That particular documentary raised issues in relation to the British intelligence community, especially MI5 and MI6, as well as the American Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and even the Israeli intelligence agency, Mossad, and their relationships with the Provos.
Once again, it lit the flames under allegations that former Derry IRA commander Martin McGuinness, later Sinn Fein’s Stormont deputy First Minister, was himself a British agent.
During my time as Northern Political Correspondent for the Dublin-based Irish Daily Star, sources within the dissident republican movement would constantly make such unsubstantiated allegations about McGuinness being a British asset. These were always formally and informally denied by Sinn Fein.
I always found McGuinness a polite conversationalist. I worked as a part-time press officer and research assistant at Stormont between 1998 and 2023. From time to time when McGuinness was education minister in the power-sharing Executive, he would sit with me in a packed basement restaurant at lunchtime in Parliament Buildings.
We shared a common interest in fishing - he in fly fishing, me in sea fishing. The conversation was never about the future of the 11 Plus, or even his time as Derry Provo commander.
Watching The Secret Army documentary, it was hard to fathom the McGuinness showing bullets to children and overseeing the priming of a bomb was the same McGuinness I had chatted amicably with in Stormont.
Could this man who went on to become one half of the successful devolution act known as the Chuckle Brothers really be an asset or agent for one of the intelligence organisations?
Then again, I recall another prominent Sinn Fein activist I had a very cordial relationship with at Stormont - Denis Donaldson (no relation of the former DUP leader!)
Denis Donaldson became a head of administration for Sinn Fein at Stormont and was investigated as part of the alleged republican spy ring in Parliament Buildings in 2002. In December 2005, he admitted his role in being a British spook and was murdered the following year whilst living at an isolated cottage in County Donegal.
Whilst we never had an in-depth conversation, Denis Donaldson would always have a polite greeting for me when we passed each other in Stormont corridors.
But allegations of intelligence assets and agents were not limited to republicanism. It can be safe to assume the intelligence community had also heavily infiltrated loyalist organisations as well, the late Brian Nelson being a prime example of an intelligence agent working within the UDA.
However, the question must always be posed - did the reach of the intelligence community extend beyond the various republican and loyalist paramilitaries into the political parties?
If the intelligence community can have a spook operating within Sinn Fein, could it also have assets placed within political Unionism and loyalism?
In terms of Unionism, I recall the unsubstantiated whispering campaign naming certain individuals that I was told to be careful what I talked to them about. No evidence was ever produced to me to in any way substantiate those allegations. It was entirely word of mouth.
During my time at Stormont, six names were given to me from Unionism in general alleging these people were passing information to the intelligence community about developments within specific political parties or the political process as a whole.
Two were identified as being MI5; two were identified as MI6; one was CIA, and one Mossad.
With no legally concrete evidence to support these allegations, I regarded them as merely defamatory comments and ill-judged gossiping; the sort of stuff more akin to the judgemental church pews than Parliament Buildings.
It was always along the lines of: “Watch what you say to “X”, they’re MI6!”
At one time, there was even a rumour that one person within the broad Unionist designation who worked at Stormont was also linked to the Russian intelligence community, the Federal Security Service or FSB, and would brief Moscow on developments in Parliament Buildings! In this rumour, no names were ever mentioned.
I tended to dismiss such unsubstantiated allegations as James Bond movie fantasy. But after watching The Secret Army documentary, could my dismissive cynicism of such rumours have been a wee bit too hasty?
This year, I clock up 46 years in journalism. When I look back on my career to date and some of the paramilitary and political interviews I’ve done both on and off the record, it makes me wonder if any of the folk I chatted with were part of the intelligence community and the information they provided me with had first been approved by their handlers within that intelligence community? Or maybe as I close in on state pension age, have I fallen into the pitfall of conspiracy theory?
Then again, when reading of the activities of the British agent Stakeknife, the actions of Brian Nelson, allegations of collusion, perhaps those who maintain that the intelligence community has agents inside paramilitaries, political parties and political groups should not be dismissed as delusional Walter Mitty characters.
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| Follow Dr John Coulter on Twitter @JohnAHCoulter Listen to commentator Dr John Coulter’s programme, Call In Coulter, every Saturday morning around 10.15 am on Belfast’s Christian radio station, Sunshine 1049 FM. Listen online. |
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