PSNI Archives - Paper Trail (Legacy Archive Research)

Jean Smyth-Campbell - British Supreme Court

British Supreme Court Considers PSNI’s Lack of Independence

The British Supreme Court in London is considering whether the Police Service of Northern Ireland is “sufficiently independent to investigate and/or review investigations” into conflict-related killings in the North of Ireland. In a hugely significant case, the British Supreme Court will consider whether the Legacy Investigations Branch of the Police Service Northern Ireland (PSNI) is …

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The Murder of Martha Campbell, Schoolgirl

Archive Find, Blog, Media, Research / By Ciarán MacAirt

Martha Campbell was 13 years old when she was murdered close to her home in West Belfast on 14th May 1972. The murder of Martha Campbell is one of a small number of child killings that lies unclaimed by any organisation. Her family and local witnesses have long believed that the British Army shot Martha, …

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Police Failure To Investigate MRF Shootings

Archive Find, Media, Podcast, Publication, Research / By Ciarán MacAirt

Paper Trail published proof from secret British archives that the MRF was guilty of a catalogue of murders and attempted murders of civilians in Belfast 1972. The report followed the failure of the Police Service of Northern Ireland’s (PSNI) Legacy Investigation Branch (LIB) to arrest or convict British Army soldiers in the killer gang, the …

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Earliest Recorded MRF Shooting (Thus Far)

Archive Find, Blog, Podcast, Research / By Ciarán MacAirt

Paper Trail is releasing the earliest recorded shooting by Britain’s Military Reaction Force MRF. The MRF shooting is the earliest recorded that we have discovered – this, of course, does not mean that it was the first MRF shooting. It means that, at the moment, it is the earliest recorded shooting that researchers like ourselves …

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Britain’s Military Reaction Force and Operation Everson

Archive Find, Blog, Media, Research / By Ciarán MacAirt

Paper Trail has linked Britain’s Military Reaction Force (MRF) to multiple murders and attempted murders of civilians in Belfast in 1972. Secret British military documents prove that the MRF was indeed guilty of a catalogue of murders and attempted murders of unarmed civilians – including teenagers – in Belfast between May and September 1972. The …

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Jean Smyth-Campbell Murder: Independent Investigation Ordered

Blog, Media, Podcast, Research / By Ciarán MacAirt

The Chief Constable of the Police Service of Northern Ireland has ordered an independent investigation into the murder of Jean Smyth-Campbell. Jean Smyth-Campbell was a single mother who was shot dead in an unprovoked attack in June 1972. The Royal Ulster Constabulary told her family that she was murdered by the local members of the …

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Response to Inaccurate Police Reporting of Michael Leonard’s Murder

Media / By Ciarán MacAirt

Solicitor Pat Fahy and Paper Trail respond to the police’s false reporting of Michael Leonard’s murder. It is with great dismay that the family of Michael Leonard read that the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) is now claiming that their classification of the killing of Michael Leonard as murder, as reported in the Irish …

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Where Was MRF When McGurk’s Bar Was Bombed?

Archive Find, Blog, Media / By Ciarán MacAirt

For over 10 years, the families have asked police investigators where was the British Army’s death-squad, MRF, when McGurk’s Bar was bombed. Every investigation by the police and Police Ombudsman’s Office in the 46 years since the atrocity, which claimed the lives of 15 civilians, have failed to even prove the existence of the Miltary Reaction …

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Green Howards worried about MRF October 1971

Earliest Record of Operational MRF?

Archive Find, Blog, Research / By Ciarán MacAirt

Is this the earliest record of an operational Military Reaction Force (MRF)? A British Army 39 Brigade Commander’s Diary from October 1971 could have uncovered the earliest operational record of the clandestine Military Reaction Force. We have other records naming the main players like Captain Arthur Watchus and Sergeant Clive Graham Williams from the beginning …

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Podcast 3: General Frank Kitson – War Hero or Director of Terrorism Pt 2

Podcast / By Ciarán MacAirt

In this Paper Trail Pro Podcast, author Ciarán MacAirt discusses the legacy of General Frank Kitson. This is the second part of a two-part podcast examining the legacy of General Frank Kitson in light of his development of the covert British Army unit, the Military Reaction Force, which was guilty of dozens of murders and attempted murders …

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