Sean McPhilemy
 Sean McPhilemy    (author, journalist, filmmaker) | |
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Journalist and documentary film maker who revealed a secret Northern Irish death squad led by prominent Loyalist leaders of society |
Sean McPhilemy is a journalist, documentary film maker and author of the 1999 book The Committee which caused considerable controversy and a barrage of libel suits.
McPhilemy won a near-maximum £145,000 in libel damages from the Sunday Times in 2000 when a jury decided that his Channel 4 programme describing a murder committee at the heart of the loyalist movement in Northern Ireland was no "hoax".[1]
The Committee
The book was an exposé of the workings of a committee of protestant businessmen, policemen, clergy and various hitmen who assembled every four to six weeks in the late 1980s to organize murder of Republicans. This grouping was said to have emerged from protestant disillusionment with the Anglo-Irish agreement of 1985. The Committee provided paramilitaries with money, arms and political direction. The body’s access to detailed official files and information, and the ability to provide the ‘hands on’ involvement of RUC units, made certain that the sectarian murder forces were virtually untouchable According to McPhilemy, the conspiracy goes to the very heart of the Unionist establishment and involves a core leadership within the RUC know as the ‘inner circle’, with the ex-head of the RUC Special Branch as overall commander. 2[2][3] David Trimble, Northern Ireland's first minister and leader of the Ulster Unionists, was one of 19 members of the committee.[4]
The book made a brief reference to a kind of triangle of gun- and drug-running that financed the death squads in Northern Ireland, involving South Africa and certain Israeli networks.
See Also
- Review of McPhilemy's book 'The Committee' by Tim Logan
- Sean McPhilemy awarded £145,000 in damages against Sunday Times - March 2000
- Businessmen get libel damages
References
- ↑ https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2000/mar/31/northernireland.sarahhall
- ↑ https://www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/magazine/ulstersghosts
- ↑ https://larouchepub.com/eiw/public/1998/eirv25n31-19980807/eirv25n31-19980807_038-sean_mcphilemy.pdf
- ↑ https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2000/mar/31/northernireland.sarahhall
