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UK: "Irish watch" withdrawn

01 January 2001

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In December the Observer newspaper disclosed that the Humberside police force had been instructed to treat all Irish-born citizens within its boundaries as terrorist suspects. A leaked memo, dated 20 October 2000, detailed Operation Pre-empt which "has been "live" since 1989" and "is controlled by the Special Branch." The memo calls for the police to report all dealings with Irish people to the Special Branch because Humberside is a major port and is regarded as a possible bombing target. It instructs Special Branch to be notified:
as soon as practicable of anyone of Irish origin, descent or background who:-
a) Is brought into custody;
b) Is subject to a routine street or driver (including motor cyclist) check;
c) Is subject to police enquiry for any reason;
d) Is brought to the attention of the police by a member of the public for any reason, in particular when seeking accommodation.
The blanket surveillance measures were condemned as "racist and offensive" by Labour MP and former Northern Ireland Secretary Kevin McNamara, who raised a number of questions about the operation in the House of Commons. McNamara described the Humberside policy as:
...a return to the bad old days of the 1970s - serving only to intimidate the Irish community and create miscarriages of justice
Operation Pre empt has now been withdrawn, but McNamara has also asked for Home Secretary, Jack Straw, to call for a report on Operation Pre-empt from the Humberside Chief Constable, David Westwood.

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