At Belfast High Court this morning leave was granted to the family of murdered Belfast solicitor Pat Finucane in their legal action to force full disclosure of the Cory report to the family. The Secretary of State now has three weeks to provide detailed reasons why the UK government refuses to...
Letter from Madden & Finucane Solicitors to Secretary of State
Peter Madden | 01 December 2003
Secretary of State Castle Buildings Belfast Dear Secretary of State, Re: Judge Cory's Report As you know, we act on behalf of the family of Pat Finucane.
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.
This note concerns the UVF only by this stage, 1979, Thatcher is the Prime Minister. In a hand written note she urged mention of the ‘Volunteer Ulster Defence Regiment (? Is that the name)’.
Arrest policy for protestants - loose minute December 1972
MoD memo discussing the criteria that might be applied 'if and when' loyalists would be detained. Refers to loyalist violence including 'comparatively harmless vigilante activity'.
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…
An internal military Staff-in-Confidence memo on UDA membership of the UDR suggests that a 'moderate line' should be taken towards UDA members because of the role of the UDA as a 'safety valve'.
De-proscription of unlawful organisations (added May 2018)
Declassified 1974 NIO discussion doc on de-proscription of UVF and Sinn Fein. The juxtaposition of Sinn Fein (as opposed to the IRA) with the UVF tells us much about British government attitudes to loyalist paramilitary organisations. At the time the UDA remained legal and it would be another 18 years before London finally accepted that the UFF was nothing more...
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...
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...