The Britain and Ireland Human Rights Centre has described as "a very unusual admission" comments made by the head of the Anti-Terrorist Branch, Cdr John Grieve, that informants have played a key role in counter-terrorism in Britain. Mr Paul May, a member of the group and a long-time supporter of the victims of miscarriages of justice, including the Birmingham Six and the Guildford Four, said yesterday that Cdr Grieve's comments had come at a time when the role of the Anti-Terrorist Branch was under question.
"It is a very unusual admission. The use of informants is a grey area. People could get shot. Informants are only good if they are coming up with the goods and these comments may have come about as an attempt to further upend the IRA when there seems to be the usual annoyance, in some areas in Northern Ireland, about the IRA ceasefire," Mr May said.
Cdr Grieve's comments in the London Independent yesterday revealed that the use of informants had been of "enormous benefit" to the Anti-Terrorist Branch in its fight against terrorism.
Cdr Grieve said he thought informants were more likely to talk to members of the Anti-Terrorist Branch than ordinary police officers "because they see us in a different light. Perhaps this could be another example of communities defeating terrorism."
In the past year, British police have foiled what they believed to be a number of planned IRA "spectaculars" in Britain. In July six men were sentenced to 35 years each for planning to bomb electricity stations in England.
Dr Clive Norris, a lecturer from Hull University who has completed a study into the use of police informants, told The Irish Times yesterday his investigation had avoided making a formal approach to members of the AntiTerrorist Branch. "It would have raised difficulties," he said.
However, the possible use of informants in prisons and their "suspected" role in the case of Danny McNamee, who was sentenced to 25 years in 1987 for the Hyde Park bombing, was also raised by Mr May. "The police have always refused to confirm the existence of informants. But what is there for them (the AntiTerrorist Branch) to do if, as expected, this ceasefire sticks? People will be thinking they are pretty damn useless."