Did Britain Use Armed Forces Disguised As Police Against Its Citizens?

The article below was first published by Swawwkbox around Nov 21st. TruePublica has not edited the story in any way. We then provide some further information thereafter for you to make up your mind as to the far reaching implications this could have on our understanding of British politics, civil liberties and rights.

Article Start: The information – from a source whose bona fides are beyond question – was immediately attacked by an employee of Blairite PR firm Portland Communications, which if anything enhances its credibility:

Over recent weeks, the SKWAWKBOX has been privileged to provide explosive eyewitness testimony showing the involvement of military personnel impersonating police officers against striking miners at The Battle of Orgreave in 1984.

As a result of that series of articles, this writer was contacted by a former army officer (bona fides established) – whom we’ll call “Major X” – who confirmed that soldiers ‘routinely’ masqueraded as police officers in operations against what both the Blair and Major governments considered ‘extremist groups’ – but with a mind-blowing stretching of any definition of ‘extremist’. A ‘trailer’ of this testimony was published last weekend, pending a full account from the ex-military whistleblower.

I had no inkling just how explosive that full account would – if true – prove to be.

If proven, this testimony shows army personnel dressing in police uniform to act not only against groups that are anything but extreme – but against the most surprising and controversial ‘extremists’ imaginable – with the full knowledge of at least two serving Prime Ministers, one of whom is said to be planning a UK political comeback.

The former officer freely admits that he has no direct personal knowledge of Orgreave, although his testimony is unquestionably relevant to events there

However, his claims go far beyond even that enormously important matter. Here are his words:

In the early 1990s I was an Army [redacted] and it was my job to assign military personnel in support of the police in operations against any group considered ‘extremist’ under both Major and Blair governments.

I worked initially from the Ministry of Defence in Whitehall, for a unit known as “[redacted]” normally referred to simply as [redacted], assigning troops to requests from the police and security services. During significant operations we based out of the Cabinet Office Briefing Room A, or COBRA, where I was responsible for preparing and occasionally delivering the military brief to the Prime Minister or his nominated deputy.

In the mid-90s, after the necessary training and promotion to [redacted], I worked first as a Army [redacted] officer dealing with [redacted] and then by the late 90s as a staff officer in the permanent military headquarters, usually referred to simply as “Senior Military Commander” or SMC, set up to coordinate and deliver military support to the police alongside their “Gold” headquarters wherever that was set up to manage an operation.

Regarding the use of the military to support police operations, I personally helped organise military support to primarily for surveillance, but occasionally for infiltration and arrest operations, against the Provisional IRA, Animal Liberation Front, striking firemen, striking prison officers, the “hippy convoy” to Stonehenge, members of the Royal Family, and on one occasion, the German and French delegations to the European Council of Ministers meeting in Edinburgh (1992).

Throughout that time it was common practice for members of the SAS, bomb disposal units, intelligence corps personnel, and signals (eavesdropping) specialists to be issued with fake ID and dress as policemen, and to travel in police or unmarked vehicles.

If correct, this testimony shows that using soldiers in police uniform against striking miners would be at the less dramatic end of the spectrum of the misuse of military personnel and resources masquerading as police officers.

If correct, this account shows: that successive governments abused their powers by stretching the definition of ‘extremist group’ beyond any reasonable sense, to include groups such as firemen, prison officers and hippies on their way to an ancient monument: that armed forces personnel were presented as police to spy on and infiltrate not only ‘extremists’ such as firemen and prison officers, but also on diplomats of friendly countries – and members of our own Royal Family: that at least two successive Prime Ministers were personally briefed on these activities – including one who is currently ‘trailing’ his potential return to UK politics

If correct, this whistleblower’s testimony strikes not only at the credibility of this government’s rationale for denying a full public inquiry into events at Orgreave – but at the very heart of this country’s Establishment and institutions.

If correct, this testimony demands a full, public and independent inquiry – not only into Orgreave but into the wider abuse of power and privilege that it reveals. Article Ends.

TruePublica: In October 2012 The Guardian ran an article from an eye-witness who was present at the battle of Orgreave. This testimony included accusations that a “highly trained and disciplined police force were out of control,’ who ferociously attacked striking miners. There was widespread telephone tapping, malicious arrests (found to be untrue even though sentences would have been lengthy) and police officers were instructed to fabricate statements in connection with Orgreave and the policing of the miners’ strike, therefore perverting the course of justice.

This article also questions to “what extent agent provocateurs were used by the authorities at Orgreave and who authorised it” – suggesting that there was potentially another ‘force’ in the field. It also asks the question whether the two suspicious deaths of the day were in fact investigated properly.

One should take note that five years later the police would be involved in the Hillsborough disaster where police actively shifted the blame of 96 deaths, who were years later found to be unlawfully killed – by the police.

The BBC were accused of involvement as they had reversed the footage (in this 2007 article) of scenes at Orgreave to give the impression that miners were responsible for starting violent scenes, when in fact it was the police that had instigated the violence. “The case in point being the seminal Battle of Orgreave, when mounted police charged miner’s pickets at the Orgreave coking plant 20 odd years ago. In response to the police charge that resulted in a number of injuries, the miners retaliated by pelting the police with anything they could lay their hands on. The BBC neatly reversed the footage to show the miners attacking the police and the police then charging.”

This article taken from a local paper The Nottingham Post “cites the appearance of police in un-numbered tunics as evidence that unidentified elements may have unofficially been involved in the dispute.”

Another eye-witness from a different source states “We have all heard about allegations of serving soldiers disguised as police on the day at Orgreave. I personally know of three cases of this.”

Whether this story is indeed true or not is yet to be confirmed. But assuming that like Hillsborough, it is, it fully demonstrates how the British government irrespective of party have used members of the armed forces against its own people.

The integrity of Britain’s institutions are already under fire and this accusation, if proven to be true, would fully challenge the basic belief that citizens still have something left of hard fought for civil rights and liberties, already under question as a result of massive state surveillance programmes. If not, British values will emerge as nothing more than the veneer of establishment rhetoric which further undermines a democracy already being challenged by its people.

 

 

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