15.6.2006
Reports obtained from:
(1) Sunday Tribune, (2) Irish Republican News, (3) Irish Voice
Thursday, 8 June, 2006
Thursday-Monday, 1-5 June, 2006
Hidden agenda (2)
Sunday, 28 May, 2006
Saturday-Tuesday, 27-30 May, 2006
More British Dirty Tricks
By NiallO’Dowd, Irish Voice, USA
THERE is an old story about an American CIA agent sent to Kerry to look for Murphy the spy. There are so many Murphys that he has great difficulty finding the right person. Eventually he gives the spy’s first name to a local who says, “Ah you mean Murphy the spy, sure you should have said that from the beginning.”
Last week it was Martin McGuinness the spy, or so some elements in Northern Ireland would have us believe. There have been so many allegations over the years about all the Sinn Fein leadership that it is hardly surprising that the bouncing ball has stopped on McGuinness’ head this time. After all, the Sinn Fein chief negotiator is such an attractive target.
The evidence is flimsy to say the least. “Martin Ingram” (not his real name), a former British intelligence officer, produced a transcript allegedly of a conversation many years ago between a British agent and his handler referring to planned IRA activities.
Ingram had made a similar statements about McGuinness being a spy on a dissident Republican radio show in New York some months back. Only the deluded hosts of the show believed a word of it.
The latest document purported to show McGuinness, code name J118, and an MI6 officer named as “G” discussing a series of bomb attacks on British Army checkpoints. Such attacks claimed six British soldiers’ lives in 1990.
The fact that the document apparently reveals that ”G,” a British intelligence officer, was acquiescing in the murder of six of his own comrades is just one element of the farcical nature of the document.
Indeed, the tabloid media in Ireland, never reluctant to publish any kind of concocted tale that makes the Provos look bad, balked at naming McGuinness in their stories. However, one newspaper, the Sunday World, did so, and thus the furor was created.
What is amazing since is how many reporters, totally hostile to Sinn Fein, have dismissed the story after doing the research.
The document was originally offered to the Sunday Times, notoriously anti-Sinn Fein, but the reporter was in no doubt at all that it was entirely bogus. He even failed to find the name of the officer known as G after Ingram had supposedly given him G’s name.
He concluded G never existed. That was pretty much the finding of every other major reporter as well.
McGuinness, of course, has the unenviable task of answering back the “when did you stop beating your wife” question. He dismissed the spy claims as “a load of hooey,” but that did not for a minute diminish the seriousness of the charge.
Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams was positive that the story was aimed at damaging the peace process, and worse, exposing McGuinness to mortal danger.
“The sub-text of all of this is that there is a possibility that elements within there (British intelligence) want to see Martin McGuinness dead. That’s what I take out of this,” Adams said.
There is another disturbing possibility too. It is a tense time in Northern Ireland, where there have been many rumors that Denis Donaldson, who was a spy, was shot dead by dissident Republican elements to teach the Sinn Fein leadership a lesson.
The possibility exists that such people might take this opportunity to try to eliminate McGuinness as part of a power grab.
In the murky world of Northern Ireland no one can ever be 100% sure of anything, but this seems to be certain — Martin McGuinness is not a spy but is the target of yet another sting aimed at weakening the Republican movement. Thankfully, the public and media are not buying.
Copyright © 2006 Irish Voice
Thursday-Monday, 1-5 June, 2006
Hidden agenda
By Irish Republican News
Martin McGuinness has accused his enemies of trying to have him killed by claiming he was a British spy.
The Sinn Fein MP and former IRA commander has rubbished allegations he once worked for MI6 blamed unionist hardliners who, he said, want to wreck the Northern Irish peace process.
Just two months after top Sinn Fein official-turned British agent Denis Donaldson was shot dead by unknown assassins, the Mid Ulster MP insisted the intention was to set him up too.
He said: "I don't have any illusions whatsoever that the people behind this are hoping that I will be killed."
Mr McGuinness, the IRA's second in command in Derry when British troops shot dead 13 civil rights marchers on Bloody Sunday in 1972, was outraged by the allegations made by a former British agent known by his pseudonym "Martin Ingram".
But as all sides in Belfast attempt to meet the November deadline for getting the Stormont power-sharing administration back up and running, he vowed to get back into government with the Democratic Unionists.
"I was absolutely disgusted. I was very angry and I am still very angry. But the important thing is it hasn't worked," he told Irish radio.
"The amount of support I have received from all over Ireland is absolutely incredible. My family has been hurt and they like me are angry about it, but there isn`t anything we can do about it."
Mr McGuinness added that his biggest concern from the spying allegations was its implications for Mr Paisley`s party.
"I`m not accusing all of the DUP of being involved in this. I am accusing a certain element within the DUP who are doing their damnedest to prevent an agreement.
"There are people within the DUP who can`t bring themselves to recognise that the future will be Ian Paisley and Martin McGuinness in the Office of First and Deputy First Minister.
"My message to them is very clear. That's the future, it's really a matter of when they comes to terms with it."
Senior SF member is 'British spy'
By Suzanne Breen, Sunday Tribune
A senior member of the Provisional IRA and Sinn Féin is a long-serving British spy, according to a document which former British intelligence officer Martin Ingram is circulating.
Ingram, who outed Freddie Scappaticci as Stakeknife, says the document was given to him by a serving Special Branch officer. He claims it is a transcript of a meeting between the Provisional leader and his British intelligence handler about the human bomb tactic the IRA developed in 1990.
It is understood Ingram has shown the document to certain newspapers. He did not show it to the Sunday Tribune but gave this newspaper a transcript.
The transcript carries no date and makes little sense out of context. Its veracity has not been proved and will leave many people sceptical. A Sinn Féin spokesman yesterday said: "We won't comment on something we haven't seen. Who is Martin Ingram?"
Ingram says the document is one of a series and he is "hoping to produce further documents in coming months".
The alleged Provisional informer is not named but is code-named 'J118'; his handler is 'G'. Ingram named the alleged informer to the Sunday Tribune but this newspaper hasn't printed his name because of the lack of evidence provided.
The failure to prosecute this republican figure, despite what is said to be substantial police evidence relating to the murder of an informer, has previously led to speculation in security and republican circles that he is a spy.
Ingram said he believed British intelligence had directed the agent to push the human bomb development, knowing it would make the IRA deeply unpopular even with those who tolerated other types of attacks.
Copyright © 2006 Sunday Tribune
Saturday-Tuesday, 27-30 May, 2006
'Ingram' claim dismissed
By Irish Republican News
Claims by an MI6 operative in the Sunday tabloids that Sinn Fein MP Martin McGuinness was a British spy have been rubbished.
Speaking over the allegations which first appeared in the Dublin-based Sunday World, the Mid-Ulster MP described the claims by the individual known as 'Martin Ingram' as "hooey".
Mr McGuinness said he was a "million per cent" certain that no evidence could be produced to support the allegations.
Sinn Fein has accused elements within Ian Paisley's DUP of being behind the allegations.
Mr McGuinness said after a meeting of his Assembly group: "I have worked all of my adult life as an Irish republican.
"Many of my comrades have been killed. Many IRA volunteers have been killed and I, of course, knew many of them as many of you well know.
"Under no circumstances will I ever be concerned about anybody throwing anything up at me which will strike against me.
"It is not even a remote possibility."
The allegations against Mr McGuinness were made by 'Ingram', a British Army intelligence handler who claims he has quit the force.
A transcript of a conversation provided by Ingram -- allegedly between Mr McGuinness and an MI6 handler -- refers to the tactic of 'proxy bombs' once adopted by the Provisional IRA. Ingram claims that the unpopular tactic was promoted by McGuinness at the behest of his MI6 handlers.
Republicans believe the allegations amount to a new 'black propoganda' bid to damage the peace process, while long-time critics of Sinn Fein were equally sceptical of the claims.
Mr McGuinness said today: "The allegations are a load of rubbish.
"They are total and absolute nonsense and they are hooey of the worst kind.
"Now you would need to have nerves of steel to be part of a Sinn Fein leadership which has had to take the sort of muck and abuse thrown at us over the course of many years, but we are in positions of leadership.
"If you don`t like the heat, you get out of the kitchen.
"We have never jumped out of the kitchen. We will stay in this process to the bitter end.
"We are not going to be distracted. We are not going to be deflected and ultimately we are going to work through and I think our people have a very real sense that that is the case."
Sinn Fein`s chief negotiator said it had been known for some time that elements within the DUP were behind trying to spread claims that he was working for British intelligence.
"I have to say given all that we went through in 2004, it was quite clear then that there were elements within the DUP who were out to sabotage any prospect of an agreement between Sinn Fein and the DUP," he said.
"It`s like deja vu all over again.
"Here we are at a very critical stage of the process and elements of the DUP are doing their damnedest to try and undermine the prospect of trying to get these institutions up.
"We in Sinn Fein are not going to be distracted by any of this."
Saturday-Tuesday, 27-30 May, 2006
MI5 gets millions to fight republicans
By Irish Republican News
Over 20% of the financial resources of British military intelligence is being used to battle irish republicanism, it has emerged.
The amount, about 60 million Euros, raised eyebrows when it was revealed in budget proposals.
The MI5 spending in the north comes despite the Provisional IRA's announcement last year that it had deposed of all its weaponry and ended its armed campaign.
Meanwhile, the breakaway 'Real IRA' is largely quiescent while the armed actions of the Continuity IRA are seen as providing only a token resistance.
Nevertheless, the latest budget proposals will double MI5s resources to tackle republican activity.
SDLP assembly member for North Belfast Alban Maginness said: "There seems to be a disproportionate amount with regard to the threat from Irish republicanism.
"It seems to me that the level of threat is exaggerated and one has to question why there is such a large amount of funding."
Next year the service will take charge of intelligence gathering in the North. As part of its expansion MI5 will have a new base at Palace British army barracks in Holywood, County Down.
The role of MI5 will go beyond the reach of the minister for justice, the Police Ombudsman, the Policing Board or any elected representative.
In March it was confirmed that MI5 did not pass on a warning they received about the 1998 Omagh bomb, which killed 29 people. The head of M15 has refused to meet with the Omagh families to discuss their concerns.
"So much for accountability. So much for sharing of intelligence. So much for the protection of the public against terrorism," said SDLP leader Mark Durkan.