Irish authorities 'must explain' secret files they shared with Operation Kenova that caused concern about 'extremely serious allegations' against the Irish State or An Garda Siochana

In his submission to Kenova in 2021 Garda Commissioner Drew Harris sought assurances on how Irish security documents would be handled on Stakeknife and the loyalist 'Glenanne Gang'.

In his submission to Operation Kenova, Mr Harris:

:: Sought assurances that commenting on any alleged An Garda Síochána (AGS) collusion would "greatly exceed" Kenova's remit.

:: Said there was a risk of "extremely serious allegations" against the Irish State/An Garda Siochana

:: Said all sensitive information provided by AGS must be returned to the Irish state promptly

:: Insisted that such information was provided by AGS purely for "criminal investigations" purposes only and should not be published.

:: That publishing such AGS files could have "far- reaching consequences for the Irish State and/or An Garda Siochana".

:: Concluded that it was therefore "essential" that AGS seeks some manner of editorial rights over what was ultimately published.

Mr Harris said the-then unpublished Kenova interim report was intended to be "a high-level document regarding how organisations and State Services interacted with PIRA, their agents and informants as well as patterns of State intervention or non-intervention. It appears to be a high-level report into what may generally be called 'collusion'."

He said Kenova's protocols did not specify that only UK State Services were "open to such comment" but that offering such comments on other forces, such as AGS, would "greatly exceed" the Kenova terms of reference.

He added that the Kenova protocols would give criticised individuals or organisations a right of response with the understanding that this is not a negotiation of what is to be published.

"This could potentially lead to a situation where extremely serious allegations are made or implied against the Irish State/An Garda Siochana without any meaningful recourse available,” he said.

In October 2022 Kenova chief Jon Boutcher replied to Mr Harris in an interim report, assuring him Operation Kenova "are not investigating and will not report on the conduct of AGS".

He added that all information obtained from AGS will be handled in accordance with relevant agreements and that he hoped to "continue to work closely with it to maintain our constructive and mutually beneficial relationship".

DUP MLA Diane Dodds said the PSNI said the concerns raised by Mr Harris now prompt questions about exactly what information Garda shared with the Kenova team.

"There are now questions about what information the Garda have shared with the Kenova team and what issues relating to the Republic of Ireland were uncovered by the investigators," she said. "It’s high time that Dublin stepped forward and demonstrated that its willing to hold itself to the same standards that it demands of others. There has been no serious attempt by Dublin to deal with allegations of Garda Collusion.”

Asked if Kenova had found evidence of Garda collusion with the IRA, a Kenova spokesman did not directly answer the question.

“As part of Operation Kenova’s remit, we are bound to provide information to relevant authorities regarding any wrongdoing found which fall outside of the investigation’s Terms of Reference," he said.

“Specific details and findings covering all the Kenova investigations and reviews will be published in public-facing reports in due course."

Asked if he found evidence of Garda-IRA collusion, Mr Boutcher directed the question back to Operation Kenova.

An AGS spokesman said: An Garda Síochána has a High Level Agreement in place with Operation Kenova which supports the co-operation, assistance and exchange of information between An Garda Síochána and the Operation Kenova Investigation Team. That engagement is ongoing at this time."

Speaking in Washington to BBC News NI on Tuesday evening, Secretary of State Chris Heaton-Harris said the Kenova report was a "hard read" for everybody but said the government would wait for the full report to be published.

He did not rule out an apology at the end of that process and pointed to examples of when the government apologised in the past.