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N. Ireland: U.K. forces colluded with loyalists?

By Hasan Suroor

DAMNING REPORT?: The Met Police Chief, John Stevens (left), hands over his report to the Chief Constable of the Police Service of Northern Ireland, Hugh Orde, in Belfast, on Thursday. — AP

LONDON APRIL 17. In a report, which will deeply embarrass the British Government, its intelligence and security forces have been accused of colluding with Protestant loyalist paramilitaries in Northern Ireland to kill Catholic IRA militants at the height of sectarian violence in the province in the Eighties and the Nineties.

The report, based on an investigation spread over some 14 years, was released in Belfast today confirming Republican accusations that they had been victims of state-sponsored violence. It is by far the most stinging indictment of the role of the British security apparatus in dealing with IRA in its campaign for a united Ireland, and could further complicate attempts to revive the beleagured peace process.

The report, prepared by the former high-profile Northern Ireland police chief, Sir John Stevens, documents specific instances of "widespread collusion" between Government agencies and loyalist terrorists in what has been dubbed Britain's secret `dirty' war. It accuses Government security agents of having been involved in murders of `innocent' people, including that of a Belfast lawyer, Pat Finucane, who was shot dead in his house in 1989 because he defended Republican militants.

The lawyer's murder in the presence of his family members, as they ate their dinner, remains one of the most controversial episodes in the security agencies' alleged collusion with loyalist terrorists.

Releasing a summary of his 3000-page report, Mr John emphasised that "every single part of the report (and) every single word is supported by evidence and documentation."

He said it was the most comprehensive and extensive investigation of its kind, and the security forces must act on its findings. In the continuing fight against terrorism not only in Northern Ireland but around the world it was `essential' that its recommendations were taken seriously.

Among other things, the report accused the security agencies of withholding evidence and intelligence, misleading the Government and "absence of accountability." Its criticism extends to the role of MI5 , the army and the Royal Ulster Constabulary.

The report is likely to revive the Republicans' demand for a judicial inquiry into `institutionalised' collusion of security forces with loyalist terror groups.

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