A one-time UDA informer accused of involvement in the murder of Pat
Finucane was shipped to a jail in England - on the day the Cory Report hit
the streets.
Authorities hope the move will prevent murder attempts on Ken Barrett by
fellow loyalists.
Barrett was on remand at Maghaberry but was transferred to Belmarsh prison
last Thursday.
Just hours later Judge Cory released his reports into four controversial
Ulster killings, including that of Pat Finucane.
"They had to get him out of there for his own safety," one source told us.
"It was all hush-hush. They daren't let the media know about this the day
Cory came out, it would have caused too much of a storm."
Judge Cory has recommended public inquiries into the murders of solicitors
Finucane and Rosemary Nelson as well as Portadown man Robert Hamill and LVF
leader Billy Wright.
However, the family of Mr Finucane will have to wait until criminal
prosecutions regarding Ken Barrett finish before they get their inquiry.
Barrett is due to stand trial in connection with Mr Finucane's murder later
this year.
Barrett, 40, originally from Glencairn Way in Belfast, was arrested by
Stevens Inquiry detectives in Sussex after he allegedly confessed to
undercover police that he had murdered Mr Finucane.
Barrett faces a total of 14 charges, including the murder of Mr Finucane
and the wounding of his wife Geraldine on February 12, 1989.
Speculation began about a possible move for him after he was caught up in a
war of words between terror godfather Johnny Adair and Jim Spence.
Adair, after being briefed by Barrett, insists Spence is the loyalist
paramilitary movement's version of Stakeknife - or Sashknife, as he has
become known.
The UDA, which booted Mad Dog out for 'treason', was thrown into turmoil
over how to handle the shock allegations that Spence has been passing
information to Special Branch.
These allegations were backed up by Barrett, who claims Spence met with
security force personnel to collude on the shooting.
Spence denies any role in the murder of the lawyer.
But the allegations have put Spence and Barrett at risk in the high
security prison.
Adair says that of the five known UDA members who have been allegedly
linked to murdered lawyer Pat Finucane, Spence is the only one who has
managed to stay 'unmarked' by the fall-out from the killing.
Deceased army agent Brian Nelson was exposed, Tommy Lyttle was convicted,
Billy Stobie was shot dead, Ken Barrett is awaiting trial - and Jim Spence
is alive, well and free.
Around 10 years ago Jim Spence was seen talking to a known Special Branch
handler on Belfast's Antrim Road.
That same night, after learning of the sighting, another informer was
contacted by police and shipped out of Ulster.
It's believed that it was in the best interests of the security forces to
keep Spence in Belfast - and keep his cover by getting shot of the other
informer.
Adair has a series of startling letters from Barrett which have been seen
by The People and which he says back up these claims.
Spence, it's said, once told Adair that he had been in conversation with
the police when rumours of informants began to circulate.
Mad Dog says Spence swore that the conversations were about Adair, and that
he was protecting him.
Loyalists on holiday in Spain spotted Spence in conversation with Special
Branch officers and reported the sightings back to Belfast.
Adair claims the only action the UDA took was to send "some kids out with
paint and write 'Spencer is a tout' on the walls."
There is also speculation that Barrett has been negotiating some kind of a
deal and that his move to a prison in England - and away from a jail
shared by other loyalists - may be part of it.
A prison spokesman said Barrett had requested the transfer in October so he
could be near his wife in England - and that the timing of the move was
purely coincidental.
Last Thursday retired Canadian Supreme Court Judge Peter Cory, who was
hired by the British and Irish governments to investigate suspicions of
collusion, reported that all four murders merited closer scrutiny.
Most of his findings centred on lapses in security or errors in follow-up
investigations rather than direct involvement in killings.
But he feared that such acts could be considered to be collusion.
The judge said: "Without public scrutiny, doubts based solely on myth and
suspicion will linger long, fester and spread their malignant infection
throughout the Northern Ireland community."
As Northern Ireland Secretary Paul Murphy told MPs of the judge's finding,
Ulster Unionist leader David Trimble rocked the House of Commons with
remarks about the two murdered lawyers.
He said that while he was opposed to such inquiries, it would mean the
truth about Pat Finucane and Rosemary Nelson could be made public.
Last night (Saturday) a senior official in the Prison Officers Association told The
People that he had 'no doubt'' thatBarrett was moved because of the Cory
Report on the death of Billy Wright.
He claimed the security situation at Maghaberry was now similar to the
shambles at the Maze when Wright was killed.
Cory's report was damning.
It showed a series of incredible blunders by the authorities and hinted
that the security services were aware of the death plot.
The decision to house loyalist and republican prisoners opposed the
ceasefire in the same block was severly criticised.
The Canadian Judge said the Wright case hinged on whether the Northern
Ireland Prison Service ignored the very dangerous situation which would
arise by placing LVF and INLA inmates close together in H Block 6.
Wright, 37, was shot dead by an INLA gunman in the Maze Prison as he sat in
a minibus waiting to be driven to the visiting area in December 1997.
Three members of the INLA were accused of his murder and given life
sentences.
Recommending a public inquiry into his murder, Judge Cory said the prison
authorities were aware Wright had been the target of a murder attempt in
Maghaberry Prison by the INLA in the spring of 1997 - yet still put the
same plotters just yards from Wright.
"They therefore knew that they would be putting Billy Wright close to those
who they knew had attempted to kill him - and who they knew had expressed a
continuing intention to kill him," said Cory.
Judge Cory added the authorities were also made aware by experienced prison
officers of direct threats made by the INLA against Wright, and may have
been aware of intelligence gathered by the security forces of a plot to
kill him.
"In light of that knowledge, a public inquiry might well conclude that
prison authorities turned a blind eye to the very real and imminent dangers
that they knew or should have known would arise from the transfer of Billy
Wright and LVF prisoners to the same H Block occupied by INLA prisoners.
"In light of their knowledge, the transfer of Billy Wright could be found
to be a wrongful act that was capable of constituting collusion."
The report pointed to a number of other incidents surrounding the murder
that gave rise to serious concerns.
These included the standing down of a guard in the observation tower
overlooking A and B wings, where the INLA prisoners were held, before
Wright was shot.
"A public inquiry might wish to explore whether or not the knowledge that
the guard was in his tower and would not be moved from that observation
tower might have affected the actions of the murderers.
"If the guard was instructed to stand down, that could be found to be a
collusive act aimed at assisting the killers to shoot Billy Wright," it
stated.
But Cory refused to draw conclusions on the watchtower incident - insisting
it was a matter for an inquiry.
There was also the fact that INLA prisoners were given a list of all the
prisoners in H Block 6 who were receiving visitors that day.
"If this was simply an error, it was a grievous one which may have put
Billy Wright's life in jeopardy.
"If Prison Authorities turned a blind eye to the manner in which visitors
lists were distributed then this could constitute collusion."
Cory even found that soil from an IRA tunnel discovered earlier in the year
in a different H-Block had been piled high in two cells - the Provos were
so confident their block would never be searched.
Our POA source revealed: "Cory confirmed a great deal about what we said
about the Maze. Even the Narey report, we now know, barely touched on the
Wright case.
"Unfortunately there is now a fear that paramilitaries could bring guns
into Maghaberry and take someone like Ken Barrett out."
