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Expelled member of Sinn Féin was British spy -
British role in collapsing Executive exposed
17 December 2005
Sinn Féin has revealed that a member of the party in Belfast, Denis
Donaldson, was expelled Thursday night after it was uncovered that he had
been working as a British agent for the past 20 years. Sinn Féin President
Gerry Adams held a press conference on Friday in Dublin.
Speaking at the press conference Mr. Adams said:
“The nature of British rule in Ireland is that for a very long time it has
been driven by a security agenda, with policy dictated by British
Intelligence, state police and military agencies. The Good Friday
Agreement is, as much as anything else, about ending that.
“The collapse of the power sharing government was blamed on allegations of
a Sinn Fein spy ring at Stormont.
“The fact is that there was no Sinn Féin spy ring at Stormont.
The fact is that this was a carefully constructed lie created by the Special
Branch in order to cause maximum political impact.
The fact is that the collapse of the political institutions was a direct
result of the actions of some of those who run the intelligence and policing
system of the British.
The fact is that the key person at the centre of those events was a Sinn
Féin member who was a British agent.
“This is entirely the responsibility of the British government.
“What is clear is that there are those within the PSNI and the intelligence
agencies who are a law onto themselves, who use informers, spies and
agents and who are operating to their own agenda with no accountability.
They are manipulating the situation for their own narrow ends. They have
sought to undermine Sinn Féin and are working against the implementation of
the Good Friday Agreement which is the publicly stated policy of the British
and Irish governments. The British Prime Minister and the Taoiseach have to
wake up to this reality.
“Sinn Féin has been very conscious of the negative role being played by
elements within the British system and we have raised these matters
consistently with both governments. If Britain’s war is over then the
British Prime Minister needs to come to terms with the fact that he has to
end the activities of the securocrats. This entire episode underlines the
need for an end to political policing. That, and defending the Good Friday
Agreement remains the focus of Sinn Féin.”
Mr Adams said last night that PSNI officers called to Mr Donaldson's west
Belfast home on Wednesday to warn him he was shortly to be "outed" as a spy
and that his life was in danger.
Mr Donaldson, with his solicitor present, issued a statement in Dublin last
night to RTÉ. He said he deeply regretted his "activities with British
intelligence and RUC/PSNI Special Branch" and insisted there never was a spy
ring in Stormont.
Irish Government reaction
An Irish Government spokeswoman said last night that Bertie Ahern did not
rule out seeking an inquiry into the issue, "independent of everyone", but
first wanted to hear the British account of the affair.
He was due to make this point to British prime minister Tony Blair this
morning in Brussels, where an EU summit has been taking place.
UUP reaction
The Ulster Unionists said a public inquiry was now essential to explain the
events.
Statement in full: Denis Donaldson
"My name is Denis Donaldson. I worked as a Sinn Féin Assembly group
administrator in Parliament Buildings at the time of the PSNI raid on the
Sinn Féin offices in October 2002 - the so-called Stormontgate affair.
"I was a British agent at the time. I was recruited in the 1980s after
compromising myself during a vulnerable time in my life.
"Since then I have worked for British intelligence and the RUC/PSNI Special
Branch. Over that period I was paid money. My last two contacts with Special
Branch were as follows: two days before my arrest in October 2002 and last
night, when a member of Special Branch contacted me to arrange a meeting.
"I was not involved in any republican spy ring in Stormont. The so-called
Stormontgate affair was a scam and a fiction. It never existed. It was
created by Special Branch.
"I deeply regret my activities with British intelligence and RUC/PSNI
Special Branch. I apologise to anyone who has suffered as a result of my
activities, as well as to my former comrades, and especially to my family
who have become victims in all of this."
