Special Reconnaissance Regiment
The Special Reconnaissance Regiment (SRR) is a Special Forces Regiment of the British Army. It was established on 6 April 2005 at RMA Sandhurst and is a component of United Kingdom Special Forces (UKSF) alongside the Special Air Service (SAS) and Special Boat Service (SBS), supported by the Special Forces Support Group (SFSG).
Role in De Menezes killing
- After initially insisting that the role of the undercover, plainclothes unit was "low-level" and "behind the scenes", Whitehall sources told the Guardian yesterday that the soldiers were directly involved in the surveillance operation. They were members of the Special Reconnaissance Regiment, set up in April to help combat international terrorism. It is the first time the new regiment has been engaged in an operation in Britain.
- The regiment was formed from the 14th Intelligence Company, known as "14 Int", or the "Det" (for Detachment), a unit set up to gather intelligence covertly on terrorist suspects in Northern Ireland. Its recruits are trained by the SAS. Officials yesterday said the regiment had helped to organise the surveillance operation in the run-up to the shooting, but the undercover soldiers were not physically present at Stockwell tube station.
- However, sources said later that soldiers from the regiment played a much more prominent role than was initially admitted. Whether they were on the bus following Mr de Menezes and at Stockwell tube station could not be ruled in or out, they said. The Ministry of Defence declined to comment, but is unlikely to prevent the Independent Police Complaints Commission from questioning the soldiers.[1]
Return to Northern Ireland
In March 2009, it emerged that the Special Reconnaissance Regiment was to return to Northern Ireland to gather intelligence on dissident republicans. It was disputed whether the Regiment's presence had been requested by PSNI Chief Constable Hugh Orde or by MI5.[2][3]
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Notes
- ↑ Richard Norton-Taylor Special army unit played central role The Guardian, Thursday August 18 2005
- ↑ Forces are a 'threat': McGuinness, BBC News, 6 March 2009.
- ↑ Dan Keenan and Neil Carnduff, Intelligence forces recalled to North for security duty, Irish Times, 6 March 2009.
