British govt suspects Special Branch leak

The British government believes Special Branch police officers in the North are leaking stories about the IRA in an attempt to damage Sinn Féin’s prospects in the upcoming general election, according to reports today.

The Guardian newspaper quotes a senior source as saying: "Someone is leaking and it looks like Special Branch. It has got worse since [former chief constable] Ronnie Flanagan left. It appears this is being done to damage Sinn Féin in the elections in the south."

Over the past few days, Sinn Féin have been adamant that the damaging stories leaked to the media are part of a propaganda campaign designed to undermine the Good Friday Agreement.

The first of these leaks came when details of an IRA database were passed to the BBC in the North.

This database contained a list of British conservative politicians from John Major’s government.

This was followed by another leak to the Sunday Telegraph alleging that senior republicans bought Russian special forces rifles in Moscow last year.

The newspaper said the information came from British military intelligence in London.

British officials believe the IRA has tried to rearm in recent years, but they believe the details leaked to the Telegraph were deliberately exaggerated.

Both Prime Minister Tony Blair and Northern Secretary John Reid also expressed concern at the alleged 'hit-list' of British politicians, but they have stressed they do not believe the IRA has any intention of returning to violence.