Secret court process could be used to challenge collusion

Posted by Jim on March 4, 2018

 

A former military intelligence whistle-blower in the British Army has
offered to give evidence in secret court hearings about murders and
collusion by the British Army.

Fred Holroyd has said he is willing to supply evidence of collusion in
the 1974 Dublin and Monaghan bombings, in which 33 died.

Holroyd, who lives in England, says that even though now in poor health,
he is determined for the truth to be exposed regarding his deployment
between 1973 and 1975.

One of his roles was as liaison between the British Army and the RUC
(now PSNI) police.

He says his testimony will also include an allegation that British Army
experts made the bombs the UVF used in the Dublin and Monaghan bombings.

He is also set to testify that British Army Captain Robert Nairac killed
an IRA Volunteer in the 26 Counties.

Holroyd has said Nairac boasted to him about killing IRA member John
Francis Green at a farmhouse in County Monaghan in January 1975.

“I think Robert thought that I was like them, you know, that I was part
and parcel of the shoot-to-kill syndrome,” he said.

Nairac outlined details of the killing and showed him a photograph he
claimed to have taken afterwards. “It was quite distinctive the
photograph. First of all it was colour Polaroid, only the SAS got colour
Polaroid, nobody else did, we all got black and white, the other
intelligence people. ”

Such evidence would be given using a controversial legal process known
as ‘Closed Material Procedures’, which became law in the Justice and
Security Act 2013.

It allows material deemed to be a potential risk to British security to
be heard secretly behind closed doors by a judge and a so-called
“special advocate”. The advocate is not allowed to reveal precise
details of the evidence, but can provide a loose summary of what has
been said.

His lawyers say Holroyd wants to give evidence using Closed Material
Procedures to avoid being arrested for breaching the Official Secrets
Act.

The Belfast based law firm KRW Winters has opposed the use of Closed
Material Procedures, but says it can see some merit if the process is
also available to those wishing to provide evidence about wrongdoing by
the state.

Holroyd is also currently suing Britain’s Minister of Defence over being
forced from his job in the 1970s — and illegally detained at the
British military psychiatric unit at the Royal Victoria Hospital — for
making public allegations of collusion.

He was asked by the BBC why he had offered to take part in the ‘closed
material’ process.

“There is just a faint chance that they might be able to do something
about what happened and make sure it doesn’t happen again,” he said.

“That the judiciary will turn on the government and say this was wrong,
it shouldn’t have happened, we apologise, you will apologise for this
and we’ll make sure that there are methods and systems that are brought
in to stop this happening again.”