Details that could cost lives in wrong hands

6 March 2010
Belfast Telegraph

THE letters sent to this newspaper take you inside the hidden world of intelligence.
It is a leak of the most sensitive information -- details that in the wrong hands could cost lives. The police and MI5 do not comment on intelligence of this type. They do not confirm or deny. But the PSNI will now advise those named in the letters of the information sent to this newspaper. "There would be repercussions for individuals whether what's in that (the letter) is correct or not," one source said.

The letter names a high-profile loyalist, a man republicans have raised questions about in their contacts with the Irish government, the police and the Police Ombudsman. He is someone who Sinn Fein believes has been a so-called "protected species". The letter claims he is a CHIS (Covert Human Intelligence Source) who has been "given thousands of pounds".

The author of the letter writes: "Colleagues of mine are being harassed and arrested under the new politically correct dispensation...

"We fought a tough war against the terrorists who would stop at nothing to undermine democracy. What was it all for?

"Our senior officers, who instructed us at every step, have been well rewarded and honoured, whereas we face a future of uncertainty and fear."


The letter then identifies three prominent dissident republicans, claiming they "are ours", meaning agents. In one case an actual name is given along with the codename and registration number -- "a leading dissident began to target police officers in 2006 to build his dissident credibility". A second republican is identified by his actual name and by codename, and a third north Belfast republican is identified by name only.

This newspaper does not know the identity of the author of the letter, but a number of well-placed sources believe it has come from someone with knowledge of the intelligence world and its systems.

The letter is not being dismissed as a hoax.

An investigation is under way and the focus will be to identify the author before other sentitive information is leaked.