November the British Army regimental commanders the North of Ireland were summoned to special security meeting at Stormont Castle, the administrative Once there, the Army toD from Sir Maurice Oldfield, the former boss of MIt who had recently been appointed security supremo.
Oldfield promised audience that within six months the IRA would be well on its way to defeat, thanks to changes in security he was making.
That was six months ago and the attack on the Army spy in the false offered Oldfield.
Computers Yet according to the fantasies conjured up in spy thrillers, the IRA should have been defeated long ago.
There is the fact that British occupation forces in Ireland have four spy agencies operating: the police special • Dranch. (Military Intelligence 5), (Military Intelligence 6), Army Intelligence These are backed up with a vast array of technical equipment. Most notorious Army computer at its headquarters at Thiepval barracks, Lisburn, seven miles Details of over 60 per cent of the population of the North of Ireland are on 'tape' in the computer's memory Everything from the colour of their wallpaper to their national insurance number is recorded..
One of Oldfield's innovations is to set up military posts which, it is hoped, will amass new information for the computer. The aim of these is to spy on entire communities.
An post has recently reciterock area of Belfast, which been set overlooks the Catholic ghetto of Turf Lodge and Ballymurphy. Similar posts have OCCI structed at the Royal Victoria Hospital on the Falls which was one of the causes of the recent strike by workers at Helicopters Backing up such 'information gathering' units, the Army has increased the use accopiels - a pracuice recculy introduced by the police Britain when tracking photographing demonstrations.
Such activities are not, strictocialist Challenge 8 May 1980 A BRITISH Army captain was seriously injured when his booby trapped car exploded in the North of Ireland town of Enniskillen on Wednesday of last week. The captain was no ordinary soldier; the British Army has admitted he was an He was also reported to be one of the select intelligence officers who have had direct access Secretary of State for Northern The Provisional IRA has claimed responsibility for the explosion, but the severe wounding of the unnamed captain has once more highlighted the presence and role of British spies in Ireland.
Drawing on material so far unpublished in Britain, GEOFF BELL examines this spy network.
goes that last ly speaking, illegal. They can be classified as 'surveillance' In are Army activity on the ground. supported This mainly takes the form of raids on houses in the Catholic community. In a raid earlier this year Ine Army admitted that ir one session alone were 'visited'.
This figure was quoted in a recent series in the Irish Times, which went into some detail conhis cerning the activities of the real, professional spies. Most of their activities certainly are illegal. For example: 'Ordinary mail is intercepted on a large scale. means is used ... One ingenious method employs a needle which is inserted through a gap in the by envelope; it is then rotated at and uniformed A variety of be extracted, operations Ireland in 1973 after MI6 had been centred at the RU Castlereagh barracks — infamous for its u of torture. SMIU is especially responsib for liaising with the RUC.
Air Services (SAS). presence of the SAS was first acknowledge publicly by Harold Wilson in 1976, althoug it had been operating for some time befor The SAS concentrates on surveillan undercover patrols • and 'forwar It was a unit of the SAS which last yes John Boyce who went to SAS, aspering chan been o , suspecting him of being a 'terrorist closely associated with the AS, but send Duties Teams. These received a good deal publicity some years ago when they wel discovered running a laundry, bookshol and massage parlours in Belfast as part ‹ their 'information gathering' operations All were spotted by the IRA. Captai was captured subsequently executed by the IRA in Sou was a member of the Speci The Special Branch is regarded as bein the most incompetent of the lot. It uses th less 'sophisticated' techniques to extract i such as torturing suspects.
According to an answer to a parliame tary question given in 1978, there are 2' members of the RUC Special Branch.
the 'Republican' wing of th ruling Fianna Fail party wh recently became the prim minister. Extensive details Haughey's private life are ap parently on file.
Occasionally MI6 agent have been caught. The mos notable example was •Inat • John Wyman, who was expose
----- pull-quotes -----
intelligence officer. to the Tory Ireland, Humphrey Atkins. THE story
centre for the British govern- ment in the North of Ireland. brass were subjected to a speech Tapping