Sinn Fein man admits he was agent (BBC)

by **scollon** » Fri Dec 16, 2005 8:10 pm

He's not the first one by any means. I would be shocked to find out that Adams and McGuinness weren't working for MI5 too. <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/northern_ireland/4536826.stm">news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_ne...536826.stm</a> A veteran Sinn Fein figure expelled from the party has said he was a British agent for two decades. Denis Donaldson headed the party's administration office at Stormont before his October 2002 arrest over an alleged spy ring led to its collapse. Mr Donaldson said he was recruited in the 1980s as a paid agent and deeply regretted his activities. Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams claimed he was about to be "outed" by the same "securocrats" who set him up as a spy. Northern Ireland's power-sharing executive collapsed in October 2002 following the arrests of three men, who had all charges against them dropped "in the public interest" last week. The government said on Friday that the Stormont raid more than three years ago was solely to prevent paramilitary intelligence gathering. The Northern Ireland Office said it "completely rejected any allegation that the police operation in October 2002 was for any reason other than to prevent paramilitary intelligence gathering". SEQUENCE OF EVENTS 4 October 2002: Three men arrested following raid on Sinn Fein's Stormont office. Power-sharing executive collapses and government restores direct rule to NI a week later 8 December 2005: Charges against three men dropped "in the public interest" 16 December 2005: Sinn Fein says one of the men was a "British agent" and expels him from the party: he later says he worked as a spy since the 1980s Government and police reject the party's claim raid was politically motivated Calls for 'Stormontgate' inquiry It said "the fact remains that a huge number of stolen documents were recovered by the police". In a statement on Friday, Mr Donaldson said: "I was a British agent at the time. I was recruited in the 1980s after compromising myself during a vulnerable time in my life. "Since then I have worked for British intelligence and the RUC/PSNI Special Branch. Over that period, I was paid money." Mr Donaldson said the "so-called Stormontgate affair" was "a scam and a fiction invented by (police) Special Branch". At a news conference on Friday, Mr Adams claimed Mr Donaldson had been approached by police officers earlier this week and told he was about to be "outed" as an informer. He said Mr Donaldson was not under any threat from the republican movement. If... one of Sinn Fein's top administrators in Stormont turns out to be a British spy, this is as bizarre as it gets Bertie Ahern Irish prime minister Police sources earlier reiterated that the "Stormontgate" affair began because a paramilitary organisation was involved in the systematic gathering of information and targeting or individuals. Irish Prime Minister Bertie Ahern said if "one of Sinn Fein's top administrators in Stormont turns out to be a British spy, this is as bizarre as it gets". 'Public interest' The BBC understands that the mole whose information prompted the Stormont raids was not Mr Donaldson, nor was it the other two men against whom the charges were dropped. DUP leader Ian Paisley said there "must be no attempt at further cover-up". "The democratic right of the people to be informed must be honoured," he added. Last week, the Director of Public Prosecutions would not be drawn on why the charges were dropped, only saying that it was "in the public interest". Other parties have demanded that Northern Ireland Secretary Peter Hain or Attorney General Lord Goldsmith must clarify what were these public interest reasons. The three men were arrested following a police raid on Sinn Fein's offices at Parliament Buildings on 4 October 2002, when documents and computer discs were seized. Following the arrests, Ian Paisley's Democratic Unionists and the Ulster Unionists, led at that time by then First Minister David Trimble, threatened to collapse the executive with resignations. The British government then suspended devolution in the province, embarking on direct rule for the last three years.

by **scollon** » Sat Dec 17, 2005 6:43 am

The reason I post this is that a study of the thirty odd year conflict in Ireland will reveal the way government and security services operate. Basically MI5 ran both sides of the war all the way through. Bloody Sunday gave rise to direct rule from London and the Provisional IRA which diverted Irish/Catholic ambitions into a useless military conflict they could never win. It also allowed the British army to completely control NI in so called 'peacetime'. Today Catholics and Protestants are further apart physically and politically than anytime in history and there is still direct rule. There will NEVER, EVER be an united Ireland. Sein Feinn are happy to be in power (well nominally because at present there is direcrt rule) as are the DUP and Martin McGuiness is now a British government minister. Anyone who believes he isn't a British agent is mad. A true political masterpice from the masters of manipulation. <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/northern_ireland/4537098.stm">news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_ne...537098.stm</a> Unionist politicians in Northern Ireland are calling for a public inquiry after an expelled Sinn Fein official admitted spying for Britain. Denis Donaldson said allegations of a spy ring that led to the collapse of power-sharing had been "a scam and a fiction" invented by UK intelligence. The Northern Ireland Office and Police Service of Northern Ireland deny this. Unionists say Mr Donaldson's statement proves charges were dropped in a deal with the IRA to secure decommissioning. Ulster Unionist leader Sir Reg Empey told BBC News a public inquiry was "the very least the prime minister and the Northern Ireland secretary can do". The public was "entitled to know what actually happened", he added. Mr Donaldson was expelled from Sinn Fein on Friday, and later said he had been recruited in the 1980s as a paid agent and deeply regretted his activities. Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams claimed he had been about to be "outed" by the same "securocrats" who had set him up as a spy. Northern Ireland's power-sharing executive collapsed in October 2002 following the arrests of three men, including Mr Donaldson, who had headed the party's administration office at Stormont. Following the arrests, Ian Paisley's Democratic Unionists and the Ulster Unionists, led at that time by then First Minister David Trimble, threatened to collapse the executive with resignations. The British government then suspended devolution in the province, embarking on direct rule for the last three years. All charges against the three men were dropped "in the public interest" last week, a decision which angered Unionist politicians. On Friday the Northern Ireland Office said it "completely rejected any allegation that the police operation in October 2002 was for any reason other than to prevent paramilitary intelligence gathering". It said "the fact remains that a huge number of stolen documents were recovered by the police". Police sources earlier reiterated that the "Stormontgate" affair began because a paramilitary organisation was involved in the systematic gathering of information and targeting or individuals. But Sinn Fein has always insisted there never was a spy ring, calling the whole business a politically-motivated stunt to discredit republicans. And on Friday Mr Donaldson said the "so-called Stormontgate affair" had been "a scam and a fiction invented by Special Branch". 'Come clean' In a statement to Irish broadcaster RTE on Friday, he said: "I was a British agent at the time. I was recruited in the 1980s after compromising myself during a vulnerable time in my life. "Since then I have worked for British intelligence and the RUC/PSNI Special Branch. Over that period, I was paid money. Democratic Unionist MP Jeffrey Donaldson called on the government to "come clean", and told the BBC there needed to be a full public inquiry if political confidence was to be restored in Northern Ireland. DUP leader Ian Paisley said there "must be no attempt at further cover-up". "The democratic right of the people to be informed must be honoured," he added. At a news conference on Friday, Mr Adams claimed Denis Donaldson had been approached by police officers earlier this week and told he was about to be "outed" as an informer. He said Mr Donaldson was not under any threat from the republican movement. Edited by: <A HREF=http://p216.ezboard.com/brigorousintuition.showUserPublicProfile?gid=scollon>scollon</A> at: 12/17/05 3:47 am

by **antiaristo** » Sat Dec 17, 2005 9:38 am

"In the public interest" That always causes my ears to prick up. Remember Public Interest Immunity Certificates (PII), used to "fix" trials like Matrix Churchill, and send innocents to prison? When you hear "public interest" you KNOW they are hiding the WINDSOR interest, as carried out by the CROWN Prosecution Service. England desperately needs to recover the grand jury system (abolished by George V in 1933). Let the public decide the public interest, and you'll get some honesty. PS I don't know about Adams and McGuinness, it's quite possible. But did you know the President of Ireland is a Brit?

by **scollon** » Sat Dec 17, 2005 9:47 am

The reason I believe Adams and McGuinness are MI5 is that the head of the provos internal security for thirty years was an MI5 informer. He knows where ALL the bodies are hidden, particularly the ones buried by Mr McGuinness. I reckon they were made an offer they couldn't refuse. Also the day Omagh (a Catholic town) was bombed, the Sein Feinn offices were mysteriously closed and the affair was blamed on the so called 'real IRA'. British double-agent was in Real IRA's Omagh bomb team <a href="http://www.sundayherald.com/print17827">www.sundayherald.com/print17827</a> IRA torturer was in the Royal Marines <a href="http://www.sundayherald.com/29997">www.sundayherald.com/29997</a> 'Stakeknife' trial cover-up claim <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/3490625.stm">news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/3490625.stm</a> The army asked me to make bombs for the IRA, told me I had the Prime Minister's blessing ... then tried to kill me <a href="http://www.sundayherald.com/25646">www.sundayherald.com/25646</a> Northern Ireland: Allegations of British collusion in Omagh bombing <a href="http://www.wsws.org/articles/2001/sep2001/ire-a04_prn.shtml">www.wsws.org/articles/200..._prn.shtml</a> Ulster spies to 'blow MI5 cover' <a href="http://politics.guardian.co.uk/northernirelandassembly/story/0,9061,750426,00.html">politics.guardian.co.uk/n...26,00.html</a> "But did you know the President of Ireland is a Brit? " No, where is he from ? Public Interest Immunity Certificates are a wonderful tool for the security services.

by **antiaristo** » Sat Dec 17, 2005 11:04 am

<blockquote>Quote:<hr>I reckon they were made an offer they couldn't refuse.<hr></blockquote> I think that's probably correct. And that Horse's Head was placed in the bed by Clinton. The IRA was caught in a Masonic squeeze, and could no longer look to the Democratic Party for support. Mary McAleese was born in the North. Part of the Good Friday agreement was the burial of Article 2 of the Constitution which laid claim to "the entire island of Ireland". As a result those born in the North are no longer eligible for an Irish passport. Under present rules Mary McAleese is a Brit. You might find this letter of interest, sent to Judge Peter Cory. The murder of Pat Finucane put the lie to EVERYTHING the Brits ever said. <blockquote>Quote:<hr>Judge Peter Cory Correos Certificado 83288 10 July 2003 Dear Judge Cory, I read the leaks about your deliberations in last Sunday’s Observer, and which I interpret as the modern day variety of “public consultation”. According to that newspaper you are to recommend a “full public inquiry” be held into the murder of the late Pat Finucane, such is the volume of evidence to indicate collusion on the part of the British. Personally, I can conceive of no act so cynical and as clearly designed to stimulate the growth of violent actions on the part of the Nationalist community. So I welcome your conclusions. Yet a public inquiry is not necessarily the same as an independent and impartial inquiry. You only have to look back at the Widgery Inquiry into Bloody Sunday to see that is the case. So can I draw your attention to the British power structure – the distinction between the Crown and the people in that country? For in the United Kingdom there is no separation of powers and the people are not sovereign, but subjects. Listen, if you like, to the State Opening of Parliament, where Queen Elizabeth refers quite explicitly to “My Government”. Thus the British Government acts in the interests of the Sovereign herself, and not necessarily in the interests of her subjects. Where a conflict exists between the interests of the Sovereign and the interests of the people, the British Executive is bound to act in the interests of the Sovereign. It will disguise this conflict, of course, and the result is that Westminster these days has become little more than a confused Gilbert & Sullivan played out behind a series of curtains and smokescreens. But the absolute primacy of the Windsor family is easy to demonstrate beyond all doubt. What do we know about the Finucane case? We know that Brian Nelson instigated and facilitated the murder. We know that Brian Nelson was a British Officer in the Force Research Unit. We know that Nelson’s commanding Officer was Gordon Kerr. We know that Gordon Kerr is today a brigadier general and the military attaché at the British Embassy in Beijing. We know that Gordon Kerr is Scottish, a Highlander and an acquaintance of Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother. Both the British Government and the Windsor family have a direct, personal and enduring interest in this case, as Brian Nelson found out in April this year. There are very real similarities between the Finucane case and the Burrell and Brown cases. The Windsor family had a clear interest in the outcome of Regina v Burrell and Regina v Brown. Yet it was not until the conflict of interest between Regina, a witness for the defence and Regina, the prosecution, came to prominence that both cases were abandoned. The underlying conflict between Regina, the Windsors’ interest and Regina, the presiding judge was disregarded throughout. Regina v Burrell and Regina v Brown were never independent or impartial, nor were they ever intended to be independent or impartial (see item 1 Cleary to Peat). With all these aforementioned Reginae one might be forgiven for wondering exactly how many Queens Elizabeth exist. Actually it is not such a silly question. For just under fifty years there were two persons who lawfully bore the name “Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth”. The Sovereign herself, of course, but also the mother, the Shadow Sovereign (see item 2 Cleary to William of Wales). It was the Shadow Sovereign herself who issued the order to eliminate Pat Finucane. Gordon Kerr was true to his military oath and he did indeed obey Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth. “That’s quite a claim!” I hear you say. Can I provide any evidence to sustain my charges? Judge Cory, I can provide you with enough evidence against the Windsors to fill the State of Alberta. Why else try to pull a Pat Finucane on John Cleary? Let me give you but a single relevant example of a capital crime committed at the instigation of the Shadow Sovereign. Please refer to the attached item 3. This Court Order was delivered to my front door on the outskirts of Dublin on 13 February 1995. As you can see it was issued in the name of Sir John Baker. Please refer next to the attached item 4 from the Chief Executive of the Court Service and is the reply to a written question from Parliament to the Lord Chancellor. Mr Huebner states “It was actually issued by His Honour Judge John Baker and not Sir John Baker.” As you know, John Baker and Sir John Baker are completely different names under English law. There was no person called Sir John Baker in the High Court and the document is, by definition, a forgery. Yet Michael Huebner, acting on the instructions of the Lord Chancellor, in turn acting on the instructions of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth, told Parliament that the document was authentic. There are four aspects to this example that I would emphasise: 1 The very short and secure chain of command (Shadow Sovereign to Lord Chancellor to operative) mirrors the Finucane chain of command (Shadow Sovereign to Gordon Kerr to operative). 2 The object of the exercise is laundering – turning a forged document into an authentic document. This is identical to the role played by the British in the State of the Union address by President Bush, where forged Niger documents were authenticated in the September dossier. (Note: the Iraq war could be the quid pro quo for Richard Breeden at the SEC, who closed down the investigation into Lloyds of London.) 3 A non-existent person can be created ex-post in order to redeem the fraud. Thus as Malcolm Wall was made a director of Anglia Television two months after he had committed his crimes, so John Baker could become Sir John Baker after he had issued the forged court order. And who could possibly work such magic but “Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth”? 4 “The Lord Chancellor is history!” said Mr Blair on 12 June 2003. Brian Nelson is history too. Thankfully Elizabeth Bowes Lyons is now dead, but the secret crime machine she created using illegal powers still operates under the command of her grandson, Charles Windsor. And Elizabeth Windsor has in turn vested in her son the use of “Crown Prerogative” powers, making him the true Prime Minister of the UK. (Who signed over Hong Kong? Who greeted Vladimir Putin? Simeon of Bulgaria was not the prototype.) Furthermore amongst others he has knighted the fraudster Gary Winnick of Global Crossing in return for monies paid into the Prince’s Trust. I contend, therefore, that an independent, impartial inquiry into the death of Pat Finucane is not only impossible within the Windsor Empire. It would also be illegal under the disgusting Treason and Felony Act of 1848, which defines treason as any action that is against the interests of the ruling family. And which was re-affirmed by the High Court of England and Wales on 26 June 2003. To any who claim I am mistaken, I issue this challenge: answer those questions I put to Lord “Charlie” Falconer on 18 June 2003. Let me quote myself verbatim. “So we have forged Court documents issued by the British Crown in February 1995. We have forged Court documents issued by the British Crown in April, June and August 2000. We have forged Government of Niger documents laundered by the British, according to President Bush. That’s quite a record for the “fount of all justice and honour”. So why should anybody believe a word that comes out of the British Junta while the Windsors are in charge? On what grounds do you seek judicial parity with the 24 democracies that comprise the European Union? What has changed in the three years since I warned Jospin and Reno against recognizing that obscenity as a legitimate and trustworthy jurisdiction? Exactly when did the thieving old slag in Buckingham Palace give up her “God-given” right to defecate on whomsoever she wishes by means of the English Court? And who, exactly, will enforce that prohibition against the Sadist Sovereign when that Sadist Sovereign really doesn’t want it enforced?” Thank you for your attention, Your Honor. Yours sincerely John Cleary BScMAMBA Ps. I will soon be going back to see my mother. This is a somewhat perilous enterprise, so can I suggest that if you wish to contact me you do so at your earliest convenience?<hr></blockquote> <a href="http://p216.ezboard.com/frigorousintuitionfrm9.showMessage?topicID=6.topic">p216.ezboard.com/frigorou...ID=6.topic</a>

by **scollon** » Sat Dec 17, 2005 11:53 am

Yes, I suspect Mr "Oxford Rhodes Scholar" Clinton double crossed the Paddies when the crunch came. The crunch being the day the UDA took over the roads in NI with armed men. That was essentially a very short war won by the loyalists. The British army stayed away too. Loyalist protesters closed more than 125 major roads and many other minor roads across Northern Ireland. <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/northern_ireland/827560.stm">news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_ne...827560.stm</a> "The murder of Pat Finucane put the lie to EVERYTHING the Brits ever said" Absolutely, NI was a circus under the guidance of the Whitehall ringmasters!!

by **mother** » Sat Dec 17, 2005 5:11 pm

GOD BLESS THE IRISH It's tooth-gnashing, the infiltration into everything we have ever held dear to our hearts. I still remember all those IRA songs my parents played loud, and if everyone was very drunk even louder until the police came. Corrupting Ireland would be high on Satan's list, and just see who he's got working for him...

by **scollon** » Sat Dec 17, 2005 5:18 pm

Well, the Irish freed themselves from the British empire then fell prey to something much more pernicious, the catholic church. Talk about Satan !

by **mother** » Sat Dec 17, 2005 10:57 pm

But in A.D. 431 or so St. Patrick brought Christianity to Ireland. He was a Roman Catholic Bishop. The English got involved much later. It's a pity that this type of bigotry is tolerated in this forum, but it might explain why so many good people can't stand it anymore. If you made that type of inflammatory, ignorant statement about Judaisim here you'd be called a nazi.

by **scollon** » Sat Dec 17, 2005 11:05 pm

If you knew about the history of political control and the avalanche of child abuse cases around the catholic church in Ireland, you wouldn't say that. Ireland was a virtual medieval theocracy until it joined the EU. No contraception, no divorce, no abortion, clerical interference at every level of politics. It had to move into the twentieth century and adopt civilised EU legislation to benefit from massve subsidies.

by **slimmouse** » Sat Dec 17, 2005 11:32 pm

When you actually get down to some serious brass tacks. Its all about "organised religion" The greatest divide and rule mechanism on this planet. Weve got the world series right now. "The rest" versus Islam. Hilarious were it not both a) so sick b) all figured out a LONG time ago.

by **scollon** » Sun Dec 18, 2005 12:38 am

It isn't about religion per se, it's about anything that can be used to divide and rule. Religion in Ireland is distinctly tribal, it's very easy to use for that purpose.

by **mother** » Sun Dec 18, 2005 12:50 am

I know a lot about the child abuse in Ireland and a bit about one of the cheif satanists "Fr." Stan Fortune and the evil freaks he works with. They are not the Catholic Church. It would not be prudent for me to express my opinion of how justice might be meted out for the predators wearing clerical costumes of any sort. I am very sorry that while I'm fairly well-educated in some areas I am pathetic with technology and cannot provide links, etc to buttress my words. There are indeed absolute evil satanists who have infiltrated and in some profound ways hijacked the institution at the highest levels of the post-VaticanII religion, it is true. But there are also utterly evil people who have infiltrated other formerly good institutions. Calling my faith satanic is ugly, and by doing so you are calling me and my children satanists. This site becomes more hateful by the week, and the hypocracy is sad: no anti-semitism(a good thing) but Catholic haters welcome? Well, bash away if it amuses and makes you feel powerful.

by **marykmusic** » Sun Dec 18, 2005 1:28 am

NO entire faith is wrong... in my opinion. My daughter, raised in the Unity church, converted to Catholicism when she got married. Individuals are what makes up a "faith." Any organized religion can have the best people in the world... as well as the worst. I try not to tar anyone with a brush that broad. If a belief system works for someone who is a good human (no matter what affiliation), that's fine. For that person. But... that said, I have a low opinion of those who USE any organized religion to further their own secret agenda. They are piggy-backing on people who don't know what they're doing, and whose money supports them. --MaryK

by **antiaristo** » Wed Dec 21, 2005 12:23 pm

Britain's shadow government, established and controlled by the Shadow Sovereign. <blockquote>Quote:<hr>The strange collusion between Downing Street and Sinn Féin The multi-layered truth behind the exposure of a British agent in the Irish republican leadership must be uncovered Jonathan Freedland Wednesday December 21, 2005 The Guardian The loudest noise in these islands should be the sound of Irish republicans chanting I told you so. For years, Sinn Féin leaders have banged on about the "securocrats" who pull the secret strings of Northern Ireland. These men, skulking in corners of the army, MI5, Special Branch and the Northern Ireland Office, form, say republicans, a "shadow government", bent on forcing its own, reactionary agenda on the province. In this view, their driving purpose is the defeat, discrediting and humiliation of Sinn Féin and the IRA - regardless of the policy pursued by Tony Blair and his "official" government in Downing Street. Yeah, yeah, whatever, journalists in London would say, stifling a yawn. Not only was the "securocrat" speech a broken record, it also sounded vaguely unhinged: a conspiracy theory that belonged in an airport thriller rather than the real world. Yet last Friday brought news that showed republicans' worst nightmares were no fantasy. Denis Donaldson, the party's chief administrator at Stormont, outed himself as a spy: for 20 years, he revealed, his real masters were not his Sinn Féin colleagues, but the despised "securocrats" of the British state. Donaldson had sat in inner circle meetings with Gerry Adams and Martin McGuinness since the mid-80s, but all that time he had taken his orders from unnamed, unknown "elements" within the British security establishment. That was dramatic enough, but Donaldson is especially significant. For he was one of three officials charged with spying on other political parties at Stormont: an alleged plot whose discovery in October 2002 so offended unionists and others that Northern Ireland's brief experiment in self-rule was shut down. The democratically elected Stormont assembly was suspended, frozen in a limbo that endures to this day: day-to-day power reverted back to London, as if the Good Friday agreement had never happened. That connection made Donaldson's confession explosive. For if he was a servant of the British state, the charge that Sinn Féin was spying on political rivals was, in all likelihood, bogus. It could well have been Donaldson's British handlers who were behind the Stormont plot, in a bid to discredit the republican cause. On this logic, unionists in their outrage in 2002, and London in its acquiescence to that fury, were merely following a script laid out by a few spooks in the Belfast dark. Everything Sinn Féin had said about the securocrats was true: they had indeed plotted to bring down a democratic body - simply to keep republicans away from power. All of which makes a kind of sense. Some republicans have long suspected that, while hardline Brits can just about stomach Sinn Féin and the IRA taking part in the peace process - grateful for the end to violence that entails - they balk at the thought of them in government. What Donaldson called the "fiction" of Stormontgate ensured they got their way. Others say that even the outing of Donaldson was probably engineered with the same aim: to keep republicans out of power. What the men in the shadows imagined was that once Donaldson's cover was blown, he would flee for his life - fearing the wrath of IRA punishment. His panicked flight would itself prove that the Provos still represented an armed threat - thereby obliging the international monitor on decommissioning to deliver a negative verdict on the IRA, so keeping republicans away from power a bit longer. Viewed like this, the implications are enormous - and not just for Northern Ireland. For what this reveals is a rogue element within the British state, a return to the late-1980s Spycatcher allegation, when Peter Wright confirmed that a cell of intelligence operatives had once operated as a law unto themselves, "bugging and burgling" their way across London. How would the prime minister explain that, yet again, agents of the British state are out of control? Well, so far he hasn't had to - because no one is really asking the question. And that is the strangest aspect of this strange saga. Sinn Féin, who should be climbing the roof of Belfast's Waterfront Hall screaming their vindication, are oddly muted. Alone among Northern Ireland's parties, they are not calling for an inquiry into the Donaldson affair. McGuinness has spoken of learning lessons, rather than pointing a wild, admonishing finger at London. The rhetorical dial has been set on cool. Why might that be? A first explanation is embarrassment: it is mighty awkward for the Sinn Féin leadership that a traitor could have got so close for so long. It plays to the most toxic of republican hardliners' accusations against the Adams-McGuinness peace strategy - that it's all a British plot to still the IRA's guns. There are other reasons for republicans to be wary of delving any deeper into this murk. I'm told that, internally, Sinn Féin folk are asking the Donnie Brasco question. In that Al Pacino movie, about an FBI infiltrator in the mafia, the mole's sponsor is told: "You brought him in here, you're responsible." Whoever initially brought Donaldson into Sinn Féin will be feeling the heat. I also understand that when Donaldson confessed - under an interrogation led by his own son-in-law, Ciaran Kearney - he named some other Sinn Féin names as fellow British agents. Things could get very nasty. Alternatively, it's possible that the Stormont spy ring was not a fiction or even British-inspired, but a genuine IRA scheme - as Northern Ireland's chief constable insisted yesterday - and that Donaldson had to go along with it in order to preserve his cover. Confirmation of that would also be a disincentive for Sinn Féin to seek any further inquiry, for it would vindicate their enemies. Or, more complicatedly, it's conceivable that Donaldson was a double agent - that he had "turned" back to Sinn Féin after his initial betrayal. Standard IRA operating procedure in the past was for an informer to receive a bullet to the head on a lonely country road - and then for an amnesty to be offered to any others. Message: come back to us, or you'll get the same treatment. Donaldson may have been one to take up the offer. If he was, that would explain the tenor of his Friday statement, when he spoke in the language of an avowed, ideological republican rather than someone who had crossed sides. No one, save a few key players, really knows what happened (and most I spoke to do not include Blair as one of those privy to the truth). But this episode does reveal three things quite clearly. First, that for some people the war in Northern Ireland has not ended. There are still more British troops there than in Iraq; and there are still "securocrats" consumed with fighting the IRA, even if that organisation has officially stood down. Second, that though peace has held, more or less, for seven years, self-government for the province has been thwarted time after time. And, lastly, that a strange kind of common interest, if not collusion, has evolved between Downing Street and Sinn Féin. For a long while Northern Ireland's other parties, unionist and nationalist, have resented the direct relationship between Blair and Adams - as if the real negotiation comes down to the two of them - and now, once again, they see the interests of those two men converge. Both seem reluctant for the truth to come out - but on this shared goal, if no other, they should fail. Northern Ireland has lived in the dark too long.<hr></blockquote> <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,3604,1671581,00.html">www.guardian.co.uk/commen...81,00.html</a>

Sinn Fein man admits he was agent (BBC)

Sinn Fein man admits he was agent (BBC)

Unionist fury at Stormont spy row

Re: Unionist fury at Stormont spy row

Re: Unionist fury at Stormont spy row

Re: Sinn Fein man admits he was agent (BBC)

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sorry you are a bigot scallon

Re: sorry you are a bigot scallon

Re: What an amusing thread.

Re: What an amusing thread.

so funny I forgot to laugh

Re: so funny I forgot to laugh

Re: Sinn Fein man admits he was agent (BBC)

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