the years. Although it has reinvented, revamped and renamed itself several times over the centuries, it has always remained a tool of Britain’s Colonial control in Ireland. They have always remained that first line against any Irish resistance to British rule in Ireland.Early Policing in IrelandSome of the earliest forms of policing in Irish towns and cities were maintained by Night Watchmen, parish constables and the British Army. The Night Watchmen had protected Ireland’s Norman towns and cities from about the 14th century. Between 1723 and 1785, ‘The Civil Patrol Men’ (nicknamed the “Charlies”) formed as armed constables to patrol Dublin City. In the rural areas of Ireland numerous units of militia were locally raised in towns to augment and gradually replace the garrisoned regiments of regular army. The militia units included: Athlone Rangers, Kilkenny Rangers, Naas Light Dragoons, Shinrone Volunteers, Tullamore Rangers etc. The militia served as an auxiliary military force and also performed routine police duties.The Night Watchmen and Militias came under the control of local magistrates, and apart from ‘normal policing duties’ they enforced the Penal Laws during the time of the “Protestant Ascendancy” which set out to ‘punish’ all members of the catholic religion, one magistrate in Roscommon wrote, ‘We shall never be safe till a wolf’s head and a priest’s head be at the same rate.’The Dublin Police Act 1786 was established to bring policing in Ireland under a more organised system. In 1787, the Baronial Police (“Old Barneys”) was created to police the remainder of Ireland. All appointees had to be Protestants. The armed police and watchmen of the Dublin Police were replaced by an unarmed police force in 1795. The Baronial Police was an undisciplined force without a set uniform, dealing only with minor incidents. They relied on the British Army to suppress serious disturbances, such as the 1798 Rebellion and attacks and raids by Secret Societies, even after the creation of the “Old Barneys” many rural towns retained their own police forces or Watch system.The Rise of the PeelersIn 1813 British MP and future British Prime Minister Robert Peel (Chief Secretary in Dublin) introduced the Peace Preservation Act, which allowed for a chief magistrate and a troop of armed men to travel to any part of Ireland to control areas in a “state of disturbance” in order to restore peace. Peel had been one of the most outspoken opponents of Catholic Emancipation (earning the nickname “Orange Peel”). In 1814 he set up the Peace Preservation Force (later to become known as the Peelers). Without set uniforms the PPF, many of whom were ex-soldiers after returning from the Napoleonic Wars, donned the uniforms of their former military units while performing their policing duties. This practice of wearing their military uniforms for policing duties continued until 1828 when a standard uniform was issued to the County Constabulary.In 1822 the Constabulary Act was passed and a system of county constabularies under a single police force had been established, allowing for a more structured British police force in Ireland. Each area of the country was under the control of the head of British administration in Ireland, Dublin Castle and had a rank structure in place with a Chief Constable at the head of each regional force. Policing the collection of tithes during the Tithe War, 1831-1836, was one of the responsibilities of the new force. Tithes were due to the Protestant Anglican church and were collected from the mainly Catholic population, many of whom were living in very poor conditions, often under the threat of eviction from their tyrannical landlords.The Constabulary (Ireland) Act, 1836, was introduced by Thomas Drummond, Under Secretary for Ireland, centralised the police forces (with about 5,000 men) under the direct control of an Inspector-General in Dublin Castle with a set of standard regulations and became known as the ‘The Constabulary of Ireland’. Members served under a strict code, which governed all aspects of their lives, on and off duty. Elaborate precautions were taken at all times. Policemen who lived in barracks, were prohibited from serving in their (or their wives’) native areas. A year later the first “Irish Constabulary Code” was published with a comprehensive code of discipline and regulations and decreed that the standard colour of the uniform would be rifle green. The Constabulary of Ireland carried out a full range of tasks, including facilitating evictions for the absentee landlords, but it’s most important task was that of security, due to the ever-present threat of nationalist rebellion. Due to this it was organised as a colonial constabulary and as an armed, paramilitary force, rather than along the lines of other conventional police forces in Britain.The Constabulary of Ireland held jurisdiction over the entire country with the exception of the cities of Dublin, Belfast and Derry. In Dublin the force was called the Dublin Metropolitan Police. In Belfast they were called The Belfast Police (nicknamed the “Bulkies”) 1816-1865; formed to patrol Belfast City. They were disbanded and replaced by the Irish Constabulary following serious riots in the city usually as a result of Orange Marches. In Derry they were The Derry Police (nicknamed the “Horny Dicks” because of the bone reinforcements in their top hats) ~1816-1870; formed to patrol Derry City. They were disbanded and replaced by the Royal Irish Constabulary after rioting when Apprentice Boys were killed.Republicanism was beginning to reorganise around the 1840s which led to the Young Ireland Rebellion 1848, the Irish Constabulary was used to suppress it, and this was during height of An Gorta Mór. Around 70% of the Irish Constabulary were Catholics, like their neighbours, and this often led to confrontations between them. The 1850s and 60s give rise to Fenian period were Republicans were planning a Rebellion in 1867. With spies and informers at the ready within the local communities which were developed by the Constabulary led to the infiltration of the IRB. Queen Victoria was so impressed with the performance of the Constabulary during this last rebellion that, in 1868, she issued them with a royal charter and, from then on, they became known as the Royal Irish Constabulary.The Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC), was Britain’s colonial police force in Ireland. It was a heavily armed paramilitary organisation quartered in over 1,600 fortified bases or stations throughout the island of Ireland, enforcing British rule and British laws in the country. As well as infantry training and tactics drawn from the British Armed Forces it was equipped with the best of weapons, modern rifles and handguns, motorcars and lorries, telephones and telegraph systems, at a time when such things were not available to the wider population.The RICs main purpose was fighting a constant counter-insurgency struggle against Irish Republicanism and Nationalism. As a consequence of this war against the democratic wishes or aspirations of the Irish people the RIC maintained a vast network of paid spies and informers throughout Irish society. Dublin Castle, the formal seat of British colonial rule for centuries, was regarded as the spider at the centre of the RIC web that stretched across the entire island of Ireland, one that was feared, loathed and hated. Throughout Ireland and especially during the Land War 1879-1882 thousands of Irish families were evicted from their homes by the RIC as their land was seized by mostly absentee British colonial landlords.By 1900 the R.I.C. had about 11,000 men (70% of whom were Catholic) and about 17% were Irish speakers. Republicanism was beginning to reorganise at this time which saw the founding of the Irish Volunteers and the Irish Citizen Army along side the IRB which culminated in the 1916 Easter Rising. After the Leaders of the Rising were executed public opinion turned dramatically which saw a landslide victory for Republicans in the 1918 General Election who then in January 1919 set up Dail Eireann. Dail Eireann was declared illegal by the British Government and the RIC began an intensive campaign of harassment and arrests. With public support behind them the IRA waged an intensive guerrilla war that began with the Soloheadbeg ambush of two RIC men.By the end of May 1920, 351 evacuated RIC barracks were destroyed, 105 damaged, 15 occupied barracks were destroyed and 25 damaged, 19 Coastguard stations and lighthouses were raided for explosives and signalling equipment, 66 RIC and 5 British Soldiers were killed. With the general public against them and men resigning at a rate of 200 per month from a force of 9,500 the RIC were under massive pressure. To reinforce the much reduced and demoralised RIC the British Government recruited returned World War I veterans from English and Scottish cities. They were sent to Ireland in 1920, to form a reserve unit which became known as the “Black and Tans”.The British Government decided that the Irish situation was a police problem and not one for the military, and so the decision was made to form auxiliary police units to bolster the RIC. A separate unit was formed under Brigadier General Frank Crozier, an ex-UVF member. Eventually 9,500 men had joined. Such was the influx of recruits from Britain that uniforms became scarce giving them the nickname “Black and Tans” from the colour of the improvised khaki uniforms they initially wore. The “Black and Tans” embarked on a reign of terror on the general public throughout Ireland by killing, torturing, burning and looting. Cork city, Ballbriggan and Lisburn were burned and looted by the “Tans,” summary executions of IRA suspects were common.In 1920 the British Government sent a squad of men to Dublin to conduct an intelligence operation against the IRA. These men were trained by British intelligence and worked as members of the RIC’s Intelligence Branch. This group became known as the Cairo Gang or the Murder Gang. In November 1920 after the IRA had executed 14 of these from Dublin Castle the Black and Tans entered Croke Park, Dublin and opened fire indiscriminately on the crowd who were watching a football match killing 12 people. Britain’s war in Ireland was intensified. In Belfast another Murder Gang known as the Cromwell Gang, targeted Republicans. This murder squad was under the direction of first, C.I. Harrison, and then D.I. Nixon. They were involved in the brutal murder of Republicans in their homes. They were also involved in some of the worst atrocities at the time like the murder of the McMahon family and the Arnon Street Massacre.A Protestant Police for a Protestant StateIn the spring of 1920 a small number of Loyalist leaders, including Colonel Crawford, who had organised the UVF Larne Gun-Running in 1914, began to organise armed groups of Loyalist vigilantes. Edward Carson began to reorganised the UVF. At a time of serious rioting and anti-catholic pogroms following the Orange marches of July 1920 the British Government decided to raise a local militia in the north. More and more ex-UVF units began drilling in the summer of 1920, and finally, in October the British Government formed the Ulster Special Constabulary. Ex-UVF members enrolled in large numbers. Many of the B-Special Commanders had been UVF organisers in the same area.The USC was divided into three groups: the A-Specials, who were full time and were used to reinforce the RIC; the B-Specials, who were fully armed but part-time and were used for local patrol duty; and the C-Specials, who had no regular duties but could be quickly mobilised. At the end of 1921 the six county Unionist Government assumed control over the Specials, and saw in them as the ideal Loyalist force to defend the new state. By June 1922 the USC was about 50,000 strong. The Specials were kept mobilised to patrol the border.After the ceasefire in July 1921 which gave way to negotiations between the Irish and the British a treaty was signed, this brought about the Partitioning of Ireland. Following the partition of Ireland it was decided to disband the RIC as an all-Ireland police force. In southern Ireland a new police force, the Civic Guard later to become Garda Siochana was formed, while in the six counties of north east Ireland the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) was formed on 1 June 1922 as Britain’s police force for the six counties. The RUC carried much over from the former force of RIC men (over 50% of the new force’s 3,000 strength comprised ex-RIC men), the same rank structure, uniform and terms and conditions of service.In 1925, when the Boundary issue was settled with the Free State Government, the A- and C-Specials were disbanded and the B-Specials were retained. Many of the A-Specials joined the RUC, which constituted about half of the RUC. In 1926 the firearms act was amended to enable most of the ex-C-Specials to keep their guns.At the peak of sectarian Riots in 1922 the six county Unionist Government introduced the Civil Authorities Act (The Special Powers Act). It was intended to last for one year, but it was renewed annually until 1928, then for a period of five years, and in 1933 it was made permanent The Act allowed for internment without trial, enter and search homes without a warrant, declare a curfew, prohibition of public meetings, processions and organisations, permit punishment by flogging, arrest persons as witnesses, force them to answer questions, even if answers may incriminate them, such a person is guilty if he refuses to answer a question. Prevent access of relatives or legal advisers to a person interned. Prohibit the holding of an inquest after a prisoner’s death, the banning of literature (including newspapers). The Act also gave the six county Unionist minister the power to make further regulations, each with the force of a new law, without consulting parliament, and to delegate his powers to any policeman.When James Craig, later Lord Craigavon, infamously coined the phrase that it was a “Protestant parliament for a Protestant people” it was clear that the draconian Special Powers Act was designed to do one thing, for a Unionist Government to torture and suppress the Nationalist People of the six counties. Throughout the 30s, 40s, and 50s the B-Specials remained one of the key weapons alongside the RUC in the armoury of the six county Unionist Government. They were used to instil fear into the Nationalist People. The B-Specials were mobilised during the IRA’s Border Campaign because of their local knowledge of towns and villages in which they patrolled the border areas.In the mid 1960s when the Civil Rights Movement began to demand reform of the sectarian bigoted Unionist Stormont Government, the B-Specials were mobilised to suppress it, this culminated in the attack on a Civil Rights March in Derry in October 1968. Further attacks in January in Burntollet, in April the RUC entered the Bogside beating people in their homes, one man later died. Also attacks in Dungiven and Dungannon in August. The Order for the full mobilisation of the B-Specials at the height of events in Derry in August 1969 produced waves of panic amongst the Catholic population, and an increased determination to hold out behind their barricades. At Armagh on the night of August 14th the B-Specials fired into a crowd and killed a man. The Cameron Commission in September called them, ‘a partisan and paramilitary force’ and the Hunt Report on the RUC in October unequivocally proposed the disbandment of the Specials.In Belfast in August 1969 Loyalist mobs facilitated and supported by the RUC and B-Specials attacked Nationalist areas. In the Falls area they attempted to burn down Clonard monastery only to be prevented by a small number of IRA Volunteers who also defended St Peters Cathedral from St Comgalls School by Loyalist attack. The response of the RUC was to race into the Falls area in armoured cars firing heavy browning machineguns at the local civilian population killing two people including a nine year old boy. In 1969 eight out of the first nine people were killed by the RUC/Specials. The north exploded and with the RUC and the B-Specials exhausted the British Government sent the British Army onto the streets to relieve them.In October 1969 after a long sectarian and brutal history the B-Specials were disbanded to make way for a new sectarian militia. In November the British Government produced a Bill to begin the process of establishing a new local part-time armed militia called the Ulster Defence Regiment (UDR). The UDR was formed on January 1st 1970 and many former Specials joined. Brit G.O.C. Ian Freeland sent a message to the Specials “You have done magnificently and will continue to do so up to the moment the force stands down. You have acted always, and will act to the last, as a loyal and disciplined force of patriotic Ulstermen” The UDR’s role was to support the British Army in protecting the border and the six county state, but the UDR like its predecessor became just another sectarian partisan force. After early attempts by constitutional Nationalist political parties to encourage Catholics to join, it was soon clear what the UDR were, with overlapping and dual membership with Loyalist groups and hundreds of UDR weapons ending up in Loyalist groups, 18 UDR members were convicted of murder and 11 for manslaughter. Between 1970 and 1985, 99 were convicted of assault, whilst others were convicted of armed robbery, weapons offences, bombings, intimidation and attacks on Catholics, kidnapping, and membership of the UVF.Collusion with Loyalist Murder Gangs and ‘Shoot to KillIn the six counties citizens are compelled under emergency legislation and at the point of British guns to provide details about themselves. The details relating to Nationalists and Republicans are computerised, filed and thousands of such files have been handed over to loyalist murder gangs by serving members of the Royal Ulster Constabulary and British Army.During the 1970s the RUC were involved in collusion with Loyalist death squads in the murder of Irish citizens, in one such example former British soldier Ginger Baker was sentenced to 25 years imprisonment for killing 4 Catholics in the early 70s. Baker has consistently claimed that RUC members drove weapons through checkpoints, regularly gave RUC files to the UDA and tipped of loyalists to prevent the seizure of their weapons.In the mid 1970s Britain decided to adapt a long-term war in Ireland in a three-part strategy in the six counties known as ‘Ulsterisation’, ‘Criminalisation’ and normalisation. This was meant to avoid any acknowledgement of political motivation and nature of the war and was partly motivated to change perceptions of the war from a colonial war to that of a campaign against criminal gangs. It was also to disengage the non-Ulster regiments of the British Army as much as possible from the six counties and replace them with members of the locally recruited Royal Ulster Constabulary and Ulster Defence Regiment. The objective of this policy was to confine the war to the six counties.During the 1970s The RUC were involved in the arrest and torture of Nationalists and Republicans in holding centres across the six counties. The torture included both mental and physical maltreatment. Physical methods included: beatings, attempted strangulation, pressure to sensitive points of the body, bending of limbs, prolonged standing or squatting in awkward positions, prolonged physical exercises, and burning with cigarettes. Mental pressures included: prolonged oppressive questioning by teams, threats of death and of imprisonment, and threats to the family of the suspect, stripping, and verbal abuse and humiliation.Many of the tortures that took place referred to the Castlereagh Centre, Springfield Road RUC Station, Belfast; Cookstown, Coalisland, Dungannon, and Lurgan RUC Stations, also Strand Road RUC Station, Derry and Gough Barracks in Armagh.In 1979 the RUC established an undercover unit known as E4A, which were trained by the SAS. This unit was to adapt a ‘shoot to kill’ policy in the six counties. In 1982 this unit killed six unarmed people in Armagh which sparked off the Stalker Inquiry. In a court case which followed Britain’s Attorney General in the 6 counties Sir Patrick Mayhew had prevented prosecution arising out of the Stalker inquiry into shoot-to-kill by issuing Public Interest Immunity Certificates. During the 1970s the British Army took on the role of the RUC as being the primary group to patrol Nationalist areas, between 1973 and 1979 the RUC killed five people (two of them being British Army who were killed by mistake). When the RUC were introduced more into Nationalist areas from 1980 that statistic was to change dramatically. Between 1980 and 1986 the RUC killed 24 people.In 1981 a British intelligence document (The Walker Report) claimed that RUC Special Branch was given control over policing and had impunity in its dirty war against Republicans. The leaked document which was authored by Patrick Walker, reportedly then deputy head of MI5’s Belfast station and later MI5 Director General. This report confirms a high level policy that priority was to be given to RUC Special Branch over the rest of the RUC. It also claimed that records should be destroyed after operations and Special Branch should not distribute all information to Criminal Investigations Detectives (CID). It also confirms that CID should require permission from Special Branch before making arrests, or carrying out house searches in case agents were endangered. This policy protected agents and informers who were involved in killings. This can explain the high levels of collusion between Britain and Loyalist death squads in the murder of Irish citizens. If Special Branch was running the RUC then was MI5 running Special Branch?There have been several enquires into collusion and related matters which have had a substantive focus on covert policing, these include the Stevens inquiries, the Collusion Inquiry Reports by Judge Cory and the investigation reports by the Ombudsman into collusion by RUC Special Branch within an area of north Belfast (Operation Ballast). All of these exposed reoccurring practices. John Stevens led three inquiries over a fourteen year period into the collusion between the RUC and Loyalist murder gangs (only the summary of the third inquiry has been published). After the third inquiry Stevens reported that; My Enquiries have highlighted collusion, the wilful failure to keep records, the absence of accountability, the withholding of intelligence and evidence, and the extreme of agents being involved in murder. These serious acts and omissions have meant that people have been killed or seriously injured.Not a single member of the RUC – the primary source for security and intelligence documents – was charged as a result of these Inquiries.MI5 Takes The Lead on British Policing In IrelandSee the original page
Wednesday, May 22, 2013
Monday, May 20, 2013
Thursday, May 2, 2013
Justice minister ford reply 4/9/2012
FROM THE OFFICE OF THE JUSTICE MINISTER Departmentof Justice Minister’s Office BlockB,
Castle Buildings Stormont Estate Ballymiscaw
Belfast BT43SG Tel:02890528121
Ourref:C0R184312012
Dear .......!
Thank you for your email of 15 August which raises concerns in respect of Mrs Marian McGlinchey.
You have asked me to release Mrs McGlinchey from custody on compassionate grounds so that she can avail of medical treatment. You have also asked me to clarify whether I have sole responsibility for this provision or if my powers are subservient to those of the Secretary of State in this matter.
Healthcare provision Responsibility for the provision of prisoner healthcare in Northern Ireland lies with the Department of Health,Social Services and Public Safety (DHSSPS) and,through the SouthEastern Health and Social CareTrust (SET),that Department is required to provide healthcare arrangements comparable with those available in the community.As Minister of Justice for Northern Ireland,in partnership with colleagues in the SET,I am committed to ensuring that the specific health and social care needs of prisoners in custody are met.Mrs McGlinchey is no exception.
Mrs McGlinchey was transferred to an in-patient setting under the care of the Belfast Health and Social Care Trust on 22June.The decision to transfer Mrs McGlinchey was taken following the clinical assessment of her condition by the SET and in the interests of her health.For as long as she remains in this in-patient setting, the Belfast Trust is responsible for the provision of all her medical needs.
The DHSSPS has confirmed that Mrs McGlinchey is receiving the appropriate level of treatment for her condition.
Release from custody on compassionate grounds Article7 of the Life Sentences (NorthernIreland) Order2001 (LSO) gives the Department of Justice the power to release life sentence prisoners on compassionate grounds,but only if it is satisfied that‘ exceptional circumstances’ exist to justify that release.
However,you should note that the Northern Ireland Act1998 (Devolution of Policing and Justice Functions) Order 2010 (SI2010/976) amended Article7 of the LSO to give the Secretary of State the power to direct that a prisoner should not be released on compassionate grounds without his agreement if his decision to make such a direction is arrived at on the grounds of protected information’ .
‘Protected information ’is defined as meaning information which if disclosed may,in the opinion of the Secretary of State,be against the interests of national security.
In coming to the decision to transfer Mrs McGlinchey to an in-patient setting under the care of the Belfast Trust,I considered all the powers available to me which provide for compassionate release,temporary release and prisoner transfers. In light of the evidence,after reviewing the various options and having taken both clinical advice and the security and public protection considerations applying to her case into account,I concluded that the grounds for compassionate release do not exist in this case but that Mrs McGlinchey should instead be transferred to a secure facility for treatment under Section16 of the Prison Act (NI) 1953.
I remain of the view that Mrs McGlinchey is currently receiving an appropriate level of treatment under the care of the Belfast Trust and I have received no further medical advice from the Belfast Trust to demonstrate that sufficient reasons exist to release Mrs McGlinchey on compassionate grounds
Parole Commissioners Review
All life sentence prisoners remain on licence for life.They can be recalled at any time if they breach the conditions of their licence.The Secretary of State has the power to recall life licensees to prison if he believes that they have become a risk to the public and if his grounds for believing that are based on ‘protected information’.
The Secretary of State’s decision to revoke Mrs McGlinchey’s life licence and recall her to custody was taken on foot of a recommendation by the Parole Commissioners that the risk of serious harm posed by her had increased significantly.
The Secretary of State’s decision is now the subject of a statutory review by the Parole Commissioners. If the Parole Commissioners are satisfied that it is no longer necessary for the protection of the public from serious harm that she should be detained,they may direct Mrs McGlinchey’s release.The decision of the Parole Commissioners is final and cannot be overruled.I should also point out that this review is wholly out with the remit of the Department of Justice.
I trust that this addresses your concerns.
David Ford MLA
Department of Justice
Wednesday, May 1, 2013
Draft letter to secretary of state
Please see attached DRAFT LETTER TO SECRETARY OF STATE PLEASE DO NOT COPY VERBATIM BUT PUT YOUR OWN CONCERNS IN AND YOUR OWN PERSONALITY AND KNOWLEDGE
email-post-fax details on NIO Website.
Thank you all.
Rt.Hon Theresa Villiers
I am writing to yourself as secretary of state for northern Ireland to express my concern at the ongoing detention without trial or due process of INSERT NAME. I am sure you have availed yourself of the details of the incarceration of Marian Price and the case.
It is unfortunate your predecessor Owen Patterson was not forthcoming with details of some questions which have been asked by members of the public interested in human rights or open with other concerned representatives groups. Despite several attempts only one cursory form letter was received. Department of justice minister David Ford was prompt in replying to questions relating to the detention of Marian Price.
Please if you would be kind enough to answer or indicate how your office will endeavour to proceed in a just manner,respecting human rights to the following :-
1. Please could you detail the legislation INSERT NAME now finds herself/himself detained without trial. Are there matters still outstanding to be settled in court.
2. I appreciate details are privileged by national security issues, however are you able to explain if you schedule regular reviews of her/his case taking into account mitigating factors for release?
3. There are obvious human rights concerns including the European convention of human rights including a right to a fair trial,due process,the right to life and right to be free from inhumane,degrading treatment and torture. Are you able to re-assure myself that these rights are being respected?
4. The Good Friday Agreement was supposed to replace draconian measures such as internment to herald a new era in politics, social and economic life for the province looking forward to a peaceful future. Does the detention INSERT NAME advance a peaceful future? Or does it demonstrate to many nothing has changed, that a true path to peace has yet to be found?
I look forward to your prompt response to this in due course.
Regards
YOUR NAME
Wednesday, April 3, 2013
Annual Rosemary Nelson Lecture
Dr Linda Moore speaks on the Internment of Marian Price and Prison Issues.
http://youtu.be/3vtB0osOYS8