#a former PSNI officer

[news-buzz]

Ex-PSNI officer searching for authorized recommendation over feedback made at Investigatory Powers Tribunal

A former senior officer on the Police Service of Northern Eire is searching for authorized recommendation following feedback attributed to her throughout a listening to of the Investigatory Powers Tribunal. Barbara Grey, former assistant chief constable on the PSNI, stated she was “deeply angered and offended” by feedback attributed to her by a former detective who headed a leak investigation in…

[sa7abnews]

UK far-right riots: Belfast saw what real hate marches look like

New Post has been published on https://sa7ab.info/2024/08/06/uk-far-right-riots-belfast-saw-what-real-hate-marches-look-like/

UK far-right riots: Belfast saw what real hate marches look like

For hours, the acrid stench of burning rubber filled the Belfast air as a mob of far-right extremists descended upon us. 

Muslim-owned businesses were torched and refugees were stabbed. As a Palestinian living in Belfast, the events of August 3 felt like a targeted purge.

Whilst their advertised target was Belfast’s Islamic Centre, every Muslim or individual who wasn’t white soon became prey. Fuelled by alcohol and drugs, they transformed a city into a battleground: they thew projectiles, gave Nazi salutes, screeched “F*k Palestine”, waved Union Jack and Israeli flags, and chanted the name of their patron saint, Tommy Robinson.

Then the pogrom began. Children, holding the hands of their parents, chanted “P*ki’s Out” and hurled petrol bombs into a local Muslim-owned barber shop. 

Every Muslim-owned business in the area had been scarred by previous attacks, some had even been burnt down before. But this time was different. 

One of their first targets was a local Arab supermarket, run by Syrian refugees. It was the first Arab supermarket I found in Belfast after moving here a few years ago.

I would go there to buy vine leaves, spices, Arabic coffee, and all the things that reminded me of my homeland, Palestine.

I’d often hear racial slurs hurled toward the shopkeeper and customers from across the street or watch as racists threw fruit and vegetables on the floor. This was all considered normal for Belfast. This same supermarket had been attacked twice before, yet the police did not make any arrests nor see it fit to protect this shop knowing its history of racist attacks.

Belfast: Trapped in a cycle of violence?

Then, as now, the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) watched on and did nothing. Have they not learnt from history? Police helicopters hovered over us for hours and hundreds of police vehicles were deployed. No arrests were made nor was any racial violence stopped. 

It’s not surprising. Days later, it was announced that three PSNI officers who had been deployed had been wearing patches belonging to Amercian right-wing militias on their uniforms, actively on duty.

A symbol, if any more was needed, of a dangerous, fascistic undercurrent in the police force to protect the pogrom.

Belfast’s Multi-Cultural Association, a backbone during the COVID-19 pandemic, has now been burnt not once, but twice. Once again, no arrests and no one was held accountable. 

Over the past 300 days, Britain has taken to the streets to demand an immediate ceasefire and an end to Israel’s genocide in Gaza. For our efforts, we’ve been called infiltrators by the British political establishment, including by the former Home Secretary, Suella Braverman, who labelled these demonstrations “hate marches”. 

Well Suella, what happened in Belfast on August 3 looked, sounded, and felt a lot like a real hate march, in which you and your cronies are directly complicit. 

Let’s be clear, the rise in Islamophobia across Britain, and the far-right’s affiliation with Israel, is directly linked to Israel’s genocide in Gaza. As the British & American governments continue to supply bombs that murder Palestinians, media outlets and politicians continue to refer to Palestinians, Arabs, and Muslims as “human animals” and terrorists. Inevitably, citizens will replicate the violence they see perpetrated by the state and media, both in terms of its nature and its targets.

Now I’m forced to witness a terrifying echo of history. A pogrom unfolds in my Belfast home while a genocide rages in my homeland, Palestine.

Both are desperate struggles for survival. The parallels between Belfast in 2024, Huwara in 2023, and Kristallnacht in 1938 are undeniable. Each are different faces of the same ideology: fascism. And until we recognise that, more anti-Muslim, anti-Palestinian pogroms will inevitably follow.

Farrah Koutteineh is the founder of KEY48 – a voluntary collective calling for the immediate right of return of over 7.4 million Palestinian refugees. Koutteineh is also a political activist focusing on intersectional activism including, the Decolonise Palestine movement, indigenous people’s rights, anti-establishment movement, women’s rights and climate justice.

Follow her on Twitter and Instagram: @key48return

Have questions or comments? Email us at: editorial-english@newarab.com

Opinions expressed in this article remain those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The New Arab, its editorial board or staff.

[qudachuk]

The former officer, who retired due to PTSD, says her health has been affected by the data breaches.

[seachranaidhe]

Former RUC officers will not be prosecuted for 1969 deaths of Hugh McCabe and Patrick Rooney | Belfast News Letter

Irish children murdered by British Crown Forces in the occupied six Counties of the North of Ireland

https://www.newsletter.co.uk/news/crime/former-ruc-officers-will-not-be-prosecuted-1969-deaths-hugh-mccabe-and-patrick-rooney-2928589?fbclid=IwAR37g9InkXsyPcZWrdvIsGCDhGlCL63Yo13mVhA0SorpL53ZJ_zmprUJ-nw

Follow this links  to find out more: https://m.facebook.com/113314733470628/photos/a.1236340457…

[coochiequeens]

“ According to the PSNI, 26 officers are suspended amid allegations of sexual misconduct.” Societies are not going to make any real progress on combating Violence Against Women until they restructure and retrain their law enforcement.

The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) has published its first ever action plan aimed at reducing violence against women and girls.

It commits the police to "relentlessly pursuing perpetrators" and rooting out inappropriate behaviour in their ranks.

Between 2017 and 2021, 34 women and girls across Northern Ireland were killed by men.

The Women's Aid Federation Northern Ireland welcomed the plan but said that action was also needed from Stormont.

Sarah Mason of Women's Aid said: "This is an historic day for all women and girls in Northern Ireland, finally bringing Northern Ireland into line with the rest of the UK."

A domestic abuse survivor from County Down, Jenny Hunter, said that the night she separated from her husband in August 2017 was the first she was physically attacked by him.

However, she said he had previously thrown beer around her, smashed vases and kicked and punched holes in walls.

Ms Hunter said there had been tension that day and she had texted him earlier warning him not to cause any trouble.

"He had come home that night after being out for a few drinks," she added.

"He had gone to look into my phone and came into the bedroom and said: 'That's trust for you', because I had changed the password and he couldn't get into it."

Ms Hunter told BBC News NI she remembered her children "squealing" as her husband forced her into their bedroom. 

"He was sitting on my chest and put his two hands around my throat and told me that he was going to kill me, that I had drove him to this and asked me was I ready to die and it was my fault."

Ms Hunter said she was shocked and believed she was going to be killed.

"All I could think was that the children were going to be in the house while this happened and what was going to happen to them."

Jenny said her neighbours rang the police and that she and her former partner have been separated since that night.

The PSNI said that on 22 March 2018, Jenny's perpetrator was sentenced to 18 months probation.

It said he then went on to abuse his next partner and was sentenced to 10 months in prison on 11 March 2020 for offences against her.

The PSNI said women and girls were "disproportionately affected" by violence, abuse and intimidation, accounting for 78% of all victims of sexual crimes and 68% of victims of domestic abuse.

Chief Constable Simon Byrne described the publication of the plan as "a watershed moment".

He said the 40-page plan makes addressing the issue a "top priority".

'Bettering our own culture'

An advisory group is being established to oversee the progress of the PSNI's plan over the next two years.

The murder last year of Sarah Everard in London by a Metropolitan Police officer brought the issue to the fore in the UK.

It also damaged trust and confidence in policing among women and girls.

Mr Byrne said part of the plan involved "bettering our own culture", acknowledging that officer behaviour has "at times fallen short of public expectation".

According to the PSNI, 26 officers are suspended amid allegations of sexual misconduct.

Under the new plan vetting processes will be reviewed.

All frontline officers will also receive specialist training in dealing with domestic abuse incidents, which in Northern Ireland occur at a rate of one every 16 minutes.

Other action includes improving the quality of investigation files for prosecutors and prioritising the arrest of people wanted for offences involving violence against women and girls.

Sex education should be part of strategy to end violence against women

Violence against women: Men and boys urged to speak out

Domestic abuse strategy needs 'combined effort'

There will also be a new media campaign to raise awareness of drink spiking.

Mr Byrne said: "To effectively tackle complex societal issues like this we need everyone to actively champion the change that is needed.

"Policing can't end violence against women and girls on its own.

"For this to really work, to really make a change for all women and girls, we need to work in partnership with all parts of society," he added.

[ukcorruptpolice]

Police Ombudsman accepts ‘failings’ identified by Neil McConville inquest

A judge has listed a number of “failings” by the Police Ombudsman’s office (PONI) following an inquest hearing earlier this week.

On Monday, Judge Philip Babington ruled that police were justified in using lethal force against Neil McConville when he was shot near Lisburn in April 2003, trying to evade police in a car, during a planned PSNI operation. The judge did however find a number of shortcomings in how the police operation was planned and controlled, as well as listing a string of mistakes made by PONI investigators at the time – including the loss of interview material, the failure to secure intelligence and the failure to secure initial accounts of the shooting from police officers and other witnesses. A PONI representative gave evidence that Ombudsman’s office accepted the majority of these failings, but stated that PONI was only a fledgling organisation at this time, and that this was the first fatal shooting it had dealt with since its inception. She also said that new procedures were now in place. In his published findings, the judge commented: “Whilst one can understand that PONI was a relatively new organisation it was staffed with people who had experience of police investigations. To that extent it is difficult to understand some of the failings and matters that came to light in connection with this matter. I am satisfied there were a large number of failings although they probably had minimal impact on the issues this inquest has had to consider.” The ombudsman’s office was heavily criticised by Justice McCloskey in 2017 following judicial review proceedings in relation to the PONI report on the 1994 UVF Loughinisland atrocity. Although the former RUC officers involved in the legal action failed to have the PONI public statement quashed, some of the most damning criticism was removed from the report and the Court of Appeal later held that the then ombudsman, Dr Michael Maguire, had “overstepped the mark” with findings that amounted to verdicts of criminal collusion. Following a number of recent PONI reports in which current ombudsman Marie Anderson identified what she deemed “collusive behaviours,” a former RUC detective has written to Justice Minister Naomi Long, calling for an “independent root and branch review” of PONI. The term ‘collusive behaviours’ has been widely reported in the media as a ‘collusion’ determination. Writing in the News Letter earlier this year, former head of Special Branch Raymond White called for a public inquiry into PONI – alleging a lack of “due process” during legacy investigations. On Wednesday, the current ombudsman said she had noted and accepted the judge’s comments. “It is important to point out, however, that our investigative practices have changed significantly in the 19 years since the events in question,” said Mrs Anderson. She rejected any suggestion that the comments impacted on her recent public statements relating to incidents during the Troubles,” and added: “These statements set out in great detail the evidence on which I based my conclusions. Nothing in the judge’s comments in any way changes that evidence or my findings.” The nine main PONI failings identified by Judge Babington are: (a) A delay in PONI officers arriving at the scene. (b) The failure to treat HH/U219 as a suspect and accordingly isolate him from other officers. (c) Delay in taking a statement from HH/U129 and the delay in carrying out an interview. (d) Allowing the debrief to proceed contrary to ACPO guidance. (e) The failure to retain the weapon that was fired. (f) The loss of a sketch map completed during HH’s interview. (g) The failure to secure HMSU training records. (h) The failure to secure the relevant intelligence. (i) The failure to secure first accounts from the police witnesses and statements from other relevant witnesses. Read the full article

[pkstudiosindia]

I’m no paramilitary big fish, suspect rages as boat seized in UDA probe – Belfast Telegraph

I’m no paramilitary big fish, suspect rages as boat seized in UDA probe – Belfast Telegraph

A MAN who had a boat seized as a part of a police investigation into South East Antrim UDA drug dealing has angrily denied any hyperlink to paramilitaries.

onny Smyth was stopped by cops flying to Turkey for dental therapy from Belfast International Airport.

Despite a small amount of hashish being discovered in his possession, he was launched with out cost and nonetheless in a position to catch his airplane.

While Smyth was in the air final Wednesday, officers from the Paramilitary Crime Taskforce searched his house in the Prospect space of Carrickfergus.

Close

A brand new UDA Mural in the Glenfada space of Carrickfergus, Police have stated they’re working to take away what has been described as a “UDA recruitment mural” in Co Antrim Town.

A brand new UDA Mural in the Glenfada space of Carrickfergus, Police have stated they’re working to take away what has been described as a “UDA recruitment mural” in Co Antrim Town.

They additionally seized a small boat that he makes use of for deep sea fishing.

This drew a livid response from Smyth, who stated: “I’ve by no means learn an even bigger a great deal of balls.

“Firstly, they obtained my wee tub of non-public smoke that I exploit to self-medicate for nervousness and melancholy, as an alternative of being a pill head. Also I’ve no involvement with any paramilitary group.

“You (PSNI) haven’t got a big bust, you are a waste of taxpayers’ money who need to get some better information. I’m just a young lad trying to start a business and someone doesn’t like it too much.”

In a press release the PSNI revealed the search of Smyth’s house was a part of a Paramilitary Crime Taskforce investigation into loyalist drug dealing.

Detective Chief Inspector Cummings stated: “Officers carried out a deliberate search of the property in an operation focusing on suspected medicine criminality linked to the South East Antrim UDA.

“During the operation officers also seized a boat. Paramilitaries are not defenders of their communities, instead they are criminals who prey on vulnerable people and exploit any circumstances they can for their own gain.”

Jonny Smyth, who’s initially from the loyalist Rathcoole property in Newtownabbey and aged in his 20s, believes he was arrange by what he describes as a “f*****g wee rat”.

He additionally defined how police pulled aside his suitcase as he was travelling by way of the airport, “ripped apart” his house, “seized all my devices” and “my f*****g boat”.

In a social media rant, an offended Smyth added: “To whoever is a dirty f*****g wee rat, I’ll find out who you are and it’s not going to end well you rat.”

Sunday Life understands that Smyth (proper) was focused by the Taskforce due to his hyperlinks to former South East Antrim UDA prisoner Andrew ‘Logie’ Logan, with whom he goes deep sea fishing.

Cops are additionally probing claims that the fear gang has been utilizing small boats to smuggle hashish into Northern Ireland from Scotland.

Logan was beforehand questioned by police about violence linked to the loyalist feud in Carrickfergus three years in the past that resulted in the murders of former UDA members Geordie Gilmore and Colin Horner. A 2016 assault on the 47-yr-outdated’s house by native criminals sparked the mayhem that lasted 18 months and price £2m to police.

The South East Antrim UDA, which has roughly 2,000 members, is taken into account by the PSNI to be the most important prison gang in Northern Ireland.

Led by veteran loyalist Gary Fisher, it controls drug turf stretching from Larne 20 miles alongside the east Antrim coast to north Belfast, and pockets of Newtownards.

Several people from Carrickfergus are presently earlier than the courts dealing with expenses in reference to Paramilitary Crime Taskforce raids focusing on South East Antrim UDA cocaine and hashish rackets.

These embody Chantelle Crozier (32) who’s accused of supplying cocaine, possessing cocaine, possessing prison property, possessing temazepam, and inspiring offences to be dedicated.

Father and son Norman Haggan Snr (75) and Norman Haggan Jnr (41) are additionally dealing with expenses of possessing hashish with intent to produce, possessing cocaine and possessing ammunition in suspicious circumstances.

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[morganbelarus]

Police ‘provided information’ to UVF murder gang

Image copyright Pacemaker

Image caption Billy Wright was the leader of a UVF gang in mid-Ulster which killed dozens of Catholics during the Troubles

Police provided UVF leader Billy Wright with information to help his murder gang target people, one of his former associates has alleged.

Convicted killer Laurence Maguire made the claim in the latest BBC Spotlight documentary on the Troubles.

The programme also cited two senior security sources as stating Billy Wright was an agent working for the police and Army.

It revealed new details about some of the gang’s 40 murders of Catholics.

Who was Billy Wright?

Maguire was convicted of offences including five murders and later freed under the Good Friday Agreement.

In an interview with BBC Spotlight, he said Billy Wright, known as King Rat, told him intelligence about targets “was coming from police officers working with him”.

‘Shocking’ details

He claimed he was nearby in a car when some meetings with police took place “up alleyways”.

The PSNI told BBC Spotlight there should be no hiding place for any officer who broke the law and any evidence of wrongdoing should be independently investigated.

About half the gang’s victims are thought to have had connections to the IRA or Sinn Féin.

Billy Wright’s predecessor as UVF leader in mid-Ulster, Robin Jackson, was also named in the programme as a “state agent”.

Image copyright Pacemaker

Image caption The family of Rory and Gerard Cairns complained to the Police Ombudsman when no-one was charged for their murders

Both men, now deceased, were arrested over the murder of two brothers, Gerard and Rory Cairns, at Bleary, near Portadown, in 1993.

When no-one was charged, the Cairns family complained to the Police Ombudsman – at the time Nuala O’Loan – believing the two UVF men “were being protected”.

Maguire told the programme the pair had first targeted the brothers in 1992.

Baroness O’Loan said the fresh details were “shocking” and it would have been the basis, had she still been ombudsman, to reopen the case.

Image copyright Pacemaker

Image caption Rory and Gerard Cairns were murdered in their home in 1993

Sheila Cairns said she believed she would never see justice over her sons’ murders.

“While I’m on earth I will never get peace,” she said.

“Nothing will ever bring me closure because it will never bring Gerard and Rory back.”

The men appeared to have been singled out because their cousin, Sheena Campbell, was a Sinn Féin activist who was killed by the UVF in Belfast in 1992.

Spotlight on The Troubles: A Secret History will be broadcast on BBC One NI and BBC Four at 21:00 BST and will be available afterwards on BBC iPlayer.

Related Topics

The Troubles

Original Article : HERE ;

Police ‘provided information’ to UVF murder gang was originally posted by MetNews

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Johnson: PM’s Brexit plan a ‘suicide vest’

Image copyright Reuters

Image caption Boris Johnson has faced criticism from fellow MPs for his language in the Mail on Sunday article

Boris Johnson has attacked Theresa's May's Brexit plan, saying she had "wrapped a suicide vest" around the British constitution and "handed the detonator" to Brussels.

In the Mail on Sunday, the former foreign secretary said the Chequers deal was "feeble" and "pathetic".

He has been strongly criticised by some Tories - one minister said it marked a "disgusting moment" in politics.

And Home Secretary Sajid Javid called for "measured language" to be used.

Writing in the same paper, the current Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt called for people to rally behind Mrs May, backing her to hold the line "in the face of intense pressure".

The UK is leaving the EU on 29 March 2019, and the government's plan - agreed at Chequers in July - has sparked criticism from Brexiteer Tories as well as the EU.

PSNI chief warning over post Brexit threat

EU 'strongly opposed' to PM's Brexit plan

The Chequers plan explained

In his article, Mr Johnson accused the EU of "bullying" the UK - but questioned why the response had been "so utterly feeble".

He said that rather than getting a "generous free trade deal", Britain is saying, "yes sir, no sir, three bags full sir", to Brussels.

"At every stage of the talks so far, Brussels gets what Brussels wants," wrote Mr Johnson.

"It is a humiliation. We look like a seven-stone weakling being comically bent out of shape by a 500lb gorilla."

Media playback is unsupported on your device

Media captionTheresa May speaks after meeting her cabinet at Chequers in July

He said the reason for the UK's response was the "insanity of the so-called backstop" - the commitment by the UK and the EU to come up with a solution to avoid a hard border in Northern Ireland.

However, his call to scrap the proposed backstop has been heavily criticised by Sinn Féin and the SDLP.

Sinn Fein said Mr Johnson's comments were "foolish and dangerous", while the SDLP said he had "absolutely no regard for people on this island".

Brexit: All you need to know

At-a-glance: The UK's four Brexit options

Q&A: The Irish border Brexit backstop

The BBC's political correspondent Alex Forsyth said the "scathing remarks" by Mr Johnson showed his "willingness to challenge the prime minister remains undimmed" after recent revelations about his private life.

It is Mr Johnson's second attack on the prime minister's Brexit strategy inside a week, as last Monday he said the Chequers deal "means disaster" for Britain - Downing Street responded to that attack by saying he had offered "no new ideas".

'Hurtful analogy'

While Mr Javid voiced measured criticism of Mr Johnson, other Tories reacted more angrily to his remarks.

Former Army officer and chairman of the Foreign Affairs Select Committee Tom Tugendhat graphically described the aftermath of a suicide bomb that had gone off near his office in Helmand province, Afghanistan.

He said comparing such an attack to the PM's plans "isn't funny", adding: "Some need to grow up".

Skip Twitter post by @TomTugendhat

A suicide bomber murdered many in the courtyard of my office in Helmand. The carnage was disgusting, limbs and flesh hanging from trees and bushes. Brave men who stopped him killing me and others died In horrific pain. Some need to grow up. Comparing the PM to that isn’t funny. https://t.co/IeRWhmhgS9

— Tom Tugendhat (@TomTugendhat) September 8, 2018

Report

End of Twitter post by @TomTugendhat

Foreign Office Minister Sir Alan Duncan criticised his former boss, saying the article was "one of the most disgusting moments in modern British politics."

If this latest broadside was not the end of Mr Johnson's political career, "I will make sure it is later", he said.

Another Foreign Office minister, Alistair Burt, tweeted: "I'm stunned at the nature of this attack. There is no justification for such an outrageous, inappropriate and hurtful analogy.

"If we don't stop this extraordinary use of language over Brexit, our country might never heal. Again, I say, enough."

But backbench Tory MP Nadine Dorries defended Mr Johnson in the face of what she was "vitriol", saying his critics were "terrified of his popular appeal".

And Tory Brexiteer Andrew Bridgen said the way Mr Johnson "says it how he sees it and speaks truth unto power" was "something that endears him to a huge swathe of the British public".

On the BBC's Andrew Marr Show, Mr Javid said: "I think there are much better ways to articulate your differences. I think it's a reminder for all of us in public policy, whichever political party we represent, to use measured language because I think that's what the public want to see."

He backed the Chequers proposals which he said represented "the only deal that we've got on the table".

In his Mail on Sunday article, Mr Hunt said Parliament would get to debate and vote on any agreement, adding: "Until then, we should not rush to judgement on a deal that is still under negotiation."

Johnson 'dossier'

It is the first public comment from Mr Johnson since he and his wife, Marina Wheeler, confirmed they were getting divorced earlier this week.

The announcement followed newspaper allegations the former London mayor had been having an extra-marital affair.

The Sunday Times has reported that Mrs May's aides wrote a 4,000-word "dirty dossier" on Mr Johnson in 2016, exposing a "catalogue of lurid allegations" against him.

The paper says it has seen the document - said to have been written during the Conservative leadership contest - but officials at Downing Street and Conservative Campaign Headquarters have denied circulating it.

No-deal 'disorder' claim

Elsewhere the National Police Chiefs' Council said there was no intelligence to suggest there would be an increase in crime or disorder if the UK and the EU cannot agree a deal.

NPCC operations lead Chief Constable Charlie Hall was responding to a Sunday Times report of a leaked document about police contingency plans for a no-deal Brexit.

According to the paper, the document warned that concerns around medical supplies could "feed civil disorder", and that potential goods shortages raised concerns of "widespread protest which could then escalate into disorder".

It also warned that the "necessity to call on military assistance is a real possibility" in the weeks after UK's departure from the EU.

Mr Javid said he did not expect a no-deal outcome, adding: "I'm glad the police and other experts are looking into this and thinking what might happen in a no-deal scenario."

Related Topics

Boris Johnson

Tom Tugendhat

Chequers

Theresa May

European Union

Alan Duncan

Jeremy Hunt

Brexit

Original Article : HERE ; This post was curated & posted using : RealSpecific

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Johnson: PM’s Brexit plan a ‘suicide vest’ was originally posted by Viral News - Feed

[dailywikis]

Stephen Martin Bio, Age, Wiki, Retiring From PSNI, Wife, Children, Net Worth

Stephen Martin Bio, Age, Wiki, Retiring From PSNI, Wife, Children, Net Worth

Stephen Martin Bio – Wiki

Former top Derry police officer Stephen Martin is standing down as Deputy Chief Constable. Mr. Martin has served as a police officer for nearly 34 years, both in the RUC and the PSNI. He said he will retire at the end of January when a new deputy chief constable will be appointed.

Announcing his departure, he said it had been a “huge honor” and a “true privilege” to…

[qudachuk]

NI's former justice minister has says a there is a human cost to a PSNI data breach.

[seachranaidhe]

North of Ireland terror expert predicts bomb 'spectacular' by dissidents in Brexit run-up

North of Ireland terror expert predicts bomb ‘spectacular’ by dissidents in Brexit run-up

Ex-RUC/PSNI officer says that New IRA upping the ante

Former RUC/PSNI officer Ken Pennington

An expert in counter-terrorism has warned that dissident republicans are planning a major bomb “spectacular” in the run-up to Brexit.

Ken Pennington also said that between now and October 31 – the UK deadline for leaving the EU – the New IRA may attempt a series of deadly attacks, like the booby-trap…

[thereallygoodblogshow]

MA Fashion and Textile Practices Major Project Path - 7th August

Irish band U2′s song Sunday Bloody Sunday recalls the massacre which took place on Sunday 30th January 1972 between civil rights demonstrators and the British Army’s Parachute Regiment and was classed as one of the worst days of Northern Ireland’s three decade conflict called ‘The Troubles’. 

U2 [U2]. (2009, Dec 14). U2 - Sunday Bloody Sunday (Official Video) [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EM4vblG6BVQ

‘The Troubles’ were said to have begun on the 5th October 1968 when a group of local activists joined forces with members of the Northern Ireland Civil Rights Association (NICRA) in protest for civil rights. A previous demonstration had been held in regards to favouritism over the local authority's housing allocation between the Catholic Nationalists and Protestant Unionists. On the day in question the attention was turned to the housing policy of unionist-controlled Londonderry Corporation. Officers from the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) waited as the demonstration began, but after much heated debating a riot began. None were killed that day but many were injured. A student Grainne  McCafferty was there on that day with her husband Michael, Grainne says of that day (2018)

"There was a climate of unease and demand for change and the civil rights movement was borne out of that. That led into 5th October. We had found a voice, stood up for ourselves, refused to accept any longer this yoke that had been placed on us by the state."

Terry Wright (2018) was at school at the time, and since went on to be the deputy chair of the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) He recalls that:

��Ultimately, the sense of grievance shared between Protestant and Catholic neighbours, would dissipate. But once the violence started, and there began to be attacks on the Fountain [housing estate], it became sectarian. At least that was the perception. That's when a lot of young Protestants and Unionists who identified with civil rights disengaged"

Go forward four years and ‘The Troubles’ weren’t showing any signs of abating. On the day of Bloody Sunday civil rights demonstrators gathered to make a peaceful protest against a new law which had been passed which stated that authorities had the power to imprison people without trial, called internment. After a few skirmishes the British Army’s Parachute Regiment moved in and fired shots into the crowd, a total of 13 died that day - with a 14th victim dying in hospital four months later, and many more were injured. Backlash to the massacre was widespread - the British Embassy in Dublin was burnt to the ground in retaliation. 

The day after the shooting an inquiry was set up by Lord Widgery who was Lord Chief Justice at the time. This tribunal failed to point the finger at any of the soldiers and the British authority was deemed not to blame. When Prime Minister Tony Blair came into power a new inquiry was opened under the jurisdiction of Lord Saville. The Saville enquiry ran for twelve years and concluded that none of the victims had done anything to warrant their shooting. After the report was released a murder investigation was set up by the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) to which only one former lance corporal was charged.

The words ‘I can’t believe the news today’ reiterates how unbelievable the news of the massacre was that day, that a situation as horrible as that had sprung from a peaceful protest. These words could easily relate to the news we see on a daily basis, how far must things go before we become so apathetic to the horror and violence shown towards each other that it becomes so believable?

Websites:

BBC News. (2019). Bloody Sunday: What happened on Sunday 30 January 1972?. Retrieved from https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-foyle-west-47433319.

McLaughlin, D., Wilson, D., & Kelly, U. (2018). October 1968: The birth of the Northern Ireland Troubles?. Retrieved from https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-foyle-west-45625222. 

McCann, E. (2019). Bloody Sunday was a very British atrocity – the top brass got away with it. Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/mar/15/bloody-sunday-derry-top-brass-one-soldier-charged. 

A Medium Corporation. (2018). Sunday Bloody Sunday: The Story behind U2’s most political song. Retrieved from https://medium.com/@thelegendsofmusic/sunday-bloody-sunday-the-story-behind-u2s-most-political-song-f3fd719e1009.

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Botched IRA call led to Birmingham pub bombing deaths, jury finds

Families of the 21 victims of the 1974 Birmingham pub bombings demanded their killers are brought to justice after an inquest found they were murdered by the IRA. 

Two massive detonations caused what one witness described as ‘pure carnage’, ripping apart the packed Mulberry Bush and Tavern in the Town pubs on the night of November 21 1974, killing 21 and injuring 220 more.

A Provisional IRA member had made a call to the Birmingham Post and Mail around 8.11pm on the evening of the attacks, but the first bomb went off just seven minutes later.

An inquest jury today found unanimously that the warning call was inadequate and the victims were unlawfully killed. 

Speaking afterwards, Julie Hambleton, who lost her older sister in the bombings, said: ‘We now demand of Dave Thompson, the chief constable of West Midlands Police, to tie his shoe laces, black his shoes and go out and do the job because we’ve heard new evidence that two of the murderers are out there.

She demanded officers ‘communicate with the police in Ireland, the police in Belfast, the PSNI, and bring those responsible finally to justice.’ 

Julie Hambleton, whose sister was killed in the Birmingham pub bombings in 1974, today demanded the IRA killers behind the attacks were brought to justice

The families want the bombers still who are still alive to face charges over the killings

Ms Hambleton added: “Twenty one of our loved ones went out one evening to meet friends and family and they never saw the light of day again.

“Today the inquest has found they were unlawfully killed by murder.”

“Whilst the police officers of the day can’t be questioned in any great detail there is no way that the people of this country and the people of our community of Birmingham and our families, will allow the senior police officers to get off with letting these murderers, two of whom are still alive, get away with their continued liberty.”

The jury also found there were no failings, errors or omissions by West Midlands Police’s response to the bomb warning call.

Leslie Thomas QC, representing 10 of the bereaved families, said after the verdicts: ‘We just hope, in light of the jury’s unequivocal finding that the IRA murdered 21 innocent people, that the West Midlands Police will now redouble their efforts in terms of those bombers who may still be alive to bring them to justice.’ 

They also found there was no tip-off to the force, giving advanced warning the blasts were going to happen.  

The blasts at the Mulberry Bush (shown) and the Tavern in the Town killed 21 people in 1974

A body is carried from the Mulberry Bush. A jury today found the victims were unlawfully killed

Following the verdicts, Sir Peter Thornton QC said: ‘The atrocities of the night of Thursday 21 November 1974 are now etched in the history of Birmingham.

‘Those dreadful events will never be forgotten because the people of Birmingham will never forget the 21 lives that were tragically lost.’

Michael Patrick Reilly (pictured), who is alive in Ireland, has previously been named as a bomber. An IRA witness at the inquests was accused of covering for him

He added: ‘I wish to express my condolences to the families and friends who lost loved ones in these terrible bombings.

‘I wish to express my admiration and respect for the dignity in which you have conducted yourselves during the difficult time of the inquests.’

The inquests, at the civil courts building in Birmingham, came about after years of campaigning by relatives of the dead for a full account into what happened that night. 

The pub bombings were the deadliest post-Second World War attack on the British mainland, until the 7/7 London terrorist attacks in 2005. 

The conclusion to the inquests comes after an ex-IRA member gave evidence in which he named four of those behind the attacks and gave the nicknames of two others, apparently with the blessing of IRA leaders.

The anonymous witness, himself a convicted bomber, said Seamus McLoughlan was the commander of the Birmingham IRA at the time and selected the targets, while Mick Murray and Michael Hayes were part of the bombing team and another man, James Gavin, was involved.

During the inquests, Michael Hayes was named as one of four IRA terrorists behind the 1974 Birmingham bombing. He is the only one of the four still alive. He apologised for his role in the attack on TV in 2017, but is reportedly protected by the Good Friday Agreement

A convicted IRA bomber, who was not identified, told the inquests into the victims’ deaths that Mick Murray (left) and James Gavin (right) were also involved

Murray, McLoughlan and Gavin have all since died and the man, named in court only as ‘Witness O’, claimed that Hayes has protection from prosecution following the peace process. 

But the witness was accused of protecting another man previously linked to the bombings, Michael Patrick Reilly, who is also still alive. 

He added that two other men, who he identified as ‘Dublin Dave’ and ‘Socks’ had also been involved, but that he did not know either man’s name. 

In 1975, six men – the Birmingham Six – were convicted over the blasts but acquitted 16 years later. The attacks remain Britain’s largest unsolved terror crime.  

An IRA atrocity and 44 years of heartbreak for victims’ families

Thursday, November 21, 1974: Bombings in two Birmingham pubs leave 21 dead and 220 injured. They are said to be revenge for the death of IRA member James McDade, who blew himself up trying to plant explosives in Coventry. Hours later, five men are arrested in Heysham, Lancashire, and a sixth is arrested in Birmingham.

November 24: Patrick Hill, Hugh Callaghan, John Walker, Richard McIlkenny, Gerard Hunter and Billy Power are charged with murder.

June/August 1975: Trial at Lancaster Crown Court. ‘The Six’ are sentenced to life imprisonment.

The Birmingham Six outside the Old Bailey in London, after their convictions were quashed. Left-right: John Walker, Paddy Hill. Hugh Callaghan, Chris Mullen MP, Richard McIlkenny, Gerry Hunter and William Power.

October 1985: TV’s World In Action questions forensic tests. A book is then published claiming three unnamed men were behind the bombings.

January 1987: The home secretary refers case to the Court of Appeal. The appeal is later dismissed. A 1990 TV drama then names four ‘real’ bombers.

March 14, 1991: The Six are freed by the Court of Appeal after 16 years in prison.

October 1993: Perjury case against three former West Midlands police involved in the charging of the Birmingham Six is dismissed.

June 1, 2016: Senior coroner for Birmingham rules to resume the inquests. The original hearings were not continued after jailing of The Six.

September 29, 2018:  Families lose their legal battle to name those responsible for the bombings in the inquests  

February 25, 2019: The inquest into the 21 deaths opens in Birmingham.

March 22, 2019: IRA member names Seamus McLoughlan, Mick Murray, Michael Hayes and James Gavin as the bombers.

April 5, 2019: Inquest finds the victims were unlawfully killed and a botched IRA warning call contributed to their deaths.

Who were the victims of the Birmingham pub bombings?  

The victims in the Mulberry Bush pub, in the base of the Rotunda, were:

– Trevor Thrupp, 47, and a rail guard was a married father of three, who loved taking his son and daughters on holidays to Sandy Bay in Devon and Great Yarmouth.

He had an ‘infectious’ laugh, loved Laurel and Hardy, The Goons and especially Spike Milligan.

‘His love for his family is still with us today and always will be,’ his son Paul Thrupp said.

– John Rowlands, 46, was a qualified electrician and worked as a foreman at Land Rover in Tyseley, Birmingham.

A married father of two sons, he served with the Fleet Air Arm in the Second World War, and the Mulberry Bush was his favourite pub.

His youngest son Paul Rowlands remembered him as ‘a bit of a card, a joker’ and a ‘good dad’, while his oldest child Stephen said they lost ‘a great friend’ when he died.

Trevor Thrupp (left) and John Rowlands (right)

– William Michael ‘Mick’ Beasley, 30, was a stock controller at a motor company, whose father had died four months before the bombings.

He led a quiet but full and active life, collected coins, and had a keen interest in film and cinema.

Mick owned an 8mm camera, and was a regular in the projector room of the Odeon in New Street.

The night of the bombing, the wife of the Mulberry Bush landlord, Mary Jones, recalled he had found a lucky Cornish pixie charm on the night bus into town, and gave it to her.

She survived the bombing, and told how she had kept it ever since.

– John Clifford ‘Cliff’ Jones, 51, was a railway station postal worker, and a father-of-four.

As a soldier with the Durham Light Infantry in the Second World War, he survived being machine-gunned in combat in 1945, and spent weeks convalescing in a Carlisle hospital.

He was a keen gardener and the Cliff Jones Memorial Trophy is still awarded to Birmingham’s best kept allotment, his son George Jones said.

Mr Jones said his father was ‘ cruelly robbed’ of the chance to live and see his family grow.

Michael Beasley (left) and John Clifford Jones (right)

– James Caddick, 56, was a porter at nearby Birmingham markets, a divorcee, and father-of-two.

A Mulberry Bush regular, Mr Caddick was stood with his friends, Mr Bodman, Mr Thrupp, Mr Rowlands, Mr Beasley, and Mr Jones in their usual spot at the end of the bar – just feet from where the bomb was planted.

– Father-of-three Stan Bodman, 47, an electrician, was ‘larger than life’ and ‘very popular’, his son Paul Bodman said.

An ex-RAF wartime serviceman, Stan told his son there was nothing to fear from IRA bombs, as they were not ‘military or political’ targets.

‘We certainly got that wrong,’ he said.

‘The carnage of that night will never be forgotten and as a family we hope the inquest will finally bring some answers to what really happened on that devastating night,’ added Mr Bodman.

James Caddick (left) and Stan Bodman (right)

– Charles Gray, 44, was a mechanic at British Leyland in Longbridge, and had never been in the Mulberry Bush before the night the bomb went off.

He never missed a day’s work, and those who knew him said he had ‘an easy charm and a slight air of mystery’.

His family said he was a ‘lovely, quiet man’ and a ‘gentleman, mild-mannered and agreeable’, always known for being well-dressed.

– Pamela Palmer, 19, was an office worker, who used to take her three-year-old niece shopping.

Her older sister Pauline Curzon said: ‘She was a lovely sister. She helped me in numerous ways.

‘Her companionship and kindness is a memory I treasure.’

She was there with her boyfriend, Derek Blake, who was in intensive care for days afterwards and lost a leg in the blast.

 Charles Gray (left) and Pamela Palmer (right)

– Walking past and caught in the blast, outside, were Paul Davies, 17, and Bruce Lee fan, Neil ‘Tommy’ Marsh who, at 16 years old, was the youngest victim.

Mr Marsh’s cousin, Danielle Fairweather-Tipping, said Tommy and Paul had a ‘very strong’ bond, and enjoyed the ‘carefree life’ of teenagers.

She said: ‘His death has been a devastation to our family and words really can never explain this.’

Victim Paul Davies

Mr Davies supported Aston Villa, was ‘a massive Bruce Lee fan’ and had already earned his karate black belt before his 17th birthday, son Paul Bridgewater said.

It was the son he never got to meet, as he died three months before Paul was born, but ‘I feel his spirit still lives on it me’. 

– Thomas ‘Tom’ Chaytor, 28, born in Iver Heath, Buckinghamshire, was a retail assistant at Willoughby Tailoring and part-time barman.

Adopted as a child, he was a divorcee and father-of-two, who three weeks before the bombs had started a job on the bar at the Tavern to earn extra money, his then fiance Susan Hands said.

He died of his injuries on November 27, a week after the blast.

– Maxine Hambleton, 18, was a shop assistant at Miss Selfridge in Lewis’s department store, in the city centre.

She was a ‘beautiful soul’, her sister Julie Hambleton said, and died not knowing she had been the first in her family to earn a place reading law at university.

Maxine Hambleton was one of 11 people killed in the Tavern in the Town pub

– Jane Davis, 17, who had her eyes set on being a nuclear physicist, was with her co-worker and close friend Miss Hambleton in the Tavern in the Town when she was killed.

She and Miss Hambleton had gone on a coming-of-age grape-picking holiday to the vineyards of France earlier that year, and she sent a postcard home describing how ‘my back is bloody killing me’.

Her family remembered their ‘loyal’ and ‘much-loved’ daughter, sister and friend, who had the chance of being a mother and a wife ‘taken from her’.

– Anne Hayes, 19, was another retail assistant working at Miss Selfridge, who was in the Tavern that night.

She lived with her parents, and had been an apprentice hairdresser, before taking up retail.

– Marilyn Nash, 22, was a supervisor at Miss Selfridge, and was out with her friend, Miss Hayes when she died.

Jane Davies (left) and Marilyn Paula Nash (right)

– Eugene Reilly, 23, was a Deep Purple and Black Sabbath fan and his younger sister Mary recalled seeing him play air guitar to his LPs in the lounge of the family home at weekends.

Shy, but ‘very sociable’, he a was a keen roller skater, and went to the rink several times a week.

He was out with his married younger brother, that night, in the Tavern.

– Desmond Reilly, 21, had invited his brother into the city, to celebrate news his wife Elaine was pregnant – though he would not live to see his son’s birth.

Their family said: ‘Eugene never had the opportunity to get married and have children, and Desmond never got to meet his son – part of us died with them on the day they died.’

Eugene Thomas Reilly (left) and Desmond Reilly (right)

– Stephen Whalley, 21, was a quantity surveyor in town on a date arranged through the New Musical Express (NME���s) lonely hearts club page.

In a statement read to the inquest, his elderly mother said: ‘While I would love the world to know about my son Stephen, and the lovely young man he was, it is just too difficult and painful for me to recall any memories I have because it is too traumatic to remember.

‘Stephen was our only child, who had his whole life ahead of him.’

– Mr Whalley’s date was Lynn Bennett, 18, a punch-card operator, and the two died together in the Tavern in the Town.

She was ‘very petite and looked great in miniskirts and platforms’, her sister Claire Luckman said.

A passionate Birmingham City Football Club, her grieving father never set foot in the ground again after her death.

Stephen Whalley (pictured, left, in childhood) was 21 when he died. Right: Lynn Bennett

– Maureen Roberts, 20, was a wages clerk at Dowding and Mills, and was due to be engaged to her boyfriend, Fred Bromley.

An only child, with a ‘happy-go-lucky’ side, she also had a caring nature, buying Christmas presents for neighbours.

Mr Bromley said she had striking auburn hair, ‘the colour of gold, when the sun shone on it’.

‘Everyone would remark on it wherever she went,’ he added.

– James ‘Jimmy’ Craig, 34, was an automotive plant worker and keen amateur footballer who once had a trial with Birmingham City Football Club.

He was the last victim of the bombings, dying on December 9, 1974, of injuries he sustained in the Tavern.

Jimmy Craig, who could neither read nor write, was only in the pub that night to meet a girl who had written to him, making the arrangement.

His brother, Bill Craig, said he would never have been at the Tavern, had the letter remained unread but his brother had asked their mother to read it for him.

Maureen Roberts (left) and James Craig (right)

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[worldlatestinfo-blog]

GAA club condemns murder bid on ex-PSNI officer

GAA club condemns murder bid on ex-PSNI officer

Image copyright Pacemaker Image caption Peadar Heffron was captain of the PSNI’s Gaelic football team The former Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) club of an ex-PSNI officer who was seriously injured by a dissident republican bomb has said it condemns the attempted murder “unequivocally and without any ambiguity”. Peadar Heffron had spoken of the hurt he feels towards Kickhams Creggan GAA club…

[jerry-maguire-115]

Now 19 years since the Ceasefire, How far has our Peace Process come over the years?

With the signing of the Good Friday Agreement (GFA) marking the beginning of Peace for the North, we have certainly come quite far as a post-conflict society. The horrendously violent era of our Nation’s past, known as the “Troubles” that stretched from 1969 until 1998 has left us with an un-washable blood stain on our history in perpetuity.

 But with the end of armed conflict, are we living in Peaceful times as we’re led to believe? I think not. One must only turn on their televisions to come to this conclusion. Part of the GFA meant the decommissioning of weapons and the disbanding of Paramilitaries, both Republican and Loyalist. In contrast, it's rare for a day to go by without the mention of “security alert” over our airwaves! In March 2009 Two soldiers were shot and killed as they collected pizzas outside Massereene Barracks in County Antrim. Within 48 hours a policeman, Stephen Carroll, was murdered in Craigavon. He was the first police officer to be murdered in the North since the GFA of 1998. It was this type of resurgence of violence that took also the life of PSNI constable Ronan Kerr in 2011, with a car bomb outside his home. This type of action has continued up to today. With the detection of “viable devices”, threats made against police and the paramilitary style shootings across communities the North. It is apparent that they ‘haven’t gone away, you know!’ In 2015 the government collapsed after Peter Robinson resigned due to the recent murder of Kevin McGuigan and previously the murder of Gerard ‘Jock’ Davidson. Both men were former IRA members and according to ex-IRA prisoner Anthony McIntyre the murder of McGuigan "has the IRA's fingerprints all over it". To many at the time, it didn’t come to a shock them that the IRA were allegedly active. It was just the norm. But this is indicative of a society where peace isn't present, in my eyes.

 Again, we have at present no sitting government due to a breakdown in relations, over sectarian interests. Does this sound New? Sectarianism was the catalyst for the troubles. Sectarianism plagues our society. Its very purpose today is the same that it's always been right back to the time of the plantation of Ulster, that purpose is to divide the working class. Our government has yet to sit since Elected on March 3rd, 2017 due to related divisions, such as creating an Irish language act. The terms of the GFA outline the need for “linguistic diversity” including that of Irish, Ulster-Scots and languages of minority communities for the “cultural wealth of the island of Ireland.” But there is an obvious breach through the disrespect showing by the DUP and others of the Irish Language. On Monday 3rd November 2014, in the Assembly Chamber, Double-jobbing Gregory Campbell blatantly mocked the Irish Language during a debate. He said, "Curry my yoghurt can coca coalyer". Which was to make fun of the Irish phrase "go raibh maith agat, Ceann Comhairle". This is only a taste of the kind of bigotry that is prevalent to showing how Sectarian attitudes are continuously at the forefront of our government, the very same government that sought to rid and end such attitudes with the signing back in ‘98.

 With the “Cash for Ash” scandal of the RHI scheme that broke in late 2016, it was apparent that our elected representatives are not acting in our interests. According to the BBC, the heating incentive that was set up in 2012, could have cost taxpayers £400m. At the back drop of this ridiculous scandal, the very taxpayers that were robbed of this £400m were living year after year of an ever-growing austerity policy being implemented by the Tories in Westminster and the Green and Orange Tories of Stormont. The thanks the electorate received for electing our government each time was more brutal austerity. These cutbacks have had a disgusting domino effect on the working class. We have seen unemployment escalate due to redundancies being made, NHS waiting times sky-rocket through the roof, homeless grown out of control and the price of essentials rise while a pay freeze applied to the public sector continues. With this rise in inequality, our politicians have lined their friends and their own pockets at our expense. Too long have they got off scot-free due to the short-term memory loss on the part of the electorate and the ineffective role of alternative parties and groupings. The growing disillusionment with the status quo is pushing a lot of people towards radical politics. In 2016, People Before Profit came to the spotlight with its massive victory in West Belfast with the Election of Gerry Carroll topping the poll with 8,299 first preferences electing him MLA. The Election of Eamon McCann in Derry then later followed this result. The two Socialist comrades took to the light to show that a left-wing platform, one opposed to Austerity, opposed to sectarianism, opposed to Racism, Sexism, and Xenophobia, existed. PBP pushing class politics to the forefront of government has had immense effects in the grassroots of society. PBP clearly demonstrates that an organisation that is run for and by the people is achievable and practical for setting a new tide in politics. With their position in Stormont designated as ‘other’ sets them aside from the institutionalized sectarianism at our highest levels of governance, which allows them clearly to put forward genuine cross-community socialist arguments in the chamber of the Assembly but also the Council. This was long over needed for the people of the North. Two long have we had the option of voting tribal.

 When elections come and go, as with the parties’ canvassers at our doors, we are told of the need to vote tactical to keep out the other. This Green and Orange voting has done nothing but further society away from actual progressive development.  But this comes to no shock to me. This is an age-old issue. Divide and rule. For as long as we have lived within the constraints of Capitalism around the world we have seen the state use its role of repression and oppression to split its productive forces and alienate them and turn them on one another. It's worked successfully, thus why it's used today. Sectarianism is the prime example for us of the North. Sectarianism is used to divide the Nationalist and Unionist communities from uniting and challenging the conditions we live in. The Trade Union Movement of the North dreads carefully when it comes to using its force because it doesn’t want to upset one side of the workers. This is a constant issue. But no one is dealing with it head-on. No one is really challenging sectarianism only simply pandering to it.

 Although 19 years on we do have a lot to appreciate from the GFA. We live in a time where we don’t have to fear being interned without trial. Having our homes, transit, shops, and hospitals bombed on daily basis or fear to a lesser extent the rule of paramilitaries over our communities. We have our own devolved government, albeit they are useless at everything at least it's our own it's up to us to change that. We have integrated education now and a lot of younger people are now paving the way for a new future that is now up to us to build on that.