A Very British Jihad
Collusion, Conspiracy and Cover-Up in Northern Ireland
Paul Larkin
In April 2003, the Stevens Report provided the first official acknowledgement
of collusion between loyalist armed groups and British security forces in the murders
of nationalists in Northern Ireland. Yet, as this book demonstrates, such collusion and
associated conspiracies have been a central feature of the British response to the
conflict in Ireland for more than thirty years. That response, argues Paul Larkin,
amounts to a Holy War, or Jihad, in the name of Protestantism and the British monarchy.
That war has been swathed in secrecy and denial, protected by notions of 'national security'
that pervade every corner of the legal system and the political establishment a very British Jihad.
Investigative journalist Paul Larkin made his first film for Spotlight BBC Northern Ireland's
current affairs programme in February 1989. It was about the solicitor Pat Finucane, murdered
by loyalists operating with the assistance of British military intelligence. There began a trail that first
led Larkin to the diary of British agent and UDA intelligence officer Brian Nelson. What Nelson's
diary revealed was that British military intelligence and covert units, including the Force Research Unit
and 14th Intelligence, were intimately involved with loyalist armed groups. These groups had been
equipped with armaments sourced in South Africa and smuggled into Northern Ireland with the full
knowledge of MI5.
Paul Larkin made many films for Spotlight over the next seven years, examining among other things
controversial killings, the burgeoning illicit drugs trade, the role of informers and agents, the
links between soldiers, police officers and loyalist gunmen, RUC cover-ups and the notorious
Portadown based 'ratpack' led by 'king rat' Billy Wright. He went on to produce a special investigation
into the Dublin/Monaghan bombings for RTÉ.
The research for these films was the raw material for this book. Building on his earlier investigations,
Larkin presents a detailed and revealing account of many aspects of Britain's 'dirty war'. He provides a
unique insight into the political pressures exerted on journalists who dare to investigate the unsavoury
relationships between the intelligence agencies, politicians, the police, the British Army and loyalism.
234 x 156mm
320pp.
Paperback
ISBN 1-900960-25-7 Price £10.99 March 2004
