WATCH: Unionists rally to defend RUC amid fresh ‘collusive’ findings against it

Marie Anderson’s 344-page report, published today, looked at eight different loyalist attacks in the 1990s – the worst of which was the killing of five Catholic civilians by the UDA in an Ormeau Road bookies in 1992.

She “found no evidence that police were in possession of intelligence which if acted on, could have prevented any of the attacks”.

But nevertheless she found “collusive behaviours”, including intelligence and surveillance failings which led to loyalist paramilitaries obtaining military grade weaponry in 1987;

A failure to warn two men of threats to their lives;

And a failure to retain records and the deliberate destruction of files relating to the attack at Sean Graham bookmakers in Belfast.

In a 2020 court case, Lord Chief Justice Sir Declan Morgan ruled that the previous ombudsman – Dr Michael Maguire – was wrong to have had made written accusations amounting to criminal collusion against the RUC over the Loughinisland UVF massacre.

These claims, the court found, had “oversteped the mark” of what the ombudsman could legitimately say – although Sir Declan did indicate that using a phrase like “collusive behaviours” could be appropriate.

NATIONALISTS HAVE THEIR SAY:

The latest ombudsman report was tabled for debate by SDLP MLA Matthew O’Toole, who declared the findings against the RUC “shocking”, particularly as they relate to weapons.

The report details how two guns (one a Sterling submachine gun and a 9mm Browning pistol) were secretly deactivated and returned to a west Belfast UDA informant in 1989 – along with two handguns the police had been unable to deactivate.

The ombudsman said “the reason for the return of the latter was to avoid compromising the source of the weapons”.

But the ombudsman further added: “As an objective, independent observer, I find it inherently reckless to provide a live weapon to a terrorist in any circumstance...

“It is my view that this was an unacceptable risk and is further evidence of Special Branch prioritising the protection of informants over other vital interests, including the safety of the public.

“It is my view that this behaviour was collusive in nature.”

Mr O’Toole said: “The findings of the Police Ombudsman’s report speak for themselves. It is now time, 30 years on, for the families to get accountability.”

Also speaking was the Sinn Fein MLA Liz Kimmins.

Despite the fact that the ombudsman was, in her own words, “limited to acknowledging whether the matters ‘uncovered’ by an investigation are ‘very largely’ what the families claimed constituted ‘collusive behaviour’” – and was unable to make a finding of collusion directly herself – Ms Kimmins claimed: “The ombudsman found collusion in each and every killing...

“The report is a devastating indictment of collusion between the British state and loyalist paramilitaries.”

... AND UNIONISTS RESPOND:

Trevor Clarke, one of the DUP MLAs on the Policing Board, said: “It gives me no pleasure to talk about the contents of this report today.

“However, I find it ironic. I am sure that you would not give me enough time to read out the names of all the people who were murdered at the hands of terrorists, many of whom are represented in the chamber today on the Benches opposite.”

He said that there is currently “a campaign to destroy the name of the RUC, which is something that many of us thought had been settled in 1998”.

He added: “The findings of the report on any involvement are disappointing, but then I think about the previous member’s comments about documents being destroyed and weapons being handed out.

“I say to her: how many opportunities did the organisation that her party represents have to hand out weapons that killed almost [thousands of] people in Northern Ireland?

“...I have never heard calls from the benches opposite for inquiries into those cases, nor have I heard Members from the Benches opposite condemning the actions of some of their own in relation to murders, including those of RUC officers.

“In 1998, a line was allegedly drawn in the sand on all these things, but we continue to hear about all these inquiries, which are one-sided in nature.

“The sooner that that stops and we move forward, the better.”

And former UUP leader Mike Nesbitt, formerly a victims’ commissioner, said: “The Ulster Unionist Party is a party of law and order: no ifs, no buts.

“No one is above the law.

“Anybody who is guilty of wrongdoing should face the criminal justice system. That said, we are possibly in the worst of all places.

“Not for the first time, the Police Ombudsman has concluded that there were murders that could not have been prevented and could not have been stopped, yet she points the finger at police officers with the expression ‘collusive behaviour’.

“What does that really mean?

“During my time as a victims’ commissioner, the most powerful conversation that I overheard in this area was between a retired senior police officer who had served in the RUC and a man who had spent time in prison as a member of the Provisional IRA.

“The policeman said: ‘You see, I never woke up in the morning thinking ‘Who can I hurt today?’

“And the IRA man replied, ‘Ah, but I did’.”

And DUP MLA Jonathan Buckley then went on to tell the chamber: “Let us not forget that 300 RUC officers were killed during the Troubles while performing a duty of law and order to defend and protect the people of Northern Ireland.

“Over 280 of those officers were killed by republican terrorists.

“How many inquiries or reports did they get, and how many of their killers were brought to justice?

“Sadly, today, in 2022, we continually see an attempt to compare today’s standards of policing operations with what was happening in a chaotic time in this province’s history.”

More from this reporter:

Click here: DUP brother of UDA sectarian murder victim Gavin Brett breaks 20 year silence

Click here: ‘If police could stop Al Capone a century ago, they can stop SEA UDA today’ – Sammy Wilson hits out as inquest reveals tragic last days of Carrick loyalist Mark Gourley

Click here: Irish-American politician Kevin J Boyle: I condemn only IRA ‘errors’ like Kingsmills

——— ———

A message from the Editor:

Thank you for reading this story on our website. While I have your attention, I also have an important request to make of you.

With the coronavirus lockdowns having had a major impact on many of our advertisers — and consequently the revenue we receive — we are more reliant than ever on you taking out a digital subscription.

Subscribe to newsletter.co.uk and enjoy unlimited access to the best Northern Ireland and UK news and information online and on our app. With a digital subscription, you can read more than 5 articles, see fewer ads, enjoy faster load times, and get access to exclusive newsletters and content.

Visit

https://www.newsletter.co.uk/subscriptions

now to sign up.

Our journalism costs money and we rely on advertising, print and digital revenues to help to support them. By supporting us, we are able to support you in providing trusted, fact-checked content for this website.

Ben Lowry, Editor