17 March 2001. Thanks to NW.

Justice for the Forgotten

Briefing

15^th March 2001

1.15pm

Committee Room W4

Houses of Parliament

Westminster

London

DUBLIN & MONAGHAN BOMBINGS 17^th MAY 1974

1. Did the British Army adopt a counter insurgency policy in Northern Ireland, which led to the deaths of 33 people in Dublin, Ireland's capital city and in Monaghan, an Irish provincial town, on the 17^th of May 1974?

2. Documents furnished by lawyers for Justice for the Forgotten, the campaigning group for the Victims of the Dublin & Monaghan Bombings, to the Irish Government's Independent Commission of Inquiry into the Bombings raise serious concerns as to use of loyalist paramilitary groups as agent provocateurs.

3. Secret British Army security documents from 1971 indicate that the British Army was concerned at the military resources required to secure the Border between the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. The number of battalions required could only be sustained for a few months and at a risk to NATO commitments. A long-term engagement would require radical policy decisions such as the withdrawal of British troops from Hong Kong.
   
4. On the 4^th of October 1971 the British Prime Minister was briefed with a secret British Army document entitled "Military Appreciation of the Security Situation in Northern Ireland".

5. This secret 'Military Appreciation' reported that the character of the emergency in Ulster had changed radically in 1971 with a mounting scale of IRA terrorism and that Military Intelligence was fundamental to successful operations against terrorists. While the problem was essentially a politico-military one the isolation of the terrorist from the population was seen as the sine qua non of success.
   
6. The British Army was concerned that the greater the forces the IRA compelled the Army to provide on basic security the fewer that were available for active operations against the IRA. It also believed the RUC was problematic and made a minimal contribution to the security situation and that it would be a few years before it could play a more effective role.
   
7. The 'Military Appreciation' summarised the position as follows:

   "The IRA... has the initiative and has the resources, partly in the North but primarily in the South of Ireland, to maintain it."
   

8. This 1971 'Military Appreciation' then set out a range of military options including:

   The use of SAS on surveillance operations

   The formation of Q squads in special areas, to "mystify, mislead and destroy" the terrorists.
   

9. The Army favoured an approach that would remove certain restraints from its operations but would not require a significant escalation of the Army's commitment to Northern Ireland.
   
10. Personal correspondence passing between Ministry of Defence officials in 1975 indicated that the policy to "mystify, mislead and destroy" had been applied on a broader front. The correspondence expressed a concern that the Dublin & Monaghan bombings had been connected with a group known as the Protestant Action Force/Protestant Task Force controlled by a Special Duties Team from British Army HQ in Lisburn, Northern Ireland.
    
11. It has been known for some time that a special British Army unit operated in Armagh in 1974 under the title of 4 Field Survey Troop.
    
12. Detailed statements made by a former member of the RUC indicate that the Protestant Action Force/Protestant Task Force was in fact a group comprised of senior UVF members in Mid-Ulster together with serving members of the Royal Ulster Constabulary and members of the Ulster Defence Regiment - a British Army Regiment. The same senior UVF members are named in the aforementioned correspondence.
    
13. New forensic reports submitted by the lawyers for Justice for the Forgotten to the Independent Commission of Inquiry contain empirical evidence based on a scientific assessment of bomb disposal records of bombings in 1974 that the explosives and explosive devices used in the Dublin bombs were not in Loyalist arsenals.
    
14. These forensic reports corroborate statements, obtained by the legal team, that explosives were made available to the Protestant Action Force/Protestant Task Force by a British Army Officer on an operation-by-operation basis.
    
15. The documents which have now come to light, together with correspondence, statements and forensic reports, obtained by the relatives' legal team, gives rise to a real concern that the Dublin & Monaghan Bombings of the 17^th of May 1974 were inspired by the British Army.

INTERNATIONAL INFORMATION APPEAL

THE RELATIVES' APPEAL

The victims of the Dublin & Monaghan Bombings come to Westminster today, the 15^th of March 2001, to launch an International Information Appeal.

There are many people with knowledge of what occurred in Northern Ireland in 1974 and the policies that were being applied in the period 1973 to 1976. This information may have a significant bearing on the investigations into the Dublin & Monaghan Bombings of the 17^th of May 1974, which resulted in the murder of 33 people.

The relatives appeal to any person who served with the British Army, Royal Ulster Constabulary or the security services MI5 and MI6, who may have any relevant information, to contact the Justice for the Forgotten - Legal Team or the Independent Commission of Inquiry.

The relatives also appeal to Civil Servants who served in Northern Ireland or who had an involvement with Northern Ireland by reason of posts they held in the Ministry of Defence, the Home Office, the Northern Ireland Office, the Cabinet Office, the Prime Minister's Office and the Foreign Office to contact the Justice for the Forgotten Legal Team or the Independent Commission of Inquiry.

The relatives appeal especially to Politicians who served in relevant ministerial offices or who served on the Cabinet - Northern Ireland Committee, to assist the relatives' legal team and the Independent Commission of Inquiry.

INTERNATIONAL INFORMATION APPEAL

THE GOOD FRIDAY AGREEMENT

As relatives we are particularly conscious of the acknowledgement made by the parties to the Good Friday Agreement that:

"It is essential to acknowledge and address the suffering of the victims of violence as a necessary element of reconciliation."

Our appeal today is to institutions and individuals to give meaning to these words. As victims, our suffering will continue until the truth of what occurred on the 17th of May 1974 is established.

We would like to bring to the attention of those people who may have information, to the commitment given by Tony Blair on the 20^th of June 2000 by letter from his Private Secretary to Justice for the Forgotten.

"These were horrific and terrible crimes and the Prime Minister welcomes any development which may help shed light on these events and go at least some way to easing the pain of those injured or bereaved.

... I can reassure you that the British Government will treat any requests for assistance and information received from the Inquiry sympathetically and in a positive spirit."

We note the support given yesterday by former Northern Ireland Secretaries of State to the appeal by the victims of the Omagh bombing for funds to advance a civil claim against alleged perpetrators. We would like to use this opportunity to appeal to each one of them to endorse our International Information Appeal today.

INTERNATIONAL INFORMATION APPEAL

PEOPLE WHO MAY BE ABLE TO ASSIST

By way of illustrating the persons to whom this appeal may be relevant, the following persons who were engaged in or with Northern Ireland in 1972 to 1976 may be of special assistance in helping us to establish the truth. These persons may confirm or rebut information we have received.

Persons who served in the period 1973 to 1976 with:

Army HQ Lisburn

Special Duties Team at Army HQ Lisburn

Intelligence, Army HQ Lisburn

Field Survey Troop, Castledillon, Co. Armagh

Brigade HQ, Lurgan

Army Information Office, Army HQ Lisburn

Psychological Operations, Army HQ Lisburn

Army/ RUC Intelligence Liaison, RUC HQ, Knock, Belfast

Persons who held the following posts in 3 Brigade Area (Armagh/Down/Fermanagh/Tyrone)

Brigade Command & Staff

GSO 2 Intelligence Officers

Military Liaison Officers

Field Intelligence NCOs

Liaison Intelligence NCOs

Ammunition Technicians and Ammunition Technical Officers

Weapons Intelligence Officers

Officers and soldiers who served with any of the following regiments in 3 Brigade Area:

Royal Ordnance Corps

Royal Engineers

Royal Regiment of Fusiliers

The Green Howards

Royal Anglian Regiment

Royal Hampshire Regiment

Royal Green Jackets

3 Field Squadron

11 Field Squadron

33 Independent Field Squadron

2 UDR and 11 UDR.

Members of the RUC who served in J, H and K Divisions, particularly in Special Branch.

Members of the RUC who served with Armagh Special Patrol Group.

Politicians, Civil Servants and Army Personnel who served on or with the Cabinet - Northern Ireland Sub-Committee

Ministry of Defence - Northern Ireland Policy Committee

Joint Intelligence Committee

Civil Servants who served in Northern Ireland or who had an involvement with Northern Ireland by reason of posts they held:

Ministry of Defence,

The Home Office,

The Northern Ireland Office,

The Cabinet Office,

The Prime Minister's Office

The Foreign Office

We believe that numerous important documentary sources exist which may throw considerable light on the events of the time, principally those editions of the following documents that would have been current in May 1974

Army Operational Directives

Military Appreciation of Security Situation

Military Appreciation of the Ulster Workers' Council Strike

Internal Security Instructions

Directives on Internal Security Operations - Military

Standing Operational Procedures for Internal Security Duties In Northern Ireland. (SOPS)

Army HQ Northern Ireland Weekly Intelligence Summary & Army HQ Northern Ireland Weekly Operational Summary covering the period of the Ulster Workers' Council Strike, principally April, May and June 1974.

Records of D OPS Meetings

Records of Information Policy Working Party

The Military Policy Committee

Briefing Papers to Battalions prior to commencement of Tour of Duties

End of Tour Reports prepared by Battalions

Briefing Papers for officers undergoing training for deployment in operational command, intelligence and bomb disposal duties.

Contact - Justice for the Forgotten:

Margaret Urwin, Administrator, Justice for the Forgotten

Greg O'Neill, Solicitor, Justice for the Forgotten - Legal Team

Cormac 0 Dúlacháin, Counsel, Justice for the Forgotten - Legal Team

Justice for the Forgotten
213 Merrion Road,
Dublin 4,
Ireland
ph: 353 1 2838782
fax 353 1 2838794

e-mail: murwin@indigo.ie

Contact - Commission of Inquiry:

Independent Commission of Inquiry into the Dublin & Monaghan Bombings
Room 355, Government Buildings,
Upper Merrion Street,
Dublin 2,
Ireland
ph: 353 1 6194453
fax 353 1 6194175

e-mail: dublinmonaghancommission@indigo.ie