British
security forces colluded with loyalist paramilitary groups who committed
international acts of terrorism in the 1970s, a committee of the Irish
parliament claimed last night.
Bertie
Ahern, the Irish Prime Minister, called on the British Government to
examine the findings of the committee's report, which looked at 18
fatalities during the Troubles.
Mr
Ahern said the findings of the justice committee report painted a
"very disturbing picture" that was "deeply
troubling".
It
claimed that there was "widespread" collusion between the
British security forces and loyalist terror groups behind a series of
murders on both sides of the Irish border.
The
parliamentary investigation said that at the time the British Cabinet
was aware of the level to which the security forces had been infiltrated
by terrorists.
It
added: "We believe that its inadequate response to this knowledge
permitted the problem to continue and grow."
According
to the report, the "spectre of collusion" was present at all
of the bomb and gun attacks under investigation between 1974 and 1976.
The
committee said there was no valid reason why British authorities should
not play their part in uncovering the full extent of collusion.
"Given
that we are dealing with acts of international terrorism that were
colluded in by the security forces, the British Government cannot
legitimately refuse to co-operate with investigations and attempts to
get to the truth," it said.
The
killings included some of the most notorious loyalist atrocities of the
Troubles, including the bombing of Kay's Tavern in the border town of
Dundalk, the Miami Showband massacre, the Dublin Airport bombing and the
bombing of the Three Star Inn in Castleblayney, Co Monaghan.
The
committee was examining the fourth report of Mr Justice Henry Barron, a
former Supreme Court judge who had been charged with investigating the
loyalist terror attacks.
Dermot
Ahern, the Irish foreign minister, said he had told Peter Hain, the
Northern Ireland Secretary, of the Irish Government's "grave
concern" at the allegations.
