Official Communication from the UFA
Posted by Jim on February 2, 2018
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PSNI handling of legacy inquests ‘putting nationalist confidence in policing at risk’
Posted by Jim on February 1, 2018
“All this coming on top of other issues regarding the Northern Ireland police is very troubling.There is nothing more important for the Irish Peace Process than an acceptable police service, as promised by the Good Friday Agreement :
“fair and impartial, free from partisan political control; accountable, both under the law for its actions and to the community it serves …”—Fr. Sean Mc Manus
PSNI handling of legacy inquests ‘putting nationalist confidence in policing at risk’
John Manley. Irish News. Belfast. Thursday, February 1, 2018
THE PSNI’s handling of legacy inquests is jeopardizing Nationalist [“Catholic”] confidence in policing, it was claimed last night.
It came as police appeared to concede that some relevant material held on a military intelligence database may not have been disclosed to inquests over the last decade.
Presiding coroner Mrs. Justice Keegan revealed yesterday that the database – which includes Ministry of Defense (Mod) documents – has been in the possession of the PSNI since 2007 but has not been routinely searched when compiling disclosure of intelligence material for legacy cases.
The PSNI Disclosure Unit said it was not aware it was in police possession, a revelation described as “astonishing” by one solicitor.
The Police Ombudsman’s office has requested additional information from the force ahead of potential investigation.
Assistant Chief Constable Mark Hamilton, head of the PSNI’s legacy and justice department, yesterday said the database containing military and police intelligence was passed to it for “safe keeping” at the end of the British army’s Operation Banner in 2007 and police and the MoD agreed that each would be responsible for its own material.
“Since then, the PSNI has been disclosing police material held on the database to the coroner, as well as informing the coroner of our knowledge of any relevant military intelligence on the database, so that the coroner could request further disclosure from the Ministry of Defense,” he said.
“Following a recent legacy investigation and having taken further advice about his disclosure responsibilities, the Chief Constable has now directed that because the PSNI holds the database, the PSNI has legal duties of disclosure in relation to the material stored in it.
“PSNI has informed the Presiding Coronial Judge and other criminal justice partners of this matter and has begun a process of checking the military database to ensure that our full disclosure duties are met.
“We hope that in most cases the majority of relevant material will have already been disclosed by the MoD.
“PSNI remains committed to ensuring that all legal duties placed upon the Police Service are fully discharged, despite the real and significant resourcing pressures it continues to face.”
John Teggart, a spokesman for relatives of 10 people shot dead by British soldiers in 1971 in what became known as the Ballymurphy Massacre, said they had “grave concerns” about the revelations.
“We are calling for clarification around this statement and have raised this issue with our legal representatives. We are months away from our full inquests – all this is very distressing for the families,” he said.
A son of Co Derry GAA official Sean Brown, who was shot dead by the LVF in 1997, also voiced concern.
Damian Brown said: “It really does raise questions about what might be in this intelligence database that the PSNI apparently forgot they had.”
Mike Ritchie of Relatives for Justice also said it “beggars belief that nobody thought that this information would be relevant for inquests”, while Paul O’Connor of the Pat Finucane Centre said “there are going to be a large number of families that have serious questions”.
Sinn Féin’s Gerry Kelly last night said the PSNI’s explanation was “not acceptable”.
“They still haven’t clarified who decided not to tell the disclosure unit,” he added.
The SDLP’s Dolores Kelly said senior police have “serious questions to answer about how this was allowed to happen and if the organisation’s disclosure mechanisms are fit for purpose at all now”.
“The PSNI’s handing of legacy inquests is now putting confidence from the nationalist community in policing at risk. That must be addressed.”
Leo’s not playing for northern Nationalists
Posted by Jim on January 31, 2018
“Under Enda Kenny—who never evinced the slightest interest in The North— we had ministers responsible for this place who differed only in their antagonism towards Sinn Féin, one a former Stickie[ ‘Offiicial Republican], the other from the law and order right of Fine Gael. … [Nationalists] watched in alarm, as every northern issue Sinn Féin raised in the Dáil, was batted away derisively by Enda Kenny, and in Stormont talks his minister Charlie Flanagan adopted a position indistinguishable from the British when he wasn’t completely disengaged.”
Brian Feeney.Irish News. Belfast. Wednesday, January, 31, 2018
IN December after Leo Varadkar pronounced himself mighty pleased with the deal on the border that the EU had wrung out of the British. He came out with this declaration: “To the nationalist people of Northern Ireland I want to assure you that we have protected your interests throughout these negotiations and will continue to do so and you will never again be left behind by an Irish government.”
Two days later the British government publicly ratted on the deal and they’ve been rowing away from it ever since.
British duplicity isn’t the point here. We’ll see in the coming months how successfully they squirm around the legalities.
No, let’s look at Varadkar’s pronouncement, which you might find touching.
Or on the other hand, coming from a Fine Gael-led government which has done nothing for northern Nationalists for six years, except exhibit hostility towards their political representatives, you might find his remarks to be what they call in diplomatic parlance a bit of a démarche— in normal language, a manoeuvre.
Under Enda Kenny—who never evinced the slightest interest in The North— we had ministers responsible for this place who differed only in their antagonism towards Sinn Féin, one a former Stickie[‘Official Republican’], the other from the law and order right of Fine Gael.
They stood idly by as the Conservative-led governments since 2010 cleaved ever closer to the DUP, indulging their merest whims, and by 2017 were displaying overt support for the raving right of the Tory party in security and legacy matters here.
It was a new experience for northern Nationalists who had been used for over 20 years to the unequivocal support of Irish governments and an identity of policy.
The reasons are obvious and have been outlined here before. John Hume had made his party, in effect, the Irish government in The North, pursuing and promoting its policies.
However, by the beginning of this decade not only was Sinn Féin overwhelmingly the choice of northern Nationalists, whose votes had made Martin McGuinness deputy First Minister, but they won 220,661 votes and 14 seats in the 2011 Dáil. By 2016 that became 295,319 and 23 seats, making them a political threat in The South.
Consequently, from 2010 northern Nationalists found themselves bereft of political influence in both Westminster and Dublin.
They watched in dismay as David Cameron’s precarious coalition courted the DUP, even throwing a party for them in the Downing Street garden.
They watched in alarm, as every northern issue Sinn Féin raised in the Dáil, was batted away derisively by Enda Kenny, and in Stormont talks his minister Charlie Flanagan adopted a position indistinguishable from the British when he wasn’t completely disengaged.
Disenchantment grew as the DUP, with British connivance and Irish complicity, blocked everything in the Assembly and in talks on flags, Orange marches, the past, the present, the future.
Sinn Féin could not provide any political leverage for northern Nationalists. They faced undisguised hostility in London and Dublin.
Now, since December it appears the Taoiseach has pulled on a green jersey. He met Sinn Féin on December 18 and later agreed with them that calling a British-Irish Inter-Governmental Council is a good idea.
He actually answered questions from Gerry Adams. He said Barry McElduff’s stupid stunt was “perhaps an error of judgment”.
He told the DUP they don’t represent a majority in The North on Brexit, producing predictable apoplexy from poor Sammy Wilson. Not to be outdone, Simon Coveney hoped for a united Ireland.
What’s going on? Will Mary Lou McDonald’s Sinn Féin at last be able to exert the sort of political leverage that John Hume exercised?
Don’t hold your breath. Varadkar has noticed that polls show 22 per cent of people are more likely to vote Sinn Féin with Mary Lou as leader.
Varadkar has also enjoyed a huge boost in his poll ratings, not unrelated to his confrontation with the British.
Unlike beleaguered Micheál Martin he is not competing with Sinn Féin for votes. What Varadkar’s aiming to do is keep those Fianna Fáil voters who switched to Fine Gael in 2011.
He’s also hoping for Sinn Féin transfers in the next election in 2019. His manoeuvre has nothing to do with the northern Nationalists.
Scappaticci arrested
Posted by Jim on January 30, 2018
The man alleged to have been the British Army’s most high-ranking agent
in the Provisional IRA has been arrested and is being questioned about
allegations that he murdered dozens of people while working undercover
in the IRA’s feared internal security unit.
The agent known as Stakeknife has been named as Freddie Scappaticci from
west Belfast. The BBC reported that he was arrested in England but said
the investigation team would not release details of the arrest nor where
he is being held “due to security reasons.”
In 1993, Mr Scappaticci was allegedly recorded providing details on the
late Martin McGuinness and the IRA to investigative journalist Roger
Cook, after a ‘Cook Report’ documentary on Mr McGuinness was broadcas.
The tapes covertly recorded by Mr Cook were passed ten years later to
the Panorama documentary team. Mr Scappaticci was subsequently accused
of being ‘Stakeknife’, and receiving a six figure sum every year by the
British government while serving as head of the IRA’s so-called ‘nutting
squad’. The unit has been linked to more than 40 killings, many of which
are now feared to have been carried out at the behest of Stakeknife’s
MI5 handlers.
Scappaticci subsequently left Ireland but always denied that he was an
IRA informer. He is said to have appeared briefly at his 98-year-old
father’s funeral in west Belfast last year.
Operation Kenova, a police investigation, was launched in 2016 after
victims demanded to know the truth of his alleged activities. A
statement by Operation Kenova claimed it had spoken to more than 40
families and generated 1,500 lines of enquiry. The investigation into
Scappaticci is expected to take several more years before the case comes
to trial, if at all.
The 72-year-old’s arrest comes 24 hours after the sentencing of
notorious loyalist ‘supergrass’ Gary Haggarty for several murders in
another highly controversial case of collusion. It ended in shock for
victims and relatives as the double agent received a sentence which will
likely see him released within weeks. There was a sense of cover-up
following the sentencing, which was exacerbated by the decision in
October that no prosecutions would be brought against his handlers in
RUC police Special Branch.
In another development today, a large number of disparate groups of
victims of the conflict announced plans for a mass march to demand
action on stalled efforts to deal with the legacy of the conflict. The
march will take place under the banner “Time for Truth” in Belfast on
February 25.
Announcing the march, Emma Rogan, whose father Adrian was shot dead in
the UVF Loughinisland massacre in County Down in 1994, said the truth
cost nothing.
“I am calling on everyone to come out, put your feet on the streets and
march with us,” she said. “Solidarity, everybody together sending a
strong clear message that we deserve and we need the truth. It’s human
decency that people would get the truth and know what happened to their
loved ones and know why.”
A full report on each of these developments will be carried in our
weekend edition.
Gary Haggarty was a Special Branch informer for 11 years
Posted by Jim on
Haggarty recruited by Special Branch less than a year after joining UVF
Gary Haggarty was a Special Branch informer for 11 years
Allison Morris. Belfast News. Tuesday, January 30, 2018
GARY Haggarty was recruited as an RUC Special Branch informer less than a year after joining the ranks of the murderous Mount Vernon UVF when he was arrested for possession of ammunition.
Victims’ relatives expressed anger yesterday as it was confirmed the Loyalist supergrass could be freed within weeks despite pleading guilty to five murders and almost 200 other paramilitary crimes.
A 35-year jail term was reduced to six-and-a-half years for helping police and agreeing to give evidence against his former associates, although a prosecution is only set to go ahead in one case.
With time served on remand Haggarty is now eligible to appear before parole commissioners to secure his release to a new life in witness protection.
The Irish News understands that he was first recruited by Special Branch in the early 1990s after being arrested for possession of a bag of bullets at a house in Glasgow Street in north Belfast.
Detectives from CID had already charged Haggarty when they were outranked by Special Branch, who had all charges withdrawn.
He acted as an informer for 11 years but committed hundreds of offences, including the murders of Catholic workmen Eamon Fox (44) and Gary Convie (24) as they had lunch together in a car in north Belfast in 1994.
Mr Fox’s son Kieran hit out at the sentence yesterday, saying Haggarty was a paid state informer who was “allowed to kill at will”.
“What is justice in this country? It is just designed to look after the criminal,” he said.
Politicians also said justice had not been served.
PPS acting deputy director Michael Agnew said the discounts applied in such cases are difficult for victims, but “without it convictions for the many offences would not have been achieved”.
Assistant Chief Constable Mark Hamilton said the PSNI “fully realize that there will be many questions surrounding the Haggarty case”.
“However, as he is now a key witness in a forthcoming trial PSNI is now prevented by law from talking about this case.”
GARY Haggarty was recruited as an RUC Special Branch informer less than a year after joining the ranks of the murderous Mount Vernon UVF when he was arrested for possession of ammunition.
Victims’ relatives expressed anger yesterday as it was confirmed the Loyalist supergrass could be freed within weeks despite pleading guilty to five murders and almost 200 other paramilitary crimes.
A 35-year jail term was reduced to six-and-a-half years for helping police and agreeing to give evidence against his former associates, although a prosecution is only set to go ahead in one case.
With time served on remand Haggarty is now eligible to appear before parole commissioners to secure his release to a new life in witness protection.
The Irish News understands that he was first recruited by Special Branch in the early 1990s after being arrested for possession of a bag of bullets at a house in Glasgow Street in north Belfast.
Detectives from CID had already charged Haggarty when they were outranked by Special Branch, who had all charges withdrawn.
He acted as an informer for 11 years but committed hundreds of offences, including the murders of Catholic workmen Eamon Fox (44) and Gary Convie (24) as they had lunch together in a car in north Belfast in 1994.
Mr Fox’s son Kieran hit out at the sentence yesterday, saying Haggarty was a paid state informer who was “allowed to kill at will”.
“What is justice in this country? It is just designed to look after the criminal,” he said.
Politicians also said justice had not been served.
PPS acting deputy director Michael Agnew said the discounts applied in such cases are difficult for victims, but “without it convictions for the many offences would not have been achieved”.
Assistant Chief Constable Mark Hamilton said the PSNI “fully realize that there will be many questions surrounding the Haggarty case”.
“However, as he is now a key witness in a forthcoming trial PSNI is now prevented by law from talking about this case.”