Further Evidence of Collusion-Mackle

Sinn Féin Council Group leader Liam Mackle has said that a report by the Police Ombudsman into the killings of 19 people is further damning evidence of a policy of British state collusion with loyalist paramilitaries during the conflict.

Cllr Mackle was speaking after the Police Ombudsman Marie Anderson published the findings of her investigation ‘Operation Greenwich’ into 19 loyalist killings and two attempted murders carried out by the loyalist UDA. 

The ABC representative said: 

“I welcome the publication of this long-awaited report. My first thoughts are with the families and the loved ones of the victims of the killings investigated by the Police Ombudsman. 

“Many of them suspected that British state forces had been working with the loyalist gangs who killed their loved ones. However, the sheer scale of collusion between the British state and the loyalist paramilitaries has come as a shock.

“This report and further evidence of collusion between state forces and loyalist gangs will come as no surprise to the many victims of the same policy here in Upper Bann.

“The Ombudsman’s investigation shows that collusion between British state forces and the UDA’s north west Brigade was systemic. It claimed the lives of 19 people, including Sinn Féin elected representatives and election workers.

“The report shows that the British state assisted in importing South African weapons which were used in at least ten of the killings. Some of these weapons were given to the UDA by Ulster Resistance, a group established by senior members of the DUP leadership.

 “This report provides further evidence why the current British government is proposing an amnesty for its state forces, an end to investigations and preventing victims from accessing the courts and due process.

“The amnesty proposals have been rightly rejected by all the political parties, by the Irish government and by international human rights bodies.

“There is a pressing need to address the legacy of the past and that needs to be done by implementing the legacy mechanisms of the Stormont House Agreement in a human rights compliant manner. 

“The families of the victims of these killings investigated by the Ombudsman, like all bereaved in the conflict, are entitled to know the truth about the deaths of their loved ones and should not have to wait any longer for truth and justice.”

ENDS