Big Boys' Rules

by Mark Urban

  Security Liaison Offices (MI5), 1, 2

  Security Policy Committee, 1

  Security Services see MI5

  Security Service Act (1989), 1, 2

  Shamrock club, Ardoyne, west Belfast, 1

  Shankhill, 1

  Shankhill Company (Official IRA), 1

  Shoot to Kill (Asher), 1, 2

  ‘shoot to kill’, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9

  Simmons, Eugene, 1, 2

  Sinn Fein, 1; casts doubt on legality of SAS operations, 1;

  and prisoners issue, 1;

  propaganda, 1, 2, 3;

  ‘Roll of Honour’ of fallen volunteers, 1;

  Irish flag incident, 1;

  political work boosted, 1, 2, 3;

  and informers, 1, 2;

  and attacks on British targets overseas, 1;

  wins Fermanagh and south Tyrone seat, 1;

  and supergrasses, 1;

  and Adams assassination attempt, 1;

  in Tyrone, 1;

  Lynagh elected to Monaghan Council, 1

  SIS (Secret Intelligence Service; MI6), 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14

  Sittingbourne, Kent, 1

  16/5th The Queen’s Royal Lancers, 1

  Slater, Lance-Corporal Alistair, 1, 2

  Slevin, Mick, 1, 2, 3

  Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP), 1, 2, 3

  soft targets, 1

  south Armagh, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20

  ‘South Armagh Republican Action Force’, 1

  South Fermanagh, 1, 2, 3, 4

  Southern Command (IRA), 1

  Soviet Army, 1

  Special Air Service Regiment see SAS

  Special Boat Service, 1

  Special Branch (SB) (E Department): and the Army, 1, 2, 3, 4; role of, 1, 2;

  and CID, 1, 2, 3;

  and SMIU NI, 1;

  Lord Carver on, 1, 2;

  on Adams, 1;

  and E4A, 1, 2;

  initiates most surveillance operations, 1;

  RUC applicants vetted by, 1;

  and informers, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6;

  split into five divisions, 1;

  and TCGs, 1, 2, 3;

  and MI5, 1;

  and jarking, 1;

  and Metropolitan Police SB, 1;

  and HMSUs, 1;

  officers pushed out of force, 1;

  Whiteside in charge of, 1;

  Forbes becomes Head of, 1;

  attitude to ambushing, 1;

  and death of McElwaine, 1

  Special Category status, 1, 2, 3

  Special Investigation Branch, Royal Military Police, 1

  Special Military Intelligence Unit (Northern Ireland) (SMIU NI), 1, 2, 3

  Special Patrol Group (SPG), 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

  Special Support Unit (SSU), 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

  Spycatcher (Wright), 1

  Stalker, John, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8

  Stalker: The Search for the Truth (Taylor), 1

  Stormont, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14

  Stormont House, 1, 2

  Stormont Parliament, 1

  Strabane, 1

  Strabane shootings (1985), 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

  Strand Road police station, Londonderry, 1

  Stronge, James, 1

  Stronge, Sir Norman, 1

  Sunday Times, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

  Sunday Tribune, 1

  supergrasses, 1, 2, 3, 4

  Swift, Lance-Corporal Alan, 1

  Tactical Areas of Responsibility (TAORs), 1

  Tamnamore, near Dungannon, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7

  Tasking and Co-ordination Groups (TCGs), 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16

  Taylor, James, 1

  Taylor, Kevin, 1, 2

  Taylor, Peter, 1, 2, 3

  TCG Liaison Officer (TCGLO), 1

  Temperley, Trooper Ron, 1, 2, 3

  Territorial Army SAS regiments, 1, 2

  Thatcher, Margaret, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7

  The Birches RUC station, 1, 2, 3, 4

  Thiepval barracks, 1

  39 Brigade (Belfast), 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

  36th Ulster Division, 1

  3 Brigade, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8

  Tighe, Michael, 1, 2, 3

  Times, The, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

  Toman, Eugene, 1, 2

  Tone, Wolfe, 1

  Toomebridge, County Londonderry, 1

  Trainor, Paddy, 1

  Trant, Major General Dick, 1, 2, 3

  Turf Lodge estate, west Belfast, 1, 2, 3

  12 Intelligence and Security Company, 1, 2

  28 Intelligence Section, 1

  22nd Special Air Service Regiment see SAS

  22 SAS, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9; B Squadron, 1, 2

  Twinbrooks estate, Belfast, 1, 2, 3

  Twomey, Seamus, 1

  Tynan Abbey, 1

  UDA (Ulster Defence Association), 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7

  UDR (Ulster Defence Regiment): and B Specials, 1; unpopular among Catholics, 1;

  distrusted by British Army, 1, 2;

  and RUC, 1, 2;

  members attacked, 1, 2;

  loyalties, 1, 2;

  and UDA, 1;

  payment of members, 1;

  recruitment, 1;

  and Miami Showband incident, 1;

  and INLA killings, 1;

  and Adams assassination attempt, 1;

  and IRA target, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8;

  deters IRA attacks in Tyrone, 1;

  and Loughgall, 1, 2

  UFF (Ulster Freedom Fighters), 1, 2, 3, 4

  Ulster Defence Association see UDA

  Ulster Defence Regiment see UDR

  Ulster Freedom Fighters see UFF

  Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF), 1, 2; and Carson, 1;

  as a sectarian terrorist group, 1;

  and supergrasses, 1, 2;

  death of Brian Robinson, 1

  United States, IRA obtains weapons from, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

  Valente, Peter, 1, 2

  Valhalla (freighter), 1

  VCP (vehicle checkpoint), 1

  Walker, Patrick, 1

  Wallace, Colin, 1, 2

  Walls, Colm, 1, 2

  War Without Honour (Holroyd), 1

  Warrenpoint, 1, 2, 3, 4

  Warsaw Pact, 1, 2

  Washing Bay, 1, 2

  ‘Way Ahead, The’, 1

  Weapons Intelligence Unit (WIU), 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

  Welsh, Gerald, 1

  west Belfast, 1, 2, 3, 4

  West Germany, 1, 2

  west Tyrone, 1

  Westmacott, Captain Richard, 1, 2

  white band, 1

  Whiterock Road, Belfast, 1

  Whiteside, John, 1, 2

  Williams, Sergeant Clive, 1

  Wilson, Harold, 1, 2, 3, 4

  Wilson, Sammy, 1

  Woodbourne police station, 1

  Woolwich, 1

  Wright, Peter, 1

  Wyman, John, 1

  Yellow Card guidelines, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8

  Young, Gerry, 1

  Young, James, 1, 2

  1 Derry Brigade members appear on a Catholic housing estate. By the mid-1980s the Provisionals could obtain the best firearms on the market; the central figure carries the highly effective Belgian FNC assault rifle and those on either side German-made G-3s.

  2 Royal Marine Close Observation Platoon members in south Armagh displaying a variety of non-standard weapons. Such units carried out surveillance missions and prepared soldiers for more elite duties. One of those here went on to 14 Intelligence Company, another to the SAS.

  3 A member of D Squadron 22 SAS in an observation post in south Armagh shortly after the unit arrived there in 1976.

  4 Members of Parachute Regiment units played an important role in early undercover operations. This member of a Parachute Regiment Close Observation Platoon carries the Armalite rifle, favoured by the SAS and soldiers in these units during the lat
e 1970s and early 1980s.

  5 Army Lynx helicopters provide a vital service for Army patrols in the border area. The IRA became preoccupied with the idea of shooting one down, finally succeeding in 1988.

  6 Members of one of the RUC’s special firearms units providing protection for a visiting member of the Royal family. During the early 1980s, more dangerous duties were assigned to such units.

  7 The RUC was transformed in the years following its assumption of control of security operations in 1976. But even during the late 1980s, two officers patrolling west Belfast required the protection of 16 soldiers.

  8 These republican suspects were searched after troops in a covert observation post called for a patrol to stop their car. This photo, taken by soldiers hidden in the observation post, shows the quality of photography possible.

  9 Another surprise vehicle checkpoint (VCP), this one set up at night in Fermanagh, and captured on infra-red film. Republican leaflets were found on the driver.

  10 Overt observation posts are equipped with computers linked to vehicle registration and suspect intelligence collation centres, as well as with high quality surveillance cameras.

  11 Specially designed vehicles were deployed to protect patrols from radio command bombs. The trailer contains powerful transmitters, designed to jam any detonation signal.

  12 The aftermath of the SAS ambush of two IRA gunmen at the Gransha hospital in December 1984. Their covered bodies lie beside the motorbike. The operation was based on informer intelligence that the IRA intended to kill a part-time UDR member who worked at the hospital.

  13 An aerial view of Loughgall police station after the gun battle which left eight IRA men and one bystander dead. The effects of the bomb can clearly, be seen.

  14 Loughgall: the aftermath of the ambush before the press were allowed to see it. Patrick Kelly lies dead, a G-3 rifle across his chest. Just visible behind the wheel, the slumped figure of Seamus Donnelly. The IRA men who fell between the van and fence can be seen, covered on the far right.

  About the Author

  Mark Urban is Diplomatic and Defence Editor for Newsnight. He is the author of, among others, Big Boys’ Rules: The SAS and the Secret Struggle Against the IRA, Rifles and Fusiliers.

  Copyright

  First published in 1992

  by Faber and Faber Ltd

  Bloomsbury House

  74–77 Great Russell Street

  London WC1B 3DA

  This ebook edition first published in 2012

  All rights reserved

  © Mark Urban, 1992

  The right of Mark Urban to be identified as author of this work has been asserted in accordance with Section 77 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988

  This ebook is copyright material and must not be copied, reproduced, transferred, distributed, leased, licensed or publicly performed or used in any way except as specifically permitted in writing by the publishers, as allowed under the terms and conditions under which it was purchased or as strictly permitted by applicable copyright law. Any unauthorised distribution or use of this text may be a direct infringement of the author’s and publisher’s rights, and those responsible may be liable in law accordingly

  ISBN 978–0–571–26668–5