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| Version 0 | Version 1 |
|---|---|
| SF meet Blair on police collusion | SF meet Blair on police collusion |
| (30 minutes later) | |
| A Sinn Fein delegation will meet Prime Minister Tony Blair later to discuss collusion between police and loyalist murderers. | A Sinn Fein delegation will meet Prime Minister Tony Blair later to discuss collusion between police and loyalist murderers. |
| It follows last week's official report which said Special Branch officers gave the killers immunity. | It follows last week's official report which said Special Branch officers gave the killers immunity. |
| Police colluded with loyalists behind over a dozen murders in north Belfast, the Police Ombudsman said. | Police colluded with loyalists behind over a dozen murders in north Belfast, the Police Ombudsman said. |
| The Sinn Fein delegation, which will be led by party president Gerry Adams, will meet Mr Blair in Downing Street. | The Sinn Fein delegation, which will be led by party president Gerry Adams, will meet Mr Blair in Downing Street. |
| "The O'Loan report is the tip of the iceberg," he said. | "The O'Loan report is the tip of the iceberg," he said. |
| "Collusion was an integral part of British policy. It existed under the Tories and Labour in the 1970s but became a more focussed weapon of state terror under the Thatcher government. | "Collusion was an integral part of British policy. It existed under the Tories and Labour in the 1970s but became a more focussed weapon of state terror under the Thatcher government. |
| "Not only did MI5, the Force Research Unit, Special Branch and other state agencies run informers and agents but they trained, equipped and supplied specific information on potential targets." | "Not only did MI5, the Force Research Unit, Special Branch and other state agencies run informers and agents but they trained, equipped and supplied specific information on potential targets." |
| He added: "It isn't good enough for Hugh Orde to express support for the O'Loan report and then criticise Sinn Fein for condemning those who carried out these actions, and others, some still within his organisation who covered them up." | He added: "It isn't good enough for Hugh Orde to express support for the O'Loan report and then criticise Sinn Fein for condemning those who carried out these actions, and others, some still within his organisation who covered them up." |
| 'Be prosecuted' | 'Be prosecuted' |
| The Special Branch officers "created false notes" and blocked searches for UVF weapons, said the ombudsman's report. | The Special Branch officers "created false notes" and blocked searches for UVF weapons, said the ombudsman's report. |
| They also paid almost £80,000 to leading loyalist Mark Haddock, jailed for 10 years last November for an attack on a nightclub doorman. | They also paid almost £80,000 to leading loyalist Mark Haddock, jailed for 10 years last November for an attack on a nightclub doorman. |
| The report, published last Monday, called for a number of murder investigations to be re-opened. | |
| But it is unlikely that any of the police officers involved will be prosecuted - the ombudsman said that evidence was deliberately destroyed to ensure there could not be prosecutions. | But it is unlikely that any of the police officers involved will be prosecuted - the ombudsman said that evidence was deliberately destroyed to ensure there could not be prosecutions. |
| The ombudsman's investigation began more than three years ago when Belfast welder Raymond McCord claimed that his son, also called Raymond, had been killed by a police informer. | The ombudsman's investigation began more than three years ago when Belfast welder Raymond McCord claimed that his son, also called Raymond, had been killed by a police informer. |
| The former RAF man, 22, was a member of the UVF who had some involvement in drugs. | The former RAF man, 22, was a member of the UVF who had some involvement in drugs. |