CORRUPT CC Winton Keenen and HIS CORRUPT Heads of PSD (past and Present) continue to ignore evidence in Martin McGartland Smear case

Corrupt MI5, PSNI/RUC, Northumbria Police and Special Branch protecting and covering up for state agent/s / informer/s - suspect/s - in the Martin McGartland IRA attempted murder.

Rather than arresting them, the above, recruited them as agents / informers....

FULL TEXT: Sunday World story published 1st September 2019
EXCLUSIVE BY PATRICIA DEVLIN

THE attempted murder of a state agent has been linked to at least four shootings including a failed murder bid on terror boss Johnny Adair. Cops reviewing the original police investigation into the 1999 shooting of Martin McGartland, who infiltrated the IRA, made the surprising link in a set of bombshell claims today revealed by the Sunday World.

Those include how police have failed to arrest or question a suspect, believed to be living in the Republic, at least 10 years after he was first linked to the case. In a set of explosive claims straight from the mouths of officers tasked with reviewing the British agent’s shooting, it can also be revealed how:

- Bullets used in the IRA hit came from the same batch used to assassinate drugs kingpin ‘Speedy’ Fegan

- A van used by the suspected Provo gunman has been destroyed by police

- Three separate DNA samples belonging to the same individual was recovered from the shooting scene.

The revelations were made by officers tasked by Operation Kenova chief Jon Boutcher to review the original police probe into the attack. Today McGartland, who is still in hiding and living under death threat, says he now believes the security services are protecting at least one of the IRA men sent to execute him. “There is a suspect at the centre of this who, I have now been officially told by police, has not been arrested or questioned, ever,” he said

MYSTERY

“I believe that this person, this mystery man, who I believe is living in Dublin, is a top informer or an agent before my shooting, and is being protected.” He said it was possible this suspect could have been recruited as a result of the shooting. “They – the security services, Special Branch or the police – did a covert DNA test, matched it to him and threatened him with jail and gave him a way out. “And I believe Jon Boutcher has all the an- swers to this.” Mr Boutcher (below) agreed to take on the informer’s case on top of heading up specialist probe Operation Kenova into former IRA security chief Freddie Scappaticci. The Bedfordshire police chief’s team began its review into the British agent’s attempted murder two years ago. In 2018 a draft report outlining what his investigators uncovered was sent to Tyneside police chiefs.

That document also set out a series of recom- mendations, including how a suspect identified at least 10 years ago should be immediately DNA tested. But that has yet to happen and 10 months on the report has yet to be publicly released. McGartland said he is now being met with a wall of silence when he asks if it ever will. He has now decided to release recordings of his meetings with review cops who revealed to him shocking flaws and errors surrounding the original police probe. They also released previously unknown information that they claimed links the hit on McGartland to other IRA murders, attempted killings and punishment shootings. One of those is the May 1999 murder of Co. Down drugs kingpin Brendan ‘Speedy’ Fegan. The dealer (24) was blasted to death as he sat in a pub in Newry.

BLASTED

In strikingly similar circumstances, he was set upon by two gunmen in disguises before being blasted multiple times. The killing was blamed on the Provo-linked vigilante group Direct Action Against Drugs (DAAD). In a recording made in October last year, Mr Boutcher’s officers can be heard telling McGartland that a RUC ballistics report states bullets used in Fegan’s murder came from the “same batch” used on him. “The information is that the ammunition used is the same type used in the Speedy Fegan murder and that comes from the ballistics (report) in Ireland,” said the officer. The policeman goes on to name four other men – including UDA
terror boss Johnny Adair – whose shootings they said could be linked to McGartland’s case. Those named were Brendan ‘Bap’ Campbell (30), Paul ‘Bull’ Downey (37) and Patrick Farrell (49) – all drug dealers gunned down within two years of each other. A botched republican hit job on Adair, who was blasted in the back of the head at a UB4O concert in May 1999, was also linked. McGartland said he was “dubious” as some of the killings did not involve republicans, including that of Farrell, shot dead by his girlfriend in a murder-suicide in Louth.

In another recording taken on the same date, the officers inform McGartland that a van used by the IRA gunman has been destroyed. One officer tells him: “At the end of the day, I don’t agree with it, but they’ve (Northumbria Police) done it and they’ve made some rationale for why they’ve done it. “We are astounded ourselves.” The officers go on to speak about a key piece of DNA evidence secured from the scene. “There is a person who needs eliminating and they need to get that individual’s DNA. We can’t go into it any more because it’s quite sensitive and a little bit messy.” When asked, the officer refused to “confirm or deny” if the man was being protected.

However, he added that he did not accept Nothumbria Police’s reason for not securing the sample. “We aren’t hiding anything from you, but at the moment we can’t give you the full details. “We have lots of meat on the bone about what you’ve been talking about. “We’re digging to get a bit more meat on the bone and I know it will be a good read when you get our review document.” A year on McGartland is still waiting and repeated requests have been ignored. “As far as I am concerned everything smacks of complete collusion, a cover-up and a conspiracy. “Even though a report and recommendation was given to Northumbria Police 10 months ago, they still have not eliminated that person through DNA. “I believe this mystery person is a top, top informer who could still be active.

EVIDENCE

“I believe wholeheartedly that the reason why that van was destroyed was because it was an Aladdin’s cave of forensic evidence and the person who was sitting in it is an agent.” Last night a spokesperson for Northumbria police said: “A review into the case was carried out by an external force and was presented to Northumbria Police late in 2018. We have acknowledged the recommendations of that review. “We can

confirm this case has remained open since the shooting in 1999 and that we are investing a significant and dedicated resource into progressing the investigation.”

They added: “The report was not for public release as it contains sensitive information regarding the ongoing investigation, however, it has been released to interested parties and redacted where necessary.” McGartland was recruited as a Special Branch agent when he was 16. He worked for them for four years until his cover was blown in 1991. He jumped from the window of a flat in west Belfast where he was being held by the Provisionals’ internal security unit. In 1999, he was ambushed by IRA gunmen outside his Tyneside home. He was shot six times in the hand, chest and stomach. His life was saved by neighbours who used cling film to stop the blood flow from his wounds.

The attack left him with life-changing physical and psychological disabilities. His identity had been publicly revealed after he was caught speeding by Northumbria Police and prosecuted for holding driving licences in his two names. In 2017 he lodged a complaint with the Northern Ireland Police Ombudsman claiming that the RUC, PSNI and English police had failed to warn him of threats to his life, including one just before his 1999 shooting.

devlin@sundayworld.com