'Collusive Behaviour' In Miami Massacre: HET

There's controversy this week as the North's Historical Enquiries Team, (HET) publish their long-awaited report into the murders of three men shot dead in what became known as the Miami Showband massacre.

The document appears to indicate that an RUC Special Branch agent was involved when three members of the band were shot dead in July 1975 after their minibus was stopped by a fake army patrol.

The HET report found that UVF man Robin Jackson had been linked to one of the murder weapons by fingerprints.

However, the killer is said to have claimed in police interviews he had been tipped off by a senior RUC officer to lie low after the killings.

The now deceased terrorist was a leading mid-Ulster UVF member also known as "the Jackal", and had claimed that he was tipped off that his fingerprints had been found on a silencer attached to a Luger pistol used in the murders.

The HET said the murders raised "disturbing questions about collusive and corrupt behaviour".

It said the review "has found no means to assuage or rebut these concerns and that is a deeply troubling matter".

What happened 36 years ago was that a fake army patrol - which was actually made up of rogue soldiers from the Ulster Defence Regiment (UDR) - as well as gunmen from the loyalist paramilitary group, the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) stopped the then famous Miami Showband as they were travelling home to Dublin after a gig in Banbridge.

The members of the band were made to line up at the side of the road while one UVF member tried to hide a bomb on the bus. The plan was that the bomb would explode en route killing everyone on board.

Explosion

But the bomb went off prematurely, killing Harris Boyle and Wesley Somerville - who were members of the UDR, as well as being in the illegal UVF.

The UVF gang then opened fire on the band, killing lead singer Fran O'Toole, guitarist Tony Geraghty, and trumpeter Brian McCoy.

The bass player Stephen Travers was also seriously hurt but survived and three members of the UDR were eventually convicted for their part in the attack.

Commenting, Sinn Fein Upper Bann MLA John O'Dowd said that it was because of the actions of their agents like Robin Jackson that the British Government does not want an independent international truth commission - which Sinn Fein has often sought.

"It was well known that Robin Jackson was an agent for the British state, that he was allowed to kill Catholics with impunity throughout Mid-Ulster and beyond and that some of these killings were actually facilitated by the forces of the state.

"This speaks volumes about the British involvement in the conflict and rather than claim, as they did, that they were impartial observers or some sort of peace keeper, they were in fact up to their necks in facilitating and possibly encouraging sectarian killings and much more.

"It's because of agents like Robin Jackson and many others that the British Government would not agree to an independent international truth commission."

The SDLP Upper Bann MLA Dolores Kelly and Victims' spokesperson Colum Eastwood MLA have welcomed the publication of the HET report into the Miami Showband massacre.

Dolores Kelly said: "There has been a long held belief that there were people in the security forces, including the RUC, who were involved in brutal crimes. This report confirms that and is a vindication of the families' campaign.

"The enormous question about why Robin Jackson was allowed to carry out this terror and inflict so much pain on victims over such a long period of time must be answered by the State as we cannot help but think if he had been put behind bars some people's lives may have been spared," she said, on Wednesday.

Colum Eastwood added: "This report is further evidence that there was collusion between the RUC and loyalist paramilitaries."

The report was compiled by the HET, a special investigative unit attached to the Police Service of Northern Ireland to re-examine the deaths of thousands of people in the civil unrest in Northern Ireland between 1968 and the signing of the Belfast Agreement in April 1998.

The Alliance Justice Spokesperson Stewart Dickson MLA has said his thoughts are with the families of those who were murdered and he said it is crucial that a comprehensive process to deal with the legacy of the past is put in place.

Stewart Dickson MLA said: "This was an absolutely appalling atrocity and I want to let the families of those who were murdered know that my thoughts and prayers are with them.

"The findings of this report are extremely troubling," he said, adding, "This report should act as a wake up call to the Secretary of State to arrange talks as soon as possible."

See: UDR Memorial Marked By Veterans Parade

(BMcC/GK)