Bill Lowry - Revision history

Tom Griffin: /* Notes */

2012-08-29T00:05:53Z

Notes

Tom Griffin: /* Castlereagh Raid */

2009-07-13T19:04:24Z

Castlereagh Raid

Tom Griffin: /* Operation Torsion */ typo

2009-07-13T18:32:03Z

Operation Torsion: typo

Tom Griffin: /* Operation Torsion */ typo

2009-07-13T17:30:30Z

Operation Torsion: typo

Tom Griffin: /* Operation Torsion */ typo

2009-07-13T17:10:41Z

Operation Torsion: typo

Tom Griffin: /* Operation Torsion */

2009-07-13T17:10:03Z

Operation Torsion

Tom Griffin: /* Castlereagh Raid */

2009-07-13T16:29:04Z

Castlereagh Raid

Tom Griffin: /* Castlereagh Raid */ typos

2009-07-13T16:28:02Z

Castlereagh Raid: typos

Tom Griffin: /* William Stobie */

2009-07-13T16:27:05Z

William Stobie

Tom Griffin: /* Dean Godson book launch */

2009-07-13T14:18:53Z

Dean Godson book launch

← Older revision		Revision as of 00:05, 29 August 2012
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	<references/>		<references/>

−	[[Category:Northern Ireland\|Lowry, Bill]][[Category:UK Police Intelligence\|Lowry, Bill]][[Category:RUC\|Lowry, Bill]][[Category:PSNI\|Lowry, Bill]]	+	[[Category:Northern Ireland\|Lowry, Bill]][[Category:UK Police Intelligence\|Lowry, Bill]][[Category:RUC\|Lowry, Bill]][[Category:[[Category:PSNI\|Lowry, Bill]][[Category:State Violence and Collusion Project\|Lowry, Bill]]

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 The [[Castlereagh break-in]] at [[PSNI]] headquarters took place on 17 March 2002. Lowry was present at a retirement event for Chief Constable [[Ronnie Flanagan]], hosted by Northern Ireland Secretary [[John Reid]] just over a week later, on 25 March, according to [[Brian Rowan]]:
-::In the grand setting of the Throne Room  at Hillsborough Castle, Reid heaped praise on Flanagan. They were all there to hear his words: the most senior army officer in Northern Ireland at that time, Lieutenant General [[Alistair Irwin]]; the British Security Minister [[Jane Kennedy]]; Flanagan's deputy, [[Colin Cramphorn]]; the Head of Special Branch in Belfast [[Bill Lowry]]; and the tall chap in the grey suit, [[MI5]]'s main man in Northern Ireland, its [[Director and Coordinator of Intelligence (Northern Ireland)|director and coordinator of intelligence]], the man who had called [John Reid in] New York those few days earlier with the news of the break-in.<ref>Brian Rowan, The Armed Peace, Mainstream Publishing, 2004, p.17.</ref>
+::In the grand setting of the Throne Room  at Hillsborough Castle, Reid heaped praise on Flanagan. They were all there to hear his words: the most senior army officer in Northern Ireland at that time, Lieutenant General [[Alistair Irwin]]; the British Security Minister [[Jane Kennedy]]; Flanagan's deputy, [[Colin Cramphorn]]; the Head of Special Branch in Belfast [[Bill Lowry]]; and the tall chap in the grey suit, [[MI5]]'s main man in Northern Ireland, its [[Director and Co-ordinator of Intelligence (Northern Ireland)|director and coordinator of intelligence]], the man who had called [John Reid in] New York those few days earlier with the news of the break-in.<ref>Brian Rowan, The Armed Peace, Mainstream Publishing, 2004, p.17.</ref>
 ==Operation Torsion==

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 ::initially, knowledge of this alleged republican intelligence-gathering operation inside the [[NIO]] was restricted to a small number of [[Special Branch]] officers in Belfast: to [[Bill Lowry]] and to those who were handling the informer. Lowry didn't tell the British Security Service [[MI5]] immediately, but they were brought into the loop at an early stage and their resources were used alongside those of the Special Branch during Operation Torsion.<ref>Brian Rowan, The Armed Peace, Mainstream Publishing, 2004, p.20.</ref>
-The bugging was authorised by John Reid, and a number of top police officers were informed of the operation in the following months, including [[Colin Cramphorn]], [[Chris Albiston]], [[Alan MacQuillan]], [[Phil Wright]] and senior Special Branch officers.<ref>Brian Rowan, The Armed Peace, Mainstream Publishing, 2004, p.21.</ref>
+The bugging was authorised by John Reid, and a number of top police officers were informed of the operation in the following months, including [[Colin Cramphorn]], [[Chris Albiston]], [[Alan McQuillan]], [[Phil Wright]] and senior Special Branch officers.<ref>Brian Rowan, The Armed Peace, Mainstream Publishing, 2004, p.21.</ref>
 Brian Rowan recounts that Reid called on the IRA to end intelligence-gathering and targeting in July 2002:

@@ Line 16: / Line 16: @@
 ::initially, knowledge of this alleged republican intelligence-gathering operation inside the [[NIO]] was restricted to a small number of [[Special Branch]] officers in Belfast: to [[Bill Lowry]] and to those who were handling the informer. Lowry didn't tell the British Security Service [[MI5]] immediately, but they were brought into the loop at an early stage and their resources were used alongside those of the Special Branch during Operation Torsion.<ref>Brian Rowan, The Armed Peace, Mainstream Publishing, 2004, p.20.</ref>
-The bugging was authorised by John Reid, and a number of top police officers were informed of the operation in the following months, including [[Colin Cramphorn]], [[Chris Albiston]], [[lan MacQuillan]], [[Phil Wright]] and senior Special Branch officers.<ref>Brian Rowan, The Armed Peace, Mainstream Publishing, 2004, p.21.</ref>
+The bugging was authorised by John Reid, and a number of top police officers were informed of the operation in the following months, including [[Colin Cramphorn]], [[Chris Albiston]], [[Alan MacQuillan]], [[Phil Wright]] and senior Special Branch officers.<ref>Brian Rowan, The Armed Peace, Mainstream Publishing, 2004, p.21.</ref>
 Brian Rowan recounts that Reid called on the IRA to end intelligence-gathering and targeting in July 2002:

@@ Line 24: / Line 24: @@
 ::"I felt during the whole operation that I was running, constant pressure from the security services, that it would be better if we didn't take skulls, if we just took papers.
-::"It would leave Sinn Fein/Provisional IRA a chance of denying they were involved in it."[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/northern_ireland/2653485.stm Officer 'forced out' by MI5], BBC News, 13 January 2003.</ref>
+::"It would leave Sinn Fein/Provisional IRA a chance of denying they were involved in it."<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/northern_ireland/2653485.stm Officer 'forced out' by MI5], BBC News, 13 January 2003.</ref>
 ==Departure==

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 ==Castlereagh Raid==
-The [[Castlereagh break-in]] at [PSNI]] headquarters took place on 17 March 2002. Lowry was present at a retirement event for Chief Constable [[Ronnie Flanagan]], hosted by Northern Ireland Secretary [[John Reid]] just over a week later, on 25 March, according to [[Brian Rowan]]:
+The [[Castlereagh break-in]] at [[PSNI]] headquarters took place on 17 March 2002. Lowry was present at a retirement event for Chief Constable [[Ronnie Flanagan]], hosted by Northern Ireland Secretary [[John Reid]] just over a week later, on 25 March, according to [[Brian Rowan]]:
 ::In the grand setting of the Throne Room  at Hillsborough Castle, Reid heaped praise on Flanagan. They were all there to hear his words: the most senior army officer in Northern Ireland at that time, Lieutenant General [[Alistair Irwin]]; the British Security Minister [[Jane Kennedy]]; Flanagan's deputy, [[Colin Cramphorn]]; the Head of Special Branch in Belfast [[Bill Lowry]]; and the tall chap in the grey suit, [[MI5]]'s main man in Northern Ireland, its [[Director and Coordinator of Intelligence (Northern Ireland)|director and coordinator of intelligence]], the man who had called [John Reid in] New York those few days earlier with the news of the break-in.<ref>Brian Rowan, The Armed Peace, Mainstream Publishing, 2004, p.17.</ref>

← Older revision		Revision as of 16:27, 13 July 2009
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	:Stobie was murdered by the UDA a year ago, just weeks after he was acquitted on charges brought by the Stevens team, which Mr Orde was in charge of in Belfast.<ref>[http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/imported/orde-faces-quiz-over-top-cop-13608477.html Orde faces quiz over top cop], by [[Alan Murray]], belfasttelegraph.co.uk, 1 December 2002.</ref>		:Stobie was murdered by the UDA a year ago, just weeks after he was acquitted on charges brought by the Stevens team, which Mr Orde was in charge of in Belfast.<ref>[http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/imported/orde-faces-quiz-over-top-cop-13608477.html Orde faces quiz over top cop], by [[Alan Murray]], belfasttelegraph.co.uk, 1 December 2002.</ref>
		+
		+	==Castlereagh Raid==
		+	The [[Castlereagh break-in]] at [PSNI]] headquarters took place on 17 March 2002. Lowry was present at a retirement event for [[Chief Constable]] [[Ronnie Flanagan]], hosted by Northern Ireland Secretary [[John Reid]] just over a week later, on 25 March, according to [[Brian Rowan]]:
		+
		+	::In the grand setting of the Throne Room at Hillsborough Castle, Reid heaped praise on Flanagan. They were all there to hear his words: the most senior army officer in Northern Ireland at that time, Lieutenant General [[Alistair Irwin]]; the British Security Minister [[Jane Kennedy]]; Flanagan's deputy, [[Colin Cramphorn]]; the Head of Special Branch]] in Belfast [[Bill Lowry; and the tall chap in the grey suit, [[MI5]]'s main man in Northern Ireland, its [[Director and Coordinator of Intelligence (Northern Ireland)\|director and coordinator of intelligence]], the man who had called [John Reid in] New York those few days earlier with the news of the break-in.<ref>Brian Rowan, The Armed Peace, Mainstream Publishing, 2004, p.17.</ref>
		+
		+	==Operation Torsion==
		+	Shortly after the raid, according to Rowan, a Special Branch source provided information that the [[IRA]] was gathering intelligence from inside the [[Northern Ireland Office]], which led to a police bugging operation entitled [[Operation Torsion]]:
		+	::initially, knowledge of this alleged republican intelligence-gathering operation inside the [[NIO]] was restricted to a small number of [[Special Branch]] officers in Belfast: to [[Bill Lowry]] and to those who were handling the informer. Lowry didn't tell the British Security Service [[MI5]] immediately, but they were brought into the loop at an early stage and their resources were used alongside those of the Special Branch during Operation Torsion.<ref>Brian Rowan, The Armed Peace, Mainstream Publishing, 2004, p.20.</ref>

	==Departure==		==Departure==

@@ Line 44: / Line 44: @@
 ==Dean Godson book launch==
-In June 2004, Lowry attended the launch of [[Dean Godson]]'s book on Ulster Unionist leader [[David Trimble]], at which [[Melanie Phillips]] was the main speaker. Lowry's presence is notable, given his role in Stormontgate. Both Godson and Phillips are strong critics of the Irish peace process, and this is arguably reflected in the tone of the event as described by [[Liam Clarke]]:
+In June 2004, Lowry attended the launch of [[Dean Godson]]'s book on Ulster Unionist leader [[David Trimble]], at which [[Melanie Phillips]] was the main speaker. Lowry's presence is notable, given his role in [[Stormontgate]]. Both Godson and Phillips are strong critics of the Irish peace process, and this is arguably reflected in the tone of the event as described by [[Liam Clarke]]:
 :[[Melanie Phillips]], the columnist, was the star turn at the launch of [[Dean Godson]]'s biography of [[David Trimble]] last week. In a speech she suggested the British government had hung the leader of the Ulster Unionists [Trimble] out to dry, a betrayal he should have expected given its failure to defeat the IRA.