Bizarre events and dirty tricks

THE release of Irish and British State papers of 30 years ago points to useful lessons for contemporary Irish politics.

Over the Christmas period there was much speculation about the fall-out from the collapse of the Stormontgate spying case and the outing of the man at the centre of it as a British agent. Some commentators have claimed the proposition that the whole episode was an attempt by elements of special branch and British intelligence to undermine the Good Friday Agreement was not credible because it would need a huge conspiracy between policemen, intelligence agents and prosecutors.

But there are several precedents for such conspiracies, as the State papers reveal.