Ahern to be quizzed on MI5 expansion

The expansion of MI5’s role in the North is to be raised with Taoiseach Bertie Ahern in Dublin tomorrow.

SDLP leader Mark Durkan will ask Mr Ahern to make the issue a priority during Wednesday’s political talks at St Andrews in Scotland.

He said: “The expansion of MI5 means faceless men doing secret deeds without any public accountability. It goes against Patten and the whole ethos of his report.

“It is not just bad for policing, it is bad for politics. It could undermine the whole devolution of justice project and place a future Minister for Justice in the unenviable position of knowing nothing about MI5 security operations and there being nobody to call them properly to account.”

The Patten Report was drawn up in 1999 by a commission chaired by Lord Patten and recommended a number of changes to policing including changing the police service’s name and recruiting more Catholics.

“We will be urging the Taoiseach to raise this matter with the British Government and push them to rethink their plans,” Mr Durkan added.

“At a time when MI5 are blaming their failure to monitor the men who carried out the 7/7 attacks in London because of lack of resources, it is scandalous that they are wasting money expanding their operations in the North in a way that is unwarranted, unneeded and damaging to our society.

“The lesson of the last 35 years is that the North needs fewer unaccountable men lurking in the shadows, not more of them.”

The SDLP claimed former PSNI Special Branch members could be recruited to MI5, creating a new force outside the police.

The party has also pointed to the lack of a mechanism to investigate and publicise complaints against MI5.

Nationalists are also concerned information will not be shared by MI5 with the PSNI as well as MI5 running its own informers to lower standards than the police.

There is no independent international oversight of individual MI5 operations.

Mr Durkan added this week should mark a watershed for politics in the North.

“People on the ground who are suffering under Direct Rule desperately want us to make progress. We must not let them down,” he said.

“That means open and honest negotiations and not a crazed rush to hand out secret side deals.

“Negotiations can only succeed when all can see all, everyone knows what they are giving and getting with no secrets or surprises.”