Priest joins calls for release of Derry republican prisoner Tony Taylor
Seamus McKinney, The Irish News | 08 October 2016
A DERRY priest has joined a campaign for the release from prison of leading dissident republican Tony Taylor. Holy Family parish priest Fr Paddy O’Kane said he also prayed for Taylor’s case during Sunday Mass last week.
Declassified documents reveal army lobbied Attorney General not to prosecute soldiers
Barry McCaffrey, thedetail.tv | 15 April 2013
The Director of Public Prosecutions could be asked to reopen hundreds of Troubles-related cases involving killings from the 1970s following the discovery of statements in newly declassified papers which suggest soldiers were allowed to escape prosecution.
Memo of meeting between Attorney General and British Army
Two pages of a memo (AG 1971 p2 and AG 1971 p3) concerning the visit of a J.M. Parkin, Head of C2 at HQNI (British Army HQ) in the North to the then Attorney General Basil Kelly, a Unionist MP. In reference to any potential prosecutions of soldiers for the murder of civilians Parkin notes,
A diary of the meeting between J.M Parkin, Head of C2 and HQNI and Attorney General Basil Kelly and additional confirmation that the Attorney General fully understood that HQNI was telling him that he should not prosecute soldiers. In effect the military tail was wagging the legal dog. This meeting took place less than two months before Bloody Sunday
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...
Extract from the 'Tuzo Plan' presented to Secretary of State from General Harry Tuzo, dated 9 July 1972 (1 page). Interesting, to say the least, comments on the UDA.
CJ4-3963 - Memo from Colin Davenport to Mr. Fergusson - 22 September 1981
Following renewed calls for the proscription of the UDA on the basis that the UDA and the UFF were 'one and the same' Davenport noted that that UDA had denied any connection with the UFF. He continued cynically: 'In terms of the politics of proscription, we have always regarded the existence of such denials as more important than their accuracy.'
CJ4-3963 Telegram to British Ambassador, Washington from Lord Carrington, S of S for Defence, 4 November 1980
Carrington, in this telegram, is instructing the British Ambassador to the USA on the line to take relating to murders of prominent Republicans in 1980 - Miriam Daly, John Turnly, Ronald Bunting and Noel Little. 'The UDA as an organisation has never admitted to the use of terrorist violence to achieve its aims.' This is very carefully and ambiguously worded.
An internal briefing paper headed 'A Guide to Paramilitary and Associated Organisations' dated 2 September 1976 - the UFF is fictitious.(No file ref.)
This document also states that Andy Tyrie was 'not averse to killing Catholics, even those who have no Republican connections, if he thinks it necessary at any particular point in time.'
Memo to Lt Col Pownall, MoD from JF Howe, Civil Adviser to GOC re UDR - Membership of UDA, 31 July 1972
In this memo examples are given of possible joint membership of the UDR and UDA. Howe goes on to state: 'One important (but unspoken) function of the UDR is to channel into a constructive and disciplined direction Protestant energies which might otherwise become disruptive...it would be counter-productive to discharge a UDR member solely on the grounds that he was a...