Politics

UK official raised concerns over ‘uneven quality of the Garda’

Files from 1985 include report on security co-operation between UK and Ireland

Margaret Thatcher was told co-operation between the Garda and the RUC was “inhibited by political considerations on the Irish side”. Photograph: Pat Langan
Margaret Thatcher was told co-operation between the Garda and the RUC was “inhibited by political considerations on the Irish side”. Photograph: Pat Langan
John Bew
Tue Dec 30 2014 - 01:00

A detailed report on security co-operation between Britain and Ireland is included in the newly released London files.

In a memorandum dated May 4th, 1985, the British cabinet secretary Sir Robert Armstrong reported back to prime minister Margaret Thatcher about the issue, which had been raised at recent ministerial meetings in the context of negotiations that were to lead to the Anglo-Irish Agreement.

Armstrong, who was a strong supporter of the agreement, had asked the intelligence co-ordinator for Northern Ireland – a senior agent in the British secret service – “to prepare an interdepartmental assessment of the present state of co-operation between the Irish and British authorities against terrorism”.

Political considerations

Armstrong stated “the picture which emerges is less than clear-cut”. The Irish government devoted significant resources to security, more than the UK on a per capita basis. However, co-operation between the Garda and the RUC was “inhibited by political considerations on the Irish side, personal mistrust between senior police officers in Belfast and Dublin, the uneven quality of the Garda and the other demands on the Garda’s limited capability”.

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Between Dublin and London, co-operation was “close and effective”. The flow of information “between the Intelligence and Security Branch of the Garda on the one hand and the Security Service and the MPSB [Metropolitan Police Special Branch] on the other” was of “crucial importance in the fight against terrorism in mainland Britain”.

Potential hostility

This was achieved by working “with a small number of Garda officers who, although sensitive to the political constraints, and to the potential hostility of some of their colleagues, are nevertheless prepared to be extremely helpful and whose attitude gives no indication that they are anything other than whole-heartedly dedicated to the defeat of terrorism from whatever source”.

Meanwhile, the UK security services provided “appreciable assistance to the Garda in areas where Garda coverage is minimal, such as subversion, Arab terrorism and counter-espionage”.