'˜Secret Victory': Special Branch insider account of Troubles a best seller

An unprecedented book shedding light on the shadowy world of Special Branch agent handling '“ which was serialised in the News Letter last month '“ has become a best seller.
Secret Victory author Dr William MatchettSecret Victory author Dr William Matchett
Secret Victory author Dr William Matchett

In ‘Secret Victory: The Intelligence War That Beat The IRA,’ former RUC and PSNI detective Dr William Matchett tells the previously untold story of how terrorist death squads were infiltrated, and effectively neutralised in many cases, by courageous and dedicated agents.

Soon after its pre-Christmas launch ‘Secret Victory’ reached number 134 in the Amazon.co.uk overall sales chart, from the millions of titles available, and is still performing remarkably well.

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Dr Matchett’s compelling exposition of what he calls “the most widely misunderstood aspect of the Northern Ireland conflict”, charts the scramble for quality intelligence as the Troubles escalated, how police and military specialists skilfully interpreted what was often sketchy intelligence, and how the joint RUC E Department/SAS operation at Loughgall in 1987 shook the IRA to its foundations.

The former agent handler found publishers were largely focused on narratives of the Troubles written by authors making allegations of wrong-doing by the state so was forced to publish the book himself.

Initially only a small number of independent bookshops in Belfast followed Amazon in selling Secret Victory, but they were soon joined by mainstream retailers Easons and Waterstones.

“The vast majority of people, particularly on this side of the border, are intellectually curious and the vast majority of them did not support terrorism. I think they are reassured reading the book ‘I was right to support these people who did protect us’. It has definitely struck a chord with people,” he said.

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Dr Matchett is a security expert with the Edward M Kennedy Institute – a highly respected organisation dedicated to peace building and conflict prevention. His current research work examines how the EU has sought to solve policing problems in war-torn regions.

He is currently collaborating with a number of universities and defence academies across Europe on a project commissioned by the IECEU (Improving the Effectiveness of Capabilities in EU) on conflict prevention.

He describes this work as “ground-breaking research” – looking at how the EU, and international community in general, has sought to solve policing problems in places like Iraq and Afghanistan.

“The West has seriously underachieved in war-torn nations since 9/11. The UN, Europe and others are coming to realise that policing from Henley-on-Thames does not work in an armed conflict. There is an urgency to solving this problem.

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“Now, the EU is interested in the security lessons from here, because this is the only place that experienced the same kind of challenges. For most people this makes sense.”

Dr Matchett also said there are political elements whose historic dislike of the police in Northern Ireland is preventing the expertise available from saving lives.

“The disappointing thing for me, having travelled to a lot of these places, is that they aren’t getting a five-star policing service ... because the security lessons from Northern Ireland have been suppressed,” he said.

“Political bias against the RUC could be costing lives in other parts of the world where the expertise is greatly needed.”

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Dr Matchett said he was planning further book launches in England and in Dublin – where both Easons and Waterstones have agreed to stock ‘Secret Victory’.

“The next step will be getting it across the Atlantic and getting a book launch in Washington,” he said.

“I started this project because a couple of young US marines – who are now effectively the world’s policemen – were asking me ‘what way did you guys (police) actually survive and then manage to lead a security effort in Northern Ireland?’”

• ‘Secret Victory’ is available from www.amazon.co.uk and most bookshops priced £12.95.

Controversy followed publication

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The publication of ‘Secret Victory’ has been warmly welcomed by many with an interest in Northern Ireland’s troubled history, but it has also proved controversial due to its robust defence of the intelligence agencies’ track record.

While a succession of investigations and court hearings have provided glimpses of how these unorthodox officers operated at great personal risk, only now has an RUC ‘E Department’ insider spoken candidly about the precarious and deadly game being played out in the shadows over four decades.

Many of the author’s assertions have angered Irish republicans who accuse the RUC’s Special Branch of unlawfully assisting loyalist paramilitaries.

However, author William Matchett methodically takes the reader through the tactical difficulties, legal constraints, battle of wits with the terrorists and the ultimate success of a professional policing response to what he calls an “irregular war”.

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In a damning assessment of the recurring claims that police and military intelligence ‘colluded’ with loyalists, Dr Matchett states: “Collusion is whatever the author wants it to be. But when one knows SB’s covert policing tactics as opposed to the myths the term collusion makes no sense.”

He also praises the uniformed military support for a generally high level of “self-discipline,” and added: “Redundant Provos in suits were put to work on a ‘collusion’ campaign guaranteed to play out favourably in the courts and media.”