It was the night the music died: July 31, 1975. Exactly 30 years ago today. By 1975, the North might have imagined it had endured all possible horrors.
International Human Rights Delegation to Probe Collusion Allegations
PFC | 28 May 2004
An international delegation arrived in the North this weekend to probe allegations of collusion highlighted earlier this week in a BBC Spotlight Programme.
Pearce Jordan's case was heard by the European Court of Human Rights along with three similar cases. The Court agreed that his death was in violation of Article 2 of the European Convention on Human Rights, a section of which reads: "Everyone's right to life shall be protected by law. No one shall...
It’s September 1975. Opposition leader Margaret Thatcher and her Conservative spokesman on the North, Airey Neave, meet with Labour Prime Minister, Harold Wilson, and Northern Secretary, Merlyn Rees. Two weeks earlier, two loyalist ambushes at fake security force checkpoints had resulted in five murders.
Discusses the changes that would be required and asked a fascinating question at paragraph 4! Just what did the RUC object to? See memo from AW Stephens above.
One MoD memo from November 1972 titled 'Security Forces and UDA' instructs that operations 'should be directed against their criminal extremist elements whilst making every endeavour to maintain good relations with law abiding citizens in the organisation.' The RUC apparently had similar instructions. Vigilante type patrols should be tolerated…
The memo from the CLF (Commander Land Forces) to the CGS (Chief of the General Staff) shows that the military command were preparing for direct rule nine months before Stormont was abolished. It includes a fictional account of the "Battle for Belfast".
Official memo on weapons seized on both sides of the border between 1969-1976 with a breakdown of types of weapons and a summary of key seizures. The information was supplied by the RUC Data Reference Centre which carried out intelligence analysis under the aegis of Special Branch. This February 1977 memo highlights the involvement of republican and loyalist organisations in...
Ministerial Memo- role of RUC in interrogation of "Hooded Men"
Memo outlining the details of a meeting between the Secretary of Sate for Northern Ireland and the Minister of State, the General Officer Commanding (Army), Private Under Secretary, Chief of General Staff and Chief of Defence Staff dated 20th October 1971. Discussion of how to get around the difficulties that the interrogations were carried out by RUC Special Branch, not...
Brief for the British Attorney General (AG) in preparation for the 'Irish state case' (the Hooded Men) from September 1972 from DS10 (the Defence Secretariat at the MoD in London). Of interest is the disinformation provided to the AG, the most senior law officer in Britain, by the Ministry of Defence. At para 4 it is claimed that Ballykelly only...