Conor McGarrigle on Fri, 14 Jun 2002 18:39:55 +0200 (CEST) |
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<nettime> Stevens report to say RUC collusion was rife |
>From the Irish Times Leaks from the Stevens report into collusion between loyalist paramilitaries and security forces in Northern Ireland. http://www.ireland.com/newspaper/front/2002/0614/3827168946HM1STEVENREP.html Stevens report to say RUC collusion was rife By Dan Keenan, Northern News Editor Collusion between the security forces and loyalist paramilitaries in the North continued unchecked for years because of a culture of "gross unprofessionalism and irresponsibility". This allowed officers to create a climate in which Catholics could be murdered with near impunity, the Stevens inquiry has found. The report by London's Metropolitan Police Commissioner, Sir John Stevens, found that in many cases the relationship between RUC Special Branch detectives, army intelligence and loyalist paramilitaries was so unprincipled and lacking in accountability that it bordered on "institutionalised collusion", according to a report in today's Guardian newspaper. But the Stevens team will not suggest there was any conspiracy stretching throughout the RUC and British army, or that British ministers officially sanctioned such killings. Sir John is due to issue the report soon. But the officer with effective day-to-day control of the investigation is Deputy Assistant Commissioner Mr Hugh Orde, the new Chief Constable-designate of the PSNI. His appointment as successor to Sir Ronnie Flanagan has proved politically sensitive, with unionists openly contesting his selection. The Stevens report, with which he is so closely identified, will further politicise policing in the North, while its recommendations could prove controversial. At a press conference following his selection, Mr Orde referred to his work with the Stevens team and promised a frank report. It will fall to him to act upon the report's conclusions. The three-year investigation into the murder in 1989 of the Belfast solicitor Pat Finucane will condemn a culture of incompetence that left junior ranks effectively making up the rules. Sir John hopes to recommend charges against several police and army officers and he will outline proposals for wholesale reform of procedures. Speaking to former soldiers, paramilitaries and double agents, Sir John's team uncovered astonishing levels of collusion between paramilitaries and the security forces. His report will not estimate the number of shootings that resulted from the collaboration, but he believes that loyalists were incapable of carrying out targeted assassinations without significant help, according to the British newspaper. But finding hard evidence of any alleged official policy of collusion within the police service proved almost impossible. Stevens found that RUC Special Branch - the police intelligence division - failed to keep records about meetings between officers and paramilitaries, and there appeared to be no guidelines about conduct. Sir John has been told that attempts by his detectives to find out who was in charge of operations was "like trying to juggle soot". Sir John, who has conducted two previous inquiries in Northern Ireland, already knew that in the case of Pat Finucane's murder, details had been passed to loyalist paramilitaries by an army double agent, Brian Nelson, who was helping loyalists to identify leading Catholics. But he also found out that two of the UDA gang members thought to be responsible for the killing were police informers. One of the two guns used was stolen from an army barracks. Sometime later, the weapon was recovered by police officers, who, inexplicably, returned it to the army where it was modified - destroying potentially crucial forensic evidence. Although Sir John will name and give details of the loyalists arrested and questioned by his team on suspicion of the Finucane murder, he will not identify the two suspected gunmen in case it jeopardises a future criminal case. It is not within Sir John's remit to recommend changes regarding intelligence gathering. But his investigators believe that Special Branch, which has primacy in such matters, should hand the lead role to MI5, while the army should stop running agents. © The Irish Times Conor --------------------------------------------------------- Stunned http://www.stunned.org # distributed via <nettime>: no commercial use without permission # <nettime> is a moderated mailing list for net criticism, # collaborative text filtering and cultural politics of the nets # more info: majordomo@bbs.thing.net and "info nettime-l" in the msg body # archive: http://www.nettime.org contact: nettime@bbs.thing.net