SAOIRSE32

Belfast Telegraph
8 July 2007

**This falls under the category of ‘Well, DUH.’

British security officers believe the Russian state backed the murder of the former KGB officer Alexander Litvinenko, a senior British agent has said.

Alexander Litvinenko, former KGB spy and author of the book “Blowing Up Russia: Terror From Within” before and after he became sick.

**See A Slow Death by Poison - NY Times

“We very strongly believe the Litvinenko case to have had some state involvement. There are very strong indications,” the source told the BBC’s Newsnight programme.

MI5 believes the FSB, Russia’s security service, has its sights on several dissidents living in the UK. The officer told Newsnight that MI5 believed it had foiled a plot in June last year to kill the billionaire Boris Berezovsky, an outspoken critic of the former Russian president Vladimir Putin.

Mr Litvinenko died of radiation poisoning in a London hospital in November 2006. British detectives named the former KGB agent Andrei Lugovoi as the prime suspect but he denied any involvement and Russia has refused to extradite him to face trial.

Gordon Brown has raised the subject of Mr Lugovoi’s extradition with the new Russian President, Dmitry Medvedev, at the G8 summit in Japan. However, an hour-long discussion failed to break the deadlock on issues including the closure of British Council offices and a dispute between BP and Russian oil companies.

By Brian Rowan
newseditor@belfasttelegraph.co.uk
Belfast Telegraph
Tuesday 8, July 2008

SENIOR loyalists last night revealed moves aimed at bringing about a meeting involving First Minister and DUP leader Peter Robinson and representatives of the UVF leadership, the Belfast Telegraph can reveal.

According to paramilitary and political sources, an intermediary has already approached the loyalist group.

So far there has been no meeting — but one is expected.

“They’ll meet him all right,” a senior paramilitary leader confidently predicted.

“I think it should be viewed positively — very positively,” another source told this newspaper.

“Part of it (the discussion) would be about decommissioning,” the source suggested.

The most senior UVF leader is currently out of the country, and any meeting is likely to have to wait until his return.

A Stormont source, while unable to confirm the specifics of a planned meeting with the UVF leadership, spoke of “a much more open attitude in terms of the loyalist community” and a plan to engage “with all elements” of that community”.

News of the talks plan comes after Secretary of State Shaun Woodward recently moved to “de-specify” the UVF and associated Red Hand Commando.

It means their ceasefires are again recognised after that status was lost in street violence and feuding in 2005.

But the Secretary of State has also warned that the various peace process commissions will not continue forever - including the Independent International Commission on Decommissioning (IICD).

Those comments are designed to apply pressure on loyalists to put their weapons beyond use.

In a separate development, some weeks ago, PSNI officers met a loyalist delegation including senior UVF figures in England.

It was a discussion on how to build relationships between the police and loyalist communities.

“Sometimes when you get people away from their home base dynamics change,” one senior officer commented.

These moves come at a time when there is a political focus on the continuing existence of the IRA Army Council.

The DUP wants to see it disbanded as part of a confidence building process leading to the devolution of policing and justice powers.

By Aran Foley
An Phoblacht
21 June 2007

On a Saturday night, 18 June, as they watched Ireland play Italy in the soccer World Cup, the patrons of a small public house in Loughinisland, County Down were targeted by a unionist paramilitary death squad.

At the time, the pub was packed with people watching the game. At about 10.20pm and during the second half of the match, spirits were high in O’Toole’s bar as Ireland led by one goal to nil. Suddenly, and without warning the mood of elation was shattered as two armed and masked men stormed into the bar and opened up on the occupants with two automatic rifles. Firing up to 30 bullets they wreaked carnage before retreating out the door. As they did so, one of the killers shouted “well done boys, good job.” They were then driven away in a stolen red Triumph Acclaim, later found abandoned in a field between Crossgar and Ballynahinch.
The UVF had massacred six nationalists and seriously wounded another five. Those killed were 87-year-old Barney Green, his nephew Dan McCreanor (59), Pat O’Hare (35), Eamon Byrne (52), Malcom Jenkinson (52) and Adrian Rogan (34). It was a devastating blow to this small, rural community. Nine children lost their fathers in the slaughter.
Expressing a deep sense of revulsion and horror at the brutality of the attack the Football Association of Ireland chief Seán Connolloy, speaking from Orlando, Florida, had this to say “Every body in America – players, officials and supporters of the Irish team – was very distressed by the horrible news and offered every sympathy to the families”. He revealed that it was proposed that a minute’s silence be held for the victims at the upcoming Ireland against Mexico game.
The loyalist assassins who struck at Loughinisland appeared under little pressure and such was the methodical nature of their attack that most victims had been hit between two and five times at point blank range. Five died immediately at the scene while the sixth fatality died a short time later in hospital.

**There have been persistent allegations of state collusion with the attack on O’Tooles bar. These allegations were strengthened when it later emerged that the car used in the attack had been destroyed by the PSNI in 1996. This car has been linked to the notorious Mount Vernon UVF gang. This gang based in North Belfast was led at the time by Special Branch agent Mark Haddock.

Also in a 2005 meeting October 11 between the families and a DSI Williamson of the PSNI it emerged that the weapons used were part of a South African consignment imported by the British agent Brian Nelson in the late 1980’s
Some of the serious issues raised around the Loughinisland attack are: the continued denial to the families of ballistic information on the weapons used despite precedents for this; the consistent failure to deny that any of the suspects were intelligence sources; the consistent mismanagement of exhibits in the case to the extent that the car used in the attack was destroyed thus destroying potentially valuable forensic evidence; that transcripts of helicopter logs and troop patrols have yet to be analysed; and the fact that the families believe that vehicle check points were strategically placed on the night to allow the killers to escape.
The massacre at Loughinisland occurred 13 years ago this week.

Special Branch colluded with “serial killer”

BY LAURA FRIEL
An Phoblacht
25 January 2007

Special Branch knowingly colluded with a “serial killer” providing cover, protecting him from prosecution and paying him at least £80,000 for his services as an agent. Special Branch agents operated outside the law and Special Branch officers covered up their crimes.

This is the damning conclusion of a three-year investigation by the Ombudsman Nuala O’Loan into the murder of 22-year-old Raymond McCord Jnr, the agent who ordered the killing, the UVF gang who carried out the murder and members of Special Branch who covered it up.

Raymond McCord Jnr was beaten to death by the UVF in November 1997 following an illegal drugs smuggling dispute. The killing was ordered by a Special Branch agent, identified in the report as “Informant 1” but widely known to be Mark Haddock, and carried out by members of his North Belfast gang.

According to O’Loan, the Mount Vernon UVF gang was not only headed by a Special Branch agent, but other members of the gang were also working as agents.

And it doesn’t end there.

The investigation directly links Haddock with the murders of ten people and cites credible evidence to link him with further murders, shootings, beatings and bomb attacks as well as a catalogue of other crimes including drug dealing, extortion, intimidation and criminal damage.

And throughout it all, Haddock enjoyed the full support of his Special Branch handlers who not only continued to pay him but also increased his wages. When Catholic good Samaritan Sharon McKenna was shot dead in 1993, Haddock was being paid £100 a month, after the killing his payment increased to £160.

The report found a “pattern of work by certain officers within Special Branch designed to ensure that Informant 1 and his associates were protected from the law”.

Agents were regularly “babysat” while being questioned about serious crimes by their Special Branch handlers who ensured they did not incriminate themselves. Interview notes were falsified and legitimate investigations were blocked by Special Branch to protect Haddock and other agents.

In relation to the McCord murder, such actions and the refusal to gather evidence “significantly reduced the possibility of anyone ever being prosecuted for the crime”. Officers did not seize the suspect’s clothing for forensic examination and destroyed exhibits including a car used in the attack.

Special Branch and an RUC deputy assistant chief constable deliberately withheld Haddock’s involvement in the McCord killing from files forwarded to the Director of Public Prosecutions.

In 1993, despite having previously admitted murdering Sharon McKenna, Haddock was released after questioning without charge and given £500 by Special Branch to go on holiday.

Haddock also admitted his role in the murder of Catholic Sean McParland in 1994 and identified another Special Branch agent as the gunman but neither agent was charged with the murder.

A few months later Special Branch allowed Haddock to shave while in custody after eyewitnesses described the killer of Catholic workmen Gary Convie and Eamon Fox as having a “goatee” beard. Haddock fitted the description but was allowed to shave. An ID parade was never held and Haddock walked free.

A month later Haddock and another Special Branch agent shot dead Catholic taxi driver Gerard Brady. Neither were ever charged.

Haddock has also been linked to the killing of Catholic Peter McTasney in 1991, the shooting of UVF man Thomas Sheppard in 1996, the beating to death of Protestant John Harbinson in 1997 and the shooting of loyalist Thomas English in 2000.

Mark Haddock, hiding face and lots else

The investigation, prompted by Raymond McCord’s father also named Raymond, focused on the activities of one gang- the Mount Vernon UVF, operating in a specific area, North Belfast, at a specific period, between 1991 to 2003 and their Special Branch handlers.

The investigation was also restricted in a number of different ways. Most significantly, the Ombudsman can only investigate the actions of police officers, the role of their political masters in MI5 and British ministers cannot be considered under her remit.

In sharp contrast to the tens of thousands of pounds paid out to McCord’s killer, British ministers refused to allocate sufficient funds deemed necessary by O’Loan’s team to investigate the killing. The investigation was further hampered by wide-scale refusal of former and serving officers to co-operate.

According to the Ombudsman, officers questioned during the investigation provided evasive, contradictory, farcical and untrue answers and delayed requests for information for up to two and a half years. Others simple refused to be interviewed.

Two retired assistant chief constables, seven detective chief superintendents and two detective superintendents were among 40 officers who refused to be interviewed by O’Loan’s team.

“It would be easy to blame junior officers, and indeed they are not blameless, however they could not have operated without the knowledge and support at the highest levels of the RUC and PSNI,” said O’Loan.

“The most serious failings are at chief officer level particularly those chief officers who were responsible for Special Branch,” said O’Loan.

O’Loan’s investigation, although compelling, isn’t the first to expose official collusion with unionist death squads. There’s a long list of fore runners, from Stevens to Cory to Barron.

**See: Murder bid aimed to silence British agent

Republicans have been writing about collusion for over two decades drawing from ample evidence that has been in the public domain for many years. But something noticeably different happened this week. The ground under the dominant discourse began to tremble. As if compelled by a distant eruption, established paradigms were beginning to shift, and not just within prevailing notions around collusion, but also about the nature of British rule itself and its relationship with unionism.

In an article written in 2003 An Phoblacht pointed out that the British justified collusion by promoting the notion that they were ‘taking the war to the IRA’ but in fact “once the machinery of murder was up and running no one was safe”.

“They killed politicians, civil rights activists, election workers, defence lawyers and Catholic civilians. They killed to cover their agents’ tracks. They killed agents who had outlived their usefulness and loyalists who knew too much. And they sacrificed their own soldiers and members of the RUC to retain their agents’ cover.”

What was exposed this week showed the truth of those words. No one was safe – republican, nationalist, unionist, civilian or combatant, Catholic or Protestant.

The Belfast Newsletter, traditionally an ardent supporter of the RUC, sensed the shift. Tuesday’s edition ran a full front-page photograph of state sponsored killer Mark Haddock with the banner headline “Who Knew?” The message was clear if Special Branch are going down, their political masters would go down as well.

“Who at the top knew?” asked the Newsletter. “The scale of collusion unearthed by Mrs O’Loan’s team has also prompted questions as to whether or not the practice was sanctioned at the highest levels of power, here and in Westminster.”

In the wake of the report the traditional British line espoused this week by the unionist peer and former officer in the UDR Ken Maginis that collusion is about “saving lives” was exposed as utter nonsense.

“It’s time for a paradigm shift,” wrote British journalist Beatrix Campbell in the Manchester Guardian. “It is time for Britain to be brave and tell the truth about itself. It must narrate a new story about that 30-year conflict.”

“By enlisting the Protestant militias as auxiliaries while presenting itself as a neutral arbitrator, Britain left itself vulnerable to exposure. It has been exposed not as a peacemaker but as a perpetrator, spreading terror and spilling blood, as the most powerful presence amongst the warlords.”

“That is the narrative we need to contemplate before we can consign collusion to the past,” wrote Campbell.

Reacting to the report Raymond McCord Senior said: “We used to think allegations of collusion were republican propaganda but it was the truth. It did not matter to Special Branch whether the murder victim was a Protestant or Catholic. It made no difference to them. They had their own agenda.

“I want to see a full independent public inquiry with judges brought in from abroad. Police officers were covering up murders. I want Tony Blair and the Attorney General to sit in front of my family and tell me why these police officers are not being charged.

“This document shows that collusion is taking place at a very high level. I know unionist politicians are frightened of the word collusion. But unionist politicians knew this was going on and are living in denial. They have accused O’Loan of being involved in a ‘witch hunt of good men’ but these so called good men were covering up and paying people to murder.”

Sharon McKenna’s brother, Paul said: “After Sharon’s murder I was hoping someone would be arrested, charged and jailed. That never happened. It never came about. Now I know why. The families have been let down big time. The police who were involved are as guilty as the people who carried out the murder.”

Mark Thompson of Relatives for Justice said: “The Ombudsman confirmed that Special Branch were given immunity from procedures put in place to govern the handling of informants. That order could only have come from the highest office. Ronnie Flanagan should be stripped of his knighthood and his post as HMIC.”

Taoiseach Bertie Ahern said: “Successive Irish governments raised serious concerns about collusion. This report demonstrates that these concerns were well founded. It is essential that justice be done and be seen to be done in these cases. In the face of such a damning report follow up action and reassurance is essential.”

Reacting for the British Government, its Secretary of State in the North Peter Hain in the North said: “The serious failings that have been exposed within parts of the RUC Special Branch at the time of the murder of Raymond McCord Jnr and for a period thereafter cannot be justified and no one should attempt to justify them. They should never have happened. Those involved – a small number of officers – failed in their fundamental duty to protect the community. New robust systems are in place to ensure that the failures of the past will not and cannot be repeated. ”

Unionist political reaction varied from a state of denial to justification of sectarian murder. DUP MLA for North Belfast Nigel Dodds said: “It is absolutely nauseating to listen to Sinn Féin/IRA representatives such as Martin McGuinness on a day such as this”, while his colleague Ian Paisley Jnr dismissed the report as “short on facts but long on supposition”.

UUP Peer Ken Maginnis claimed: “Collusion had to do with saving lives. It had to do with keeping Northern Ireland from falling over the brink of a civil war. How on earth can I give a degree of credibility to such nonsense based on hindsight, based on prejudice and based on an alternative agenda?”

Meanwhile, writing in the Newsletter, columnist and DUP member Gavin Robinson attempted to justify the collusion policy. “An onslaught of republican violence took its toll and, at times, proved successful. Assassinations became a regrettable solution. The only problem was that loyalists weren’t very good at them. So, in some smoke filled rooms, a strategic decision was taken to aid their efforts in the wider public interest.”

The victims

• Peter McTasney

The 25 year old Catholic man was shot dead in his Bawnmore home in February 1991. Mark Haddock was arrested and questioned about the killing. Most of the interviews were carried out by his special branch handlers who did not disclose his involvement in the killing to the then DPP.

• Sharon McKenna

Within weeks of being arrested and questioned about the killing of the 27 year old Catholic woman Haddock’s monthly payment from special branch was increased from £100 per month to £160.

• Sean McParland

Haddock admitted to being involved in the killing of the 55 year old coal merchant who was shot dead at his daughter’s home in Skegoniel, North Belfast on 17 February 1994.

• Gary Convie and Eamon Fox

Both men were shot dead on a North Belfast building site in May 1994. The gunman who carried out the shooting was said by witnesses to have a goatee beard. When he was arrested for questioning about the killings Haddock, who wore a goatee beard, was allowed to shave it off while in RUC custody.

• Gerard Brady

The 24 year old taxi driver was found shot dead on the Sunnylands estate in Carrickfergus, outside Belfast, on 17 June 1994. Ballistics linked the weapon used in the killing to Mark Haddock.

• Thomas Sheppard

A friend of Haddock the Coleraine man was shot dead by the UVF in Ballymena in 1996, accusing him of being an informer. Information links Haddock to the killing.

• William Harbinson

The Shankill Road man was handcuffed and beaten to death in May 1997. Special Branch had, “high grade intelligence”, about the killers -– including Haddock – but they didn’t pass this on to investigating detectives.

• Raymond McCord junior

Information obtained by the RUC, and, “corroborated from other sources”, indicates that Haddock ordered the killing of the 22 year old while in prison. A man on parole from prison carried out the killing. The suspect’s clothes were not seized for forensic examination and a car used by the killers was destroyed.

• Tommy English

The high ranking UDA man was shot dead during a feud between the UDA and UVF in October 2,000. Information links Haddock to the killing.

Haddock was also linked to another five killings. The names of these victims were not released. He was also linked to 10 attempted killings between 1989 and 2,000.

The Ombudsman investigated Haddock’s involvement in two bomb attacks in the 26 Counties, one in Dublin and a second on the Sinn Féin office in Monaghan.

The Police Ombudsman also obtained 17 reports of Haddock’s involvement in drug dealing in North Belfast and Larne.

BBC
8 July 2008

**A quick site search of SAOIRSE32 yields pages of article links on Mark Haddock. Go here: Mark Haddock.

A loyalist at the centre of allegations of police collusion has begun a High Court attempt to ban the media from reporting his whereabouts.

Mark Haddock is currently in jail, serving a 10-year sentence

Mark Haddock is serving a 10-year term for an attack on a nightclub doorman but is due to be released next year.

Haddock is trying to change his name before this, it emerged in court.

His legal application also covered recent photos of himself and his partner, as well as any change of identity and appearance.

Haddock’s lawyer told the court his client was under imminent threat of death.

He said the north Belfast loyalist survived an assassination attempt while out on bail before being convicted in November 2006 of grievous bodily harm with intent and false imprisonment.

The lawyer said the application had to be brought immediately because Haddock would be eligible for pre-release home leave later this month.

“If he applies for parole and parole is granted, there’s an urgency in obtaining a blanket ban against the Northern Ireland media in disclosing his whereabouts, appearance or in fact the change of name he’s attempting to apply for by way of deed poll,” he said.

Urgency disputed

A barrister appearing for the BBC and Irish News disputed the urgency in bringing the case at this stage.

“We know when he will be released in early 2009 - there’s plenty of time for these issues to be addressed in term time in the usual way,” he said.

A lawyer for the Mirror Group accused Haddock of seeking to put “swinging restrictions” on freedom of expression.

“Mr Haddock’s past is notorious. In such circumstances the prison authorities may say he’s not suitable (for pre-release home leave) to protect the public from him and perhaps to protect him from elements of the public,” he said.

Adjourning the application until Thursday, the judge requested further information from Haddock and ordered the Attorney General and Prison Service to be put on notice.

Derry Journal
08 July 2008

SDLP leader Mark Durkan has accused Sinn Fein of “hypocrisy” over their treatment of victims.

Speaking at an SDLP Youth conference at the weekend, Mr Durkan claimed his party are the only one to stand by its manifesto commitments.

“There’s one thing about the Provisional Movement that has not changed: their hypocrisy. They counsel about delivering justice to the heartbroken family of one innocent victim of violence – Emmett Shiels. Yet, they continue to conspire to deny truth and justice to the family of another – Robert McCartney.

“Our party knows what we stand for – and what we won’t stand for. Not just some of the time, but all of the time. When we take a stance, it is not just because it is convenient, but because it is our conviction,” he said.

The Foyle MP told delegates at the conference to mark the 40th anniversary of the civil rights campaign that his party will be defending human rights.

“No longer mesmerised at the fact of power-sharing government, the public want to know what government is doing to make a real difference for them,” he said. “They want to know which party has the best ideas to guide our economy through challenging times and steer us towards the prosperity we all deserve. At a time when people are struggling to make ends meet, they want a party that cares about them – not parties who are only obsessed about themselves and their status,” he said.

BBC
7 July 2008

Orangemen in Larne have staged a protest outside the County Antrim town’s council offices.

The protest took place outside Larne’s council offices

They claim its decision not to erect red, white and blue bunting ahead of 12 July is “anti-British”.

The council said lodge members were free to put it up themselves, but they had to abide by equality laws.

Bobby McKee, Larne’s DUP mayor, said: “We in the council are left we no alternative. We don’t make the rules, we have to abide by them.”

Mr McKee said if the Orangemen wanted “to change the rules, they’d have to go where the power sits to do that.”

The Orange Order’s grand secretary, Drew Nelson. said: “We just want to be treated equally with other communities and have our festival recognised as a legitimate one, which the council should help with.”

FRANCESS McDONNELL
Irish Times
8 July 2008

BELFAST BRIEFING: THOUSANDS OF people are expected to gather in Belfast this coming Saturday to take part in what the city council is promoting as “one of Europe’s largest cultural festivals”, writes Francess McDowell .

According to Belfast City Council, Orangefest promises a day of “music, street pageantry and great family fun”. Locally, of course, the day in question is still better known as “the Twelfth”.

While some people will travel to Belfast to take part in Orangefest, the majority will be there to commemorate the 318th anniversary of the Battle of the Boyne.

July 12th is traditionally the day the Orange Order celebrates the victory of the Protestant William of Orange over the Catholic King James.

It is also traditionally the one day in July when retailers, businesses and firms shut up shop in Northern Ireland.

Closing businesses on the Twelfth is a tradition some people in the North enthusiastically support while others vehemently object to it.

Twelve years ago, a very different Orangefest played out a church in Drumcree in Northern Ireland when supporters of the Orange Order clashed with police and security forces.

For several years in a row the annual Drumcree stand-off cost the North’s economy millions of pounds in lost business, trade and investment.

Drumcree may no longer hold the economy hostage but despite the many changes that have taken place on the political front in the North some habits it appears are hard to break.

The image of Northern Ireland being closed for business on the Twelfth is one of those.

Next Saturday could be one of the busiest days of the year in Belfast city centre and surrounding areas.

But few traders, businesses or stores are likely to benefit from the increase in the numbers of people visiting the city.

This is because most of them have taken the decision to close on the day although there is apparently an intention to consider opening next year.

This coming Saturday, however, high street stores such as Marks Spencer will be closed in Belfast as will the city’s new multimillion pound shopping development Victoria Square.

The Swedish furniture retailer Ikea has also confirmed it does not plan to open its store in the North on July 12th.

It is a commercial decision that is replicated across towns and cities throughout the North which effectively brings retail trade to a standstill on July 12th every year.

And it is not just the retail sector which winds down on the day. Historically, this is the time of year when many firms, businesses and Government departments in the North take their annual holidays.

But according to business leaders, this is now changing - there is a new attitude to closing up shop in July - and it has nothing to do with politics.

Joanne Stuart, chairman of the Institute of Directors in Northern Ireland, says businesses in the North realise that they have to operate and compete in a global context. Stuart believes that few companies, particularly small- to medium-sized enterprises can afford to completely close their doors for two weeks.

“There has been a turnaround in attitudes in Northern Ireland when it comes to the fortnight of the Twelfth.

“There are, of course, some companies who close and for them it may be just a matter of convenience but for others, times have changed in Northern Ireland.

“There is more confidence about - people are not worried about what happened five or 10 years in July and the big issue about the Twelfth in Northern Ireland now is about how we harness its tourist potential,” Stuart said.

She believes there is an opportunity to create a new Northern Ireland-wide festival around what is essentially a public holiday.

“We know that more and more people are visiting Northern Ireland every July - hotel occupancy at this time of year soars, so we need to look at this from a tourist’s perspective.

“Here is an opportunity for Northern Ireland to boost its economy and generate more tourist revenue so we need to ask ourselves the question: what needs to be done to make it happen?”

Stuart believes it is time to build critical mass on the issue and wants to see retailers, business leaders and councils chiefs getting together to create an all-inclusive Northern Ireland festival with a wow factor.

This year there will be little break with tradition on July 12th.

Bars and restaurants may do a roaring trade, but elsewhere on the day it is going to be far from business as usual.