chief constable

Finucane-what we have in common

Geraldine Finucane is reported as saying “gunmen were two-a-penny in Northern Ireland. They don’t interest me. I’m interested in the chain of command.’  If she did say that , I agree with her. I, too, on the ninetieth anniversary of my father’s birth, am interested in the chain of command that led to his murder and the murder of my mother.

The chain of command led from the ASU , through Spike Murray, Bobby Storey and Brian Gillen , to Martin McGuinness. At least one of this group and possibly more, were State agents.

The murder of Pat Finucane, whom I knew, is no more replete with State involvement than many murders in Northern Ireland. Paramilitary organisations were so heavily infiltrated by the late 1980s that the State had overall control of who lived and who died.

The line parroted by the police , that “there are no fresh evidential leads” is a barefaced lie in many cases.

What government in the West does not target the leaders of terrorist organisations? Consider the behaviour of the Americans and the Israelis. Does it not strike the ordinary citizen of Northern Ireland that not one senior terrorist leader was prosecuted after the 1970s?

I am sure that there is information, given by State agents, which would lead to the prosecution of many senior paramilitary figures. To blame, for example, the Republic of Ireland for withholding information on Kingsmills is a clever red herring, dangled by the British and swallowed by people like Wiilliam Frazer. The truth is sitting in British files.

It’s time to prise it free and do justice for all those killed by the State.

So far , of course, unlike the Finucane family I have not had the advantage of any inquiry.

UCBTs, another PSNI shambles

The Historical Enquiries Team told me in 2008 that “whenever a device failed to detonate it would be examined by Army Technical Officer’s [sic] and by this means ‘technically’ linked to other devices…There is no specific reference in the available case papers detailing any linkage between the UCBT used in the murder of your parents and other devices recovered during this period.”

Note there is no mention of forensic scientists.

In May 2014, I asked the Chief Constable  [among other things] :

1. What did the examination of the surviving bombs reveal?

2. Are the component parts of these bombs still available for evidential purposes?

3. What DNA has or could be extracted from these items?

ACC Harris [as he then was] replied in August 2014 as follows:

“The HET report made reference to fifteen UCBT type devices being defused. Although the SCRT review has led to the identification of potential forensic opportunities in respect of these devices, a senior scientist has concluded that although the bombs were similar in their makeup, they had subtle differences and could not be attributed to a single bomb maker.”

I asked Forensic Science NI for a copy of the report. Their reply was that :

“FSNI examined a number of devices during the period 1990 to 1992 however these were not correlated into any single report that we hold or have access to in our files.”

I served a freedom of information request on the PSNI on 13th November 2014. After much delay, it turns out that there is no report. Police now say that there was a verbal discussion with the HET during July 2014. They then go on , later in their reply to me to say this :

“there is no written report from the senior scientist in the case papers or the material created or gathered by the HET. The senior scientist verbally briefed the SIO and did not produce a written report or record notes of the verbal comments.”

So, dear reader, there you have it. Fourteen years after the murders , a senior police officer has a “verbal discussion” with a “senior scientist”. The latter has no written report and the former, disgracefully in respect of such an important matter, makes no notes whatsoever.

It’s hard not to come to the conclusion that police operations are populated with clowns and that senior officers would tell you anything.

Of course the alternative explanation is that they have been told not to try too hard.

Whichever way it is , the pain and grief that this  disgraceful behaviour causes victims is beyond words.

PSNI and failed investigations

The items recovered from the scene of the murders of my parents have been disposed of.

Is that a shocking statement? You might think so.

The police cannot tell me when they were disposed of, why and on whose orders.

The items  are therefore not available for testing by techniques which were used as far back as 1998.

Of course, if the bombers were State agents, it would be inconvenient to have their DNA found on the bomb.

I have written ,again, to the Chief Constable, requesting an explanation.

If the Protestant/Unionist/loyalist faction have not got the message yet [ yes and you too Willy!] let me spell it out.

The State is protecting a swathe of terrorists , republican and loyalist, for the greater good of the “peace process”. The “Crown” is not our friend, any more than it is the enemy of republicans.

Good people like my parents were sacrificed because the State deemed it appropriate.

There are hundreds of similar families suffering. For example the “human bomb” families of Derry, operations ordered by McGuinness.

I will share the Chief Constable’s response.

Next time- the UCBT teams, what the police knew and what they did about them.

PSNI-careless talk? Or worse?

On 11th August ACC Harris, as he then was said this , [in response to my assertion that Ed Moloney ,in his book”A Secret History of the IRA, pointed to McGuinness as the man who had ordered the murders of my parents] :

“The information contained within the book …is anonymous. The author Ed Moloney has previously been spoken to and is unwilling to disclose the identity of his sources.”

The police told the Senior Assistant Director of the PPS the same thing. He repeated to me: “Mr Moloney has previously been spoken to by police and was unwilling to disclose the identity of his sources.” The police were not briefing Mr Herron about interactions with Ed Moloney, they were dealing with a specific allegation.

Mr Moloney told me that no police officer had ever spoken to him about anything in his book, originally published in 2002.

I challenged the Chief Constable. He nodded the ball to ACC Kerr. He nodded the ball to D Supt Murphy, who seems to be in the Legacy Investigations Branch, probably the fourth or fifth outfit I have had to deal with. He replied :”ACC Harris previously wrote to you about interactions with Mr Moloney. In that letter , Mr Harris states that previous requests to Mr Moloney have not resulted in a positive response. I should emphasise that this was intended to reference other cases within the remit of the Historical Enquiries Team , rather than the murders of your parents specifically. I apologise if any confusion was caused.”

Of course ACC Harris did not write to me “about interactions with Mr Moloney”. He wrote to me about a specific allegation contained in a book written over twelve years ago.

Readers can make up their own mind about the honesty  of the police responses.

It now appears that they are going to attempt to make contact with Mr Moloney.

The fact is that the police were ordered not to investigate the chain of command in any bombing or shooting. The ASU did not just have an idea one day that they would go and kill someone. It was scouted , planned and approved. In my parents’ case the project would have gone up the line through Spike Murray, Brian Gillen, Bobby Storey and then to McGuinness. At least two of these people were State informers, Gillen and McGuinness.

I therefore allege that the State was aware of the identity of the people who conspired to kill my parents , as well as the killers themselves. Effectively, the State was engaged in murder. This matter will now be taken up again with the PPS, though not with the Director, who was at all material times, McGuinness’s lawyer. I am not aware of whether or not he represented Spike Murray , Brian Gillen or Bobby Storey.

Meanwhile I still await the PSNI explanation about forensic examination of UCBTs, outstanding since 13th November.

PSNI-how they treat historical murders

Readers may recall that I began correspondence with police in October 2002. Having been passed from one ACC to another, I finally met two senior detectives at Antrim Road police station on 4th March 2003. The following points emerged:

1. The investigation file had been stored.

2. No officer was even nominally in charge of the investigation.

3. They could not tell me when the investigation had been abandoned, who the last investigating officer had been and on whose authority the investigation had been abandoned.

I wrote [again] to the Chief Constable and finally , on 28th May 2003, twenty months after my first letter, Hugh Orde replied. He told me that they were in the process of setting up a serious crime review team. He promised that his staff would write to me again when matters were clarified.

It will come as no surprise for readers to learn that I received no reply until I wrote again in December. I was told that the Chief Constable had asked ACC KInkaid to write to me.

He did not contact me until March 2004, ten months after Orde had promised a response.

Bear in mind, dear reader, that the file had been stored for an unknown period of time and there was no officer responsible for any current investigation.

Here is what ACC Kinkaid said:

“Although not currently active, the investigation has remained open and subject to further attention should new information or developments arise”.

No doubt in the same category are the Jack the Ripper murders.

So, the moral of this story is that those of you who have lost loved ones in sectarian murders can be assured that the PSNI, even though your file is in a box in a warehouse, are ever watchful for new information or developments, falling from the skies into their laps.

Next time. What the Serious Crime Review Team told me.

PSNI incompetence

Readers may recall that Ed Moloney took issue with the assertion by ACCs Harris and Kerr that they had spoken to him “previously” about his book “A secret History of the IRA”. A month has passed since I asked the Chief Constable to explain what is at least a contradiction. How long does it take either to provide some proof of contact with Mr Moloney or to apologise?

PSNI no longer “personal ,professional, protective policing”?

Readers will know that I intend to walk through my experience with the state in respect of the murders of my parents.

Today, my exposition is the failure of the PSNI to properly relate to those who correspond with them.

It seems that “personal, professional, protective policing” has been replaced , on the 2015 letter heading , with “keeping people safe”. I wonder why?

I’m told that only two police stations Musgrave and Strand Road are open though the night, I wonder if this is correct?

Anyway, chronologically, here are the officers I have dealt with in my quest for justice for my parents. It is important to know that I always wrote to the Chief Constable, most of who couldn’t be arsed replying personally , except for Hugh!

ACC McQuillan

ACC Hunter

DI Blair

CC Hugh Orde!!!

ACC Kincaid

DS Stewart

ACC Harris

D Ch S Hanna

ACC Harris [again!]

ACC Kerr

I think I’m going backwards again.

The FOI response, promised last week on forensics , has not materialised.

Blog by blog I will take you through the swamp that is supposedly the investigation of terrorist activity in Northern Ireland. Thousands of other crimes are presumably dealt with in a similar fashion , while one of the architects, McGuinness, is DFM.

You will be unsurprised to learn that I have had no explanation from  the PSNI  about  their statement about Ed Moloney.

PSNI, the strange world of the Chief Constable

Usually, when one writes to the head of an organisation, complaining about those immediately under him, the head takes responsibility and responds. Not so the Chief Constable. On 17 December I wrote to him , setting out what ACC Harris and Kerr had said about Ed Moloney and his response. I asked the Chief Constable for an explanation and I told him how distressed I was at the prospect of having been misled [at best].

Well, he is not going to reply to me. Instead , guess what? The Chief Constable “believes that this matter is best addressed by ACC Kerr”. It will be interesting to see what he has to say for himself and for his superior, DCC Harris.

PS Still no word of explanation about the forensic examination of UCBs.

But I have promises to keep, and miles to go before I sleep

Next year I will deal, point by point , with the state’s cover up of McGuinness’ role and its refusal to prosecute him, despite evidence being available. I will be pressing the state for a prosecution for the murders of my parents.

I will also be pursuing the various pieces of evidence being withheld at present.

I will also set out how the PSNI in particular failed to respond properly to my requests. I have asked the Chief Constable for an explanation of the statements of Harris and Kerr regarding Ed Moloney.

Meantime , the issue of outstanding forensic evidence remains unresolved. I am promised a reply by early January, we will see.

I may well refer all these matters to the Police Ombudsman.

I will be availing of the offer of a meeting with the Attorney General.

My campaign goes on.

“In the midst of winter I finally learned that there was within me an invincible summer” Albert Camus.

Twenty five birthdays

Tomorrow [d.v.] I will celebrate the twenty fifth birthday without my parents. I try not to feel sorry for myself because [as they taught me to think] there are people worse off than I.

Many children lost a parent at a far earlier age. I think in particular of Louis Johnston, son of R/Con David Johnston. David was murdered by a hero of the republican movement who shot him from behind on 16th June 1997, thus advancing the cause of Mother Ireland.  Louis, who was at primary school, was photographed at the funeral and those who have seen that photo could only be moved by it. I had the privilege of hearing Louis speak at St Anne’s Cathedral on 20th March 2011. He is a credit to his father.

To those who are seeking justice and truth I  urge you not to give up. Don’t accept the first , second or third response from the state. They will lie to you. You must box them into a corner by pressure and the force of your argument.

Look at the excellent work done by Ciaran MacArt in his research for his book on the bombing of McGurk’s bar. He has exposed the state’s deceit. It is important for unionists to realise that the state is not their friend either.

There is a wealth of intelligence which the state won’t release to you, yet.

PIRA was honeycombed by informants. The structure remains intact, though. This is a favourite British tactic when dealing with terrorists. They prefer to deal with the established top team. Therefore they do not disrupt it by killings , arrests or prosecutions. Their experience has shown that if you do, the new lot are an unknown kettle of fish and may be more extreme. Hence good old granda McGuinness.But the state is nothing if not pragmatic. If it suits its purpose it will ditch this policy. That is what I am aiming for. As if by magic Marty will become the devil incarnate. That is why he was so  unnerved by Adams’ arrest and spoke of dark forces.

I am  coming for you McGuinness!