MI6 – Slugger O'Toole

The Haass agenda on the past. The release of documents must include MI5’s and others in the secret state

Brian Walker on September 16, 2013, 5:22 pm | Readers 59

The remarks by Teresa Villiers on dealing with the past will surprise no one. They serve as a reminder of who is ultimately in charge, despite bashfully standing on the sidelines. The era of public inquiries is over. For good or ill there will be no public inquiry into Finucane, the “Ballymurphy massacre” or any other terrible incident with major question marks hanging over it. Since Savile, the limitations of inquiries have been demonstrated at a cost of another hundred million pounds. …

The sad tale of tolerating torture that hangs over us today

Brian Walker on October 29, 2012, 10:05 am | Readers 112

Ian Cobain a senior reporter on the Guardian is on Radio 4’s Start the Week ( listen on BBCiPlayer or RadioPlayer after 10 a.m. or the repeat at 2100 live tonight). I strongly recommend a listen. The author of Cruel Britannia: a secret history of British torture, he gives a calm and convincing account of how torture techniques were introduced in the colonies after WW2 and applied at the beginning of internment in Northern Ireland in 1971. . Cobain is …

“and ‘Soon’ would have known this”

Pete Baker on January 2, 2012, 3:01 pm | Readers 82

Perhaps the most interesting [and least covered? – Ed] response to the release of UK National Archive files from 1981 was that of the Sinn Féin president, Gerry Adams, TD. An edited version of his blog post appeared at the Guardian. The interesting part is not his declaration of “Another myth busted”. That particular “war of words”, as Brian Rowan says, “will go on”. The interest is in Adams’ calling into question “the relationship between London and ‘Soon’” – Londonderry businessman Brendan Duddy – …

“they’ve all sold out on the Irish people.”

Pete Baker on May 16, 2011, 3:32 pm | Readers 772

A Newshound transcribed report of the alleged assault and attempted intimidation of former Sinn Féin member, Colm Lynagh, in Clones last weekend includes this snippet. Gerry Adams delivered the oration at Jim Lynagh’s funeral. At that time, Martin McGuiness was already engaged in secret meetings with MI6 agent Michael Oakley. Yet Adams told mourners at the graveside: “Anyone who does business with the British, the SDLP or the Free State establishment are fools as they’ve all sold out on the Irish people.” …