Security - new material (17)
01 May 2003
Intelligence failure. No weapons of mass destruction, Stephen Dorril. Free Press (Campaign for Press and Broadcasting Freedom) June 2003. Part of a special edition of the CPBF's journal. Dorril describes the failure to find Saddam Hussain's weapons of mass destruction "as one of the great intelligence disasters of the last fifty years." He is sceptical of the argument that politicians over-hyped MI6 intelligence" reports and politicised them. Citing Seymour Hersh, he says that MI6 "resorted to spreading false information about Iraq through its I/Ops unit" after divisions arose at the UN over the Iraq weapons inspections.
Stevens Enquiry 3: Overview & Recommendations, Sir John Stevens. 17.4.03, pp. 20. This is the public summary of Metropolitan police chief constable John Stevens' third report into collusion between security forces and loyalist paramilitaries in Northern ireland. Its 20 pages covers The Murder of Pat Finucane, The Murder of Brian Adam Lambert and William Stobie. It has sections on "Investigation of Agents", "Intelligence Material" and other matters concerning collusion. The report contains 21 recommendations.
Turning a blind eye to murder, Peter Taylor. Guardian 18.4.03. Considers the Steven's report, "the most damning indictment ever made of British intelligence in the province" of Northern Ireland. The report confirms "that the army's top secret agent handling unit, the Force Research Unit (FRU), used loyalist proxies to do the state's dirty work by assassinating republicans. Elements of special branch were also involved." It presents "a shocking picture of sections of [British] army intelligence and RUC Special Branch not only out of control, but turning a blind eye to murder."
The Doughnut, the less secretive weapon in the fight against international terrorism, Richard Norton-Taylor. Guardian 10.6.03, p.3. Article on the "doughnut", GCHQs new eavesdropping centre at Cheltenham, which was constructed by a consortium of Carillion, Group 4/Falk, a Danish security company and British Telecom in the government's biggest "private finance initiative". The consortium will receive £800 million over 30 years to maintain it.
This story of Stakeknife is full of holes, Danny Morrison. Guardian 16.5.03. Article by Sinn Fein's former publicity director on allegations of a high profile IRA informer (named in the Irish press in May as Freddie Scappaticci) codenamed Stakeknife. Morrison concludes: "Stakeknife, if he exists, can do little damage to the IRA. But if what is attributed to him is true - that he was allowed to cull informers who were no longer of any use to British intelligence - then he is a huge liability to the British MoD and the British government because he can reveal many truths about their dirty war in Ireland."
Secrets and Lies, Richard Norton-Taylor. Red Pepper June 2003, pp. 18-21. He discusses how the prime minister and the Iraq war."