Force Research Unit
 Force Research Unit     | |
|---|---|
 Members of the Force Research Unit in the 1980s. Ian Hurst is pictured second from left. Philip Campbell Smith is second from the right. Smith was convicted of blagging information as a private detective in 2012, and accused by the BBC's Panorama of bugging Hurst's computer. | |
| Parent organization | UK/Army |
| Type |  intelligence agency |
| Membership | • Ronnie Anderson • Ian Hurst • Peter Jones •  Gordon Kerr• David Moyles • Philip Campbell Smith • Margaret Walshaw |
The Force Research Unit was a top secret unit of the British Army which was engaged in running informers and has been alleged to be involved in a number of assassinations in Ireland. It has reportedly now been renamed the Joint Support Group and seems to be associated with the Special Reconnaissance Regiment created in 2005. Both are reportedly headed by ex FRU head Gordon Kerr.[1]
History
According to journalist Peter Taylor, the FRU was established in 1979.[2] ANother source says it was set up in 1982.
People
Agents
'Martin Ingram' reports that FRU agents were each given a number of which the first two digits signified their location, with the second two providing a unique identifier. The prefix '30' signified the FRU's western detachment (West Det.), while Brian Nelson's prefix '61' signified East Det.[6]
See Also
Further reading
- Pat Finucane Centre
- Activities in Northern Ireland
- Relatives For Justice
- Brian Nelson
- Sunday Herald FRU investigation
- Kerr, Moyles and Walshaw portrait
- Transcript of BBC Panorama programme titled 'Collusion', 23 June 2002
- Series of articles appearing in the Sunday Herald about the activities of the FRU.
- |Lengthy Interview given by Martin Ingram on Radio Free Eireann describing his FRU activities NOTE: Interview with Ingram starts around 25 minutes into the mp3.
- |Transcript of Insight TV documentary : Licensed to Kill - Inside the Force Research Unit
Known members
3 of the 7 of the members already have pages here:
| Member | Description |
|---|---|
| Gordon Kerr | |
| Philip Campbell Smith | |
| Margaret Walshaw | sergeant |
References
- ↑ Simon Basketter Features Exposing Gordon Kerr and Tony Blair’s secret army Socialist Worker online, archive > dated 7 April 2007 | issue 2045
- ↑ Peter Taylor, Brits: The War Against the IRA, Bloomsbury, 2002, p.287.
- ↑ David Lister and Ian Cobain, Stakeknife is 'under guard at old Home Counties airbase', The Times, 13 May 2003.
- ↑ Greg Harkin, EX-ARMY AGENT ON WITNESS 'NOBBLE' CHARGE; FINUCANE MURDER SQUAD COPS RAID AUTHOR'S HOME IN ENGLAND, 19 November 2000.
- ↑ Liam Clarke, Soldier 'gagged' over RUC tribunal testimony, Sunday Times, 7 October 2007.
- ↑ Martin Ingram, Greg Harkin, Stakeknife: Britain's Secret Agents in Ireland, O'Brien Press, 2004, p.55.
- ↑ Rosie Cowan, He did the IRA's dirty work for 25 years - and was paid £80,000 a year by the government, The Guardian, 12 May 2003.
- ↑ Martin Ingram, Greg Harkin, Stakeknife: Britain's Secret Agents in Ireland, O'Brien Press, 2004, p.55.
- ↑ David Sharrock, Army concealing information, says former agent, telegraph.co.uk, 20 June 2001.
- ↑ Henry McDonald, Revealed: five British spies inside IRA, The Observer, 18 May 2003.
- ↑ Martin Ingram, Greg Harkin, Stakeknife: Britain's Secret Agents in Ireland, O'Brien Press, 2004, p.55.
- ↑ Nelson's shadowy past, BBC, 13 April 2003.
- ↑ Henry McDonald, The double agent who helped run terror cell, 20 April 2003.
