In league with the devil: How Kincora monster denied his sins to the end in one of his last interviews
In this extract from his new book, Kincora: Britain's Shame, Chris Moore recalls his 1990 meeting with paedo and suspected MI5 agent William McGrath
I parked in the forecourt of a neighbourhood shop with the intention of asking if anyone could direct me to McGrath's home.
I presented a few items for payment, casually asking the shopkeeper if she could point me in the direction of his house.
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Telegraph
a day ago
- Telegraph
MI5 ‘deliberately and repeatedly lied' in agent's identity case, court told
An MI5 agent 'deliberately and repeatedly lied' after confirming to a journalist that a violent and misogynistic neo-Nazi was operating as an undercover source, a court has heard. The security service apologised to the High Court on Tuesday after acknowledging that a senior official gave false information under oath when he denied such a confirmation had occurred. A deputy director – identified only as Witness A – provided a sworn statement on behalf of MI5, insisting the agency had steadfastly maintained its policy to neither confirm nor deny (NCND) the identity of an informant. But that testimony was exposed as false earlier this year when a BBC journalist produced a recording of an MI5 agent – identified as Officer 2 – confirming that a violent neo-Nazi did work for them as a covert human intelligence source. Two investigations have since been launched to ascertain how MI5 came to provide false information to judges on three separate occasions. At a hearing before the High Court on Tuesday, Sir James Eadie KC, representing the Attorney General for MI5, reiterated an apology on behalf of the agency. 'Errors had not been deliberate' He said: 'I am not here to seek to excuse or diminish the seriousness of that position. Everyone from the director-general downwards acknowledges the seriousness caused.' But he insisted there had been 'no deliberate attempt to conceal or lie', suggesting that the 'failings and errors' had been down to poor recollection, a lack of accurate note-taking and communication issues. Sir James said the court could be 'properly satisfied' that a full investigation had taken place, and it concluded that the 'errors had not been deliberate'. He said the reviews found 'there had been no deliberate misleading or lying'. But Jude Bunting KC for the BBC said Officer 2 – the agent at the centre of the case – had 'deliberately and repeatedly lied', adding that there had been 'widespread knowledge within MI5' that he had done so. He said Officer 2 had been given authorisation from senior officials to 'deviate' from MI5's usual policy. Mr Bunting also said Sir Jonathan Jones KC, who was commissioned by the Yvette Cooper, the Home Secretary, to carry out the external review, had not spoken to Officer 2 directly during the probe. He said the conclusion was that Officer 2 appears 'to have consistently lied', adding that it was 'very troubling'. The embarrassing episode dates back to December 2021 when a BBC journalist was investigating the activities of a far-Right extremist. After emailing the man to put the allegations to him, the reporter was surprised to be contacted by an MI5 official saying the claims were not accurate. During several subsequent telephone conversations, the MI5 officer confirmed to the journalist the man, identified only as agent X, did indeed work for them as a paid informant and even offered to arrange a meeting. He also told the reporter he had been 'legally authorised' to disclose agent X's role, suggesting the decision had been signed off at a higher level. Sir Ken McCallum, the head of MI5, attempted to get the BBC to drop the story but, when the corporation refused, Suella Braverman, the Attorney General at the time, went to the High Court seeking an injunction. During MI5's submissions Witness A insisted they had not deviated from their standard procedure of never confirming nor denying the identities of agents. The same position was maintained in evidence given to two other courts as the man's ex-girlfriend sought to expose how he had used his MI5 cover to abuse and silence her. The BBC was eventually permitted to run the story about the man's violent past and extremist mindset, but was banned from naming him. Lady Chief Justice Baroness Sue Carr, sitting with Mr Justice Chamberlain and Dame Victoria Sharp, the president of the King's Bench Division, are considering what action, if any, to take against MI5. Mr Bunting said it was the BBC's position that the threshold for bringing Contempt of Court proceedings against the agency had been reached.
The Independent
2 days ago
- The Independent
MI5 apologises unreservedly to High Court for ‘failings and errors'
MI5 has offered an 'unreserved' apology to the High Court saying there had been 'failings and errors' in legal proceedings related to an alleged source accused of abusing two women. In 2022, then-attorney general Suella Braverman went to the court in London to stop the BBC airing a programme that would name him. An injunction was made to prevent the corporation disclosing information likely to identify the man, referred to only as 'X', though Mr Justice Chamberlain said the BBC could still air the programme and the key issues without identifying him. At a hearing in February, the court heard that part of the written evidence provided by MI5 was false. On Tuesday, lawyers for the BBC told the court the 'low threshold' for launching contempt proceedings against MI5 and number of individuals – for not being fully transparent with the court – had been met. Earlier Sir James Eadie KC, representing the Attorney General, made an 'unreserved apology and contrition on behalf of MI5' to the court and parties for the incorrect evidence that was provided. He added: 'I am not here to seek to excuse or diminish the seriousness of that position. 'Everyone from the Director General onwards acknowledges the seriousness of what has occurred.' The written witness statement said the Security Service had maintained its policy of neither confirming nor denying (NCND) the identities of intelligence sources. However, the BBC said MI5 disclosed X's status to one of its reporters, but then said it had kept to the NCND policy. Sir James said there had been internal investigations since, and the 'first and most obvious conclusion' led to the 'unequivocal apology'. He added that there had been failings that have been 'properly identified' by the investigations. Sir James also said that criticism had been made that records of conversations with the press, about this subject matter, had not been created and maintained 'despite the obvious, clear and serious importance of doing so'. He added that the creation of contemporaneous documents was the 'best guard' against errors being made and that lessons had been learned. Sir James said the court can be 'properly satisfied' a full investigation had taken place, and it had concluded that the 'errors had not been deliberate' and that 'there had been no deliberate misleading or lying'. He also said there had been proper accountability for the errors, including in public, 'to the maximum extent possible'. Jude Bunting KC, for the BBC, told the court on Tuesday that the person – person B – who gave the false evidence did 'deliberately and repeatedly lie'. He continued that the evidence also suggests that there was a 'widespread' understanding within MI5 that this person had departed from NCND. Mr Bunting added that person B had departed from NCND in a way which was 'detailed and surprising, and that he had only been authorised to stray from the policy when talking to a 'trusted MI5 source'. Mr Bunting further said the 'threshold' for contempt proceedings against two officers, a witness and MI5 had been met. He added: 'All of these individuals and the corporate body were aware of the true position. 'Person B seems to have deliberately lied.' Mr Bunting continued: 'We say it was also a particularly serious breach in this case because it had a tendency to interfere with the administration of justice.' Mr Bunting said there was a real concern that the court is not being given the 'full explanation as to what went wrong'. In the programme about X, the BBC alleged the intelligence source was a misogynistic neo-Nazi who attacked his girlfriend, referred to by the pseudonym Beth, with a machete. Charlotte Kilroy KC, representing Beth, who brough a related case to the Investigatory Powers Tribunal, said: 'Beth agrees with the BBC that the threshold for contempt has been met.' She added that 'there are copious signs of dishonesty' that have not been acknowledged at all. Ms Kilroy said Beth was not making her own application, as her other case is still ongoing.
BBC News
2 days ago
- BBC News
MI5 lied 'deliberately and repeatedly' in neo-Nazi spy case, BBC tells High Court
MI5 lied "deliberately and repeatedly" as it tried to defend its handling of a neo-Nazi agent who abused women, the BBC has told a panel of High Court corporation argued the threshold for contempt of court proceedings against MI5 and three individual officers had been James Eadie KC, acting for MI5, issued an "unreserved apology" on behalf of the Security Service but said the "errors that had been made had not been deliberate".The three judges - England and Wales' most senior judge, Lady Chief Justice Baroness Sue Carr, President of the King's Bench Division Dame Victoria Sharp and Mr Justice Chamberlain - reserved judgement on the case until a later date. The case, which began in 2022 with an attempt to block the BBC from publishing a story about the neo-Nazi agent, has become a major test of how the courts view MI5 and the credibility of its gave evidence to three courts, saying that it had never breached its core secrecy policy of neither confirming nor denying (NCND) that a man known only as X was a state in February, the BBC was able to prove with notes and recordings of phone calls with MI5 that this was MI5 officer had confirmed the agent's status as he tried to persuade me to drop an investigation into X, a violent neo-Nazi misogynist who used his Security Service role to coerce and terrify his former girlfriend, known publicly as "Beth".At Tuesday's hearing MI5 acknowledged that the NCND policy could no longer be maintained in this policy has meant significant amounts of evidence has been confined to closed hearings which neither the BBC nor Beth - who has brought a separate case complaining about MI5 - are permitted to Kilroy KC, representing Beth, said her client agreed with the BBC that the threshold for contempt of court proceedings had been met. There had been "copious levels of dishonesty" which had not been acknowledged in MI5's investigations into how it came to give false BBC's barrister, Jude Bunting KC, submitted to the court that it should consider contempt of court proceedings against MI5 itself, and three individual Security Service officers - including one who confirmed X's status as an agent on the phone to me and a senior officer known as Witness A who gave the false evidence to accounts of how it came to give false evidence "lack candour" and there is a "real concern" that the court has not been given a full explanation of what went wrong, Mr Bunting said an external review by the government's former chief lawyer Sir Jonathan Jones KC did not speak to two crucial James Eadie KC, representing the Attorney General for the Security Service, offered an "unreserved apology on behalf of MI5"."Everyone from the director general downwards acknowledges the seriousness caused," he said. MI5 director general Sir Ken McCallum immediately informed Home Secretary Yvette Cooper as soon as the matter was drawn to his attention, Sir James has been "a full and comprehensive investigation" which came to the conclusion that "the errors that had been made had not been deliberate" and that "there had been no misleading or lying", MI5's barrister said that contempt of court proceedings "would not be appropriate".
