Sharon O'Neill, Brian McCaffrey and William Graham
17 December 2005
The Irish News
Sinn Fein yesterday sensationally expelled Denis Donaldson from the party for allegedly spying on republicans for the British government.
At a press conference in Dublin, Sinn Fein president Gerry Adams said Mr Donaldson had admitted to being a paid British agent for the past 20 years. Mr Donaldson had approached senior party official Declan Kearney after being warned by the PSNI that he was going to be outed as an informer and that his life was in danger. At a subsequent meeting with Mr Kearney and another Sinn Fein official, Leo Green, Mr Donaldson admitted to being a British agent and was expelled from the party.
Asked if he suspected there had been an informer, Mr Adams said at the press conference in the Gresham Hotel in Dublin yesterday afternoon: "I was very, very suspicious and some of us were very suspicious when the events of 2002 unfolded, when we saw this hugely orchestrated operation at Stormont because we knew there was no Sinn Fein spy ring at Stormont. "More recently, when this case collapsed, when the British did not prosecute, that suspicion was deepened," Mr Adams said. "I had suspicions that there was somebody wrong within this - I had no specific suspicions about Denis Donaldson," he added.
Mr Adams said he would be talking by telephone to both Prime Minister Tony Blair and Taoiseach Bertie Ahern to brief them on the situation. He added: "I would be shocked if for one moment I thought that the British prime minister was part of any plot to take down a power-sharing executive he had spent a considerable amount of time, along with the rest of us, putting in place." Instead, he said, he had an informed suspicion that the situation had been engineered by elements within British intelligence in Northern Ireland.
"My view is that elements who actually orchestrated the raid on Stormont and brought down the power-sharing executive were not satisfied with the fact this whole thing collapsed, and were about outing him (Mr Donaldson) and about creating another crisis in the peace process," he said.
Mr Adams said he believed those elements wanted to see Mr Donaldson run away or be taken into protective custody with the blame laid at the door of republicans. He said it was hard to know what the impact of these latest events would have on the peace process. The question could not be answered until it was known if the British had begun to tackle those within the system who were opposed to the Good Friday Agreement, he said. He said Mr Donaldson was last night with his solicitor.
Earlier Mr Adams had said in a press release: "The nature of British rule in Ireland is that for a very long time it has been driven by a security agenda, with policy dictated by British Intelligence, state police and military agencies. "The Good Friday Agreement is, as much as anything else, about ending that. "The collapse of the power-sharing government was blamed on allegations of a Sinn Fein spy ring at Stormont. "The fact is that there was no Sinn Fein spy ring at Stormont. "The fact is that this was a carefully constructed lie created by the Special Branch in order to cause maximum political impact. "The fact is that the collapse of the political institutions was a direct result of the actions of some of those who run the intelligence and policing system of the British. "The fact is that the key person at the centre of those events was a Sinn Fein member who was a British agent." He added: "If Britain's war is over then the British prime minister needs to come to terms with the fact that he has to end the activities of the securocrats. "This entire episode underlines the need for an end to political policing. That and defending the Good Friday Agreement remains the focus of Sinn Fein."
'NOTHING WOULD SURPRISE ME IN THIS COUNTRY'
Christmas lights bedecked most of the homes in Aitnamona Crescent - warm relief against the bitter chill that hugged the street last night. It was tea-time, kids were home from school, parents were arriving back from work and many livingrooms were full. But what they were saying indoors probably contrasted starkly to the tight-lipped outward appearance of many going about their business in the Andersonstown area of west Belfast. "I haven't a clue - don't know," one man said. Another said: "I don't want to say anything."
The Donaldson family home was easy to find - locked up and decoration-free. Venetian blinds were closed from prying eyes. A Volkswagen Golf estate and small trailer lay in the driveway but repeated presses on the outdoor buzzer failed to rouse anyone inside. If anyone was at home - which appeared unlikely - they were adamant that no-one would be seen.
It was the second time in recent years that a high-ranking republican informer had been 'outed' in the west of the city. In May 2003 it was claimed that Freddie Scappaticci was one of the British army's most valued agents, Stakeknife. Then, although Scappaticci was not at home when the media descended, family members were seen milling about and were quick to chase reporters.
Although the majority of residents in Aitnamona refused to openly talk about their neighbour, or what they thought about him being 'unmasked', some did. One woman was clearly shocked by the news. She said she had known Denis Donaldson for years. "Definitely not. I don't think so. He is a very quiet wee man," she said. Another man said: "I'm sure it will come out in the wash."
With conspiracy theories spreading, the echoes of Scappaticci affair were not lost on residents trying to make sense of unravelling events. "He's a nice guy, brilliant. I thought he was snookered (over Stormontgate charges)," one said. "Nothing would surprise me in this country. You don't know what's true and what's not true."
THE ROLE OF ESPIONAGE IN A VERY DIRTY WAR
While the conflict of the last 30 years has been known as the Troubles, the use of informers and counter espionage has become known as the 'Dirty War'. Loyalist and republican paramilitaries have been responsible for the brutal murder of dozens of people who they claimed have compromised their organisations. Much of the 'evidence' against those killed had been obtained through threats and torture. However, throughout the last 30 years the security forces have also been accused of operating agent provocateurs and coercing civilians into becoming reluctant informers.
In the early 1970s it emerged that the British army was operating double agents within the IRA known as Military Reconnaissance Force Unit (MRFUs). One of those alleged agents was west Belfast man Vincent Heatherington who was killed by the IRA in July 1976. The 21-year-old and another west Belfast man, Myles McGrogan, were alleged to have been part of an elaborate military intelligence operation to create confusion within the IRA.
The two men were placed in Crumlin Road jail in 1974 on murder charges in an alleged bid to poison the then IRA leader Brendan Hughes. When the plot failed they were released from prison and allegedly confessed their involvement which led to the deaths of a number of people the IRA claimed were British agents.
In 1974 two English brothers Kenneth and Keith Littlejohn were jailed in the Republic for armed robbery. During their trial they claimed they were military agents who had been sent to Northern Ireland to infiltrate the IRA.
However, the supergrass trials of the mid-1980s arguably did even more damage to republican and loyalist organisations with hundreds of men being jailed on the word of informers such as Chris Black (IRA), Harry Kirkpatrick (INLA), William 'Budgie' Allen (UVF) and Clifford McKeown (UVF). While the supergrass system eventually collapsed and many suspects were freed on appeal, the damage to the paramilitary organisations was enormous.
In the late 1980s the confession of Newry republican Eamon Collins created more mistrust and confusion within the IRA. Although Collins's initial confession led to dozens of republicans being jailed, the IRA managed to convince him to withdraw his testimony. His murder in 1999 was later blamed on republicans.
In 2003 west Belfast man Freddie Scappaticci was named as the British agent Stakeknife. As a former senior member of the IRA's internal security unit, he was alleged to be the highest ranking British agent working inside the IRA and also alleged to have spent decades at the heart of the IRA.
One of the biggest embarrassments to the IRA came in 1992 with the revelation that three of its members had murdered Co Armagh office worker Margaret Perry after she had discovered they were British agents. The bodies of Gregory Burns, John Dignam and Aidan Starrs were found dumped by roadsides in south Armagh in July 1992. It was claimed the men were police and MI5 informers.
THE ONE THEY DIDN'T SEE COMING
Denis Donaldson once occupied a place at the very heart of Sinn Fein's political operation in Stormont. His desk and computer was in an office on the second floor of Parliament Buildings during 2002, where he worked as the party's head of administration. His job was a senior post and he would have had access to all kinds of documents, letters, and the inner-most secrets of Sinn Fein as a political party. It was Mr Donaldson's office at Stormont that police raided in the so-called Stormontgate affair in October 2002. The typical reaction from political office workers at Stormont to yesterday's revelations was one of almost stunned disbelief. "We didn't see this one coming," one said.
As head of administration for Sinn Fein at Stormont during the shortlived assembly and executive, Mr Donaldson's daily duties in 2002 would probably have included dealing with all the correspondence for assembly members, setting up visits to Parliament Buildings, taking requests for meetings and dealing with diary business. It is also likely that Mr Donaldson would have been closely involved with others in Sinn Fein organising launches of various policies. The head of administration in some political parties would be involved with other office workers in opening mail. It is also assumed that the press operation and administration in an organisation such as Sinn Fein would work closely together and, therefore, Mr Donaldson was not just a key figure but almost a chief of staff.
In the canteen down in the basement of Stormont, Mr Donaldson often lunched with Sinn Fein leaders and assembly members when the assembly was sitting. He occasionally chatted with passing journalists but was always 'on message' in terms of Sinn Fein positions. Some political officials from other parties who encountered Mr Donaldson in the corridors of Stormont described him as "polite" but said "he never gave anything away" and was seen very much as "a dyed-in-the-wool Sinn Fein man". During the past year, with the assembly suspended, Mr Donaldson worked at an office at Sinn Fein's Falls Road headquarters.
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