Royal Irish not gone just yet, says British army

The Royal Irish Regiment will not be scrapped in Northern Ireland until all paramilitary violence has ended, British army chiefs insisted today.

Even though military authorities drafted a paper admitting the RIR’s three 'Home Service' battalions will be axed once the threat has been removed, all soldiers have been assured no disbandment date has been fixed.

An internal communication briefing note circulated to the UK's Ministry of Defence personnel by the General Officer Commanding in Northern Ireland, Lieutenant General Philip Trousdell, detailed plans for a scaling down of security.

The GOC has told his staff that when normalisation has been achieved there will no longer be any need for the British army to support the police in Northern Ireland.

With the British and Irish governments planning to slash troop levels in Northern Ireland from 14,500 to 5,000 once the IRA declares its war is over, Lt Gen Trousdell confirmed the Royal Irish would no longer be needed in the North.

He said: “The Home Service battalions were established specifically to provide forces for Operation Banner in Northern Ireland.

“Should the need for Operation Banner end, so does the purpose of the Home Service element.

“I must stress that there is no timetable for this just as there has been no timetable for it since the regiment was created.”

The plans do not involve the Royal Irish’s 1st Battalion based in Kent, which until recently was commanded by Colonel Tim Collins, the officer now at the centre of two British Ministry of Defence probes.

Details in the document given to soldiers have pulled back from an earlier draft.

In that paper the GOC said: “The end of Operation Banner will inevitably mean the disbandment of the Home Service element of the Royal Irish Regiment.”

Military chiefs have been in high-level discussions with the British Ministry of Defence and the Northern Ireland Office for several months to map out how the joint declaration issued by London and Dublin will impact on the British army.

Although the Provos have not yet pledged to end all violence and go out of business, Prime Minister Tony Blair has disclosed plans to dismantle watchtowers and cut troop levels in North.

The whole demilitarisation programme is totally dependent on the IRA carrying out the acts of completion demanded by Mr Blair.

But plans to get rid of the Royal Irish have incensed unionists, who claim it is a political move to appease Sinn Fein.

Republicans loathe the unit, which was formed in 1992 following a merger of the Ulster Defence Regiment and the Royal Irish Rangers.

More than 200 soldiers belonging the RIR and its predecessors were killed during the Troubles in Northern Ireland.

Senior management have already met trade union representatives to discuss the future of civilian staff within the regiment.

Lt Gen Trousdell also stressed the Royal Irish would continue to play a big role as the 'normalisation' programme is carried out.

He said: “In the move towards troop reduction I envisage the regiment continuing to play a crucial role in the province as troops from the general service battalions disengage.

“I can assure you that, when the time comes, there will be a redundancy package in addition to the opportunities to transfer to other elements of the Armed Forces.”

Sammy Wilson, a senior member of Ian Paisley’s Democratic Unionist Party, claimed military top brass had carried out a damage-limitation exercise by issuing the new briefing note.

He said: “It’s quite clear there is now panic within the Army and the NIO.

“The cat was let out of the bag and they can’t deny that their internal memo talked about the inevitability of the RIR going.

“They may try to sweeten this but all they are doing is lulling people into a false sense of security.”