Speech by Alban Maginness MLA to the Northern Ireland Assembly, 28 April 2008

Mr Speaker, I hope to follow closely your advice and injunction to the House. I welcome the opportunity to raise a most serious issue in the House. The death of Raymond McCord Jnr, the events that surrounded it, and the subsequent police investigation represent a scandal that involved the police and a brutal paramilitary organisation in north Belfast and Newtownabbey.

Peter Hain was Secretary of State when the Police Ombudsman’s report on the death of Mr McCord Jnr was published in January 2007. He released a statement, in which he said that the Ombudsman had:

“shone a light on a dark and murky period in the history of Northern Ireland.”

Everyone in the House should agree with that comment.

He also referred to the report’s finding that the investigation into Raymond McCord’s murder in November 1997:

“was fundamentally compromised because of the corrupting relationship between elements of the then RUC Special Branch and informants within the UVF in North Belfast.”

That was a scandalous situation.
He said that the report by Nuala O’Loan, the Police Ombudsman, was“comprehensive and thorough”, one that :

“makes for extremely uncomfortable reading.”

That is, in fact, to minimise the nature of the report. As I have said, the Police Ombudsman’s report revealed a scandalous situation, with serious findings in respect of the RUC Special Branch. Speaking about police failures, the then Secretary of State went on to say that:

" no one should attempt to justify them.”

He also said — and I agree with him — that a small number of Special Branch officers were involved, and that that small number:

“failed in their fundamental duty to protect the community”.

It is important to remember that the majority of RUC officers were not found guilty of misconduct in respect of their duties or the finding of collusion. When one examines this scandalous situation, one can see that the influence of some Special Branch members distorted policing in Northern Ireland, in particular in north Belfast and Newtownabbey, because their influence created a situation whereby a police informant — “Informant 1” — escaped proper investigation and possible prosecution.

This case does not end with the death of Raymond McCord Jnr, but only begins with it, and it goes backwards and forwards in time because the main suspect and other informants were deemed, as a result of the report, to have been involved in other criminal activity.

The 10 murders that were the subject of investigation were those of: Mr Peter McTasney; Miss Sharon McKenna; Mr Sean McParland; Mr Gary Convie; Mr Eamon Fox; Mr Gerald Brady; Mr Thomas Sheppard; Mr John Harbinson; Mr Raymond McCord Jnr; and Mr Thomas English, who died in 2000. Those are 10 murders in which police informants were allegedly involved, according to the report. I believe that that 10 has increased to 17 — the other seven not being the subject of the report.

As a result of that investigation, a wide range of criminal activity by the UVF, in north Belfast and elsewhere, was uncovered. However, the most revealing and most damaging aspect of the affair was the involvement of elements of the Special Branch. Such was the extent of that involvement that the Police Ombudsman said in her findings that, because there were no credible explanations from the Special Branch and the police, the only conclusion that she could draw was that there was collusion between elements of the Special Branch and the UVF. That, surely, is a great indictment of policing in Northern Ireland, a shame on those who were involved, and brings dishonour on those who served the public honourably in the police service, whether in the RUC or its successor, the PSNI.

That must be borne in mind by all Members in their consideration of the matter.
I want to remind Members of Mr McCord’s perseverance, courage, tenacity and doggedness. Despite all the pressures on him from the authorities and paramilitaries by way of threats and so forth, he stuck to his quest for truth and justice. In doing so, he has done a great service to the House, to the community and to policing in Northern Ireland. The subsequent Police Ombudsman’s investigation, which began in 2002, has ultimately established that the speculation and rumours were facts. The House owes Mr McCord a considerable debt of gratitude for his persistence and public mindedness.

Never again can a situation arise where police handlers and intelligence gatherers become intimately associated with paramilitaries or any other criminal organisation. I hope that, as a result of the report, that never happens again. However, the disturbing failings that gave rise to the report and came to light after the murder are a timely reminder to everyone in the House of the number of victims of terrorism, collusion and of violence in our community. We must all be mindful of that.

If the report does anything, it must strengthen the resolve of everyone in politics to prevent any of that happening again. The cumulative effect of the actions of certain members of Special Branch and the police protected informants, particularly Informant 1, from investigation. That must never happen again in our lifetimes. Any kind of collusion must be prevented. I urge people to remember that when it comes to matters of national security so that mechanisms can be put in place to prevent that ever happening again.

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