British Army Colluded In Irish Bombings
Army 'colluded in loyalist bombings'
By Kim Sengupta
16 March 2001
Secret documents tracing alleged collusion between the British Army in "Loyalist'' bombings in the Irish Republic which claimed 33 lives have been passed to an official inquiry into the attacks.
A campaign group for the victims of the Dublin and Monaghan bombings in 1974 has also produced a forensic report, produced by a former British Army officer, which claims that Loyalist groups, blamed for the blasts, did not possess the type of explosive which was used.
The report is set to corroborate information obtained by the campaign that the explosives were made available to the Loyalists on an operational basis by a British Army officer.
The campaign, Justice for the Forgotten, says that a Ministry of Defence report in 1971 and personal correspondence between MoD officials in 1975 proved the Army had "set up'' a Loyalist paramilitary group, the Protestant Action Force – also known as the Protestant Task Force.
The Army document "Military Appreciation of the Security Situation in Northern Ireland'' was used for briefing the Prime Minister in 1971. It states: "The IRA ... has the initiative and has the resources, partly in the north but primarily in the south of Ireland, to maintain its war". The report recommends the use of SAS on surveillance operations and the formation of "Q squads'' to "mystify, mislead and destroy'' the Republican enemy.
The forensic report was prepared in January this year by a former British Army forensic specialist who had served in Northern Ireland. He had arrived at his conclusions after being given access to the original official forensic details.
The campaign revealed their findings at a meeting in the House of Commons yesterday during the launch of a drive for further information. A government committee of inquiry is sitting at present in Dublin and is expected to publish their findings in the near future.
Campaign members say they have received "unofficial'' help from official sources, but they're asking for more co-operation and candour from the British government.
MPs present at the meeting said they will be pressing the Government to provide more information and documents from around the time when the bombings took place.
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