THE British Ministry of Defence (MoD) has been forced to admit that it knows the name and rank of a British soldier involved in a covert British military “ambush” operation in the vicinity of McGurk’s Bar on the night of the bombing.

15 people were killed in The UVF blast, including two children, on the night of December 4, 1971.

Following a request under the Freedom of Information Act, Ciarán MacAirt, a grandson of two McGurk’s Bar victims, accused the MoD of withholding critical evidence relating to the soldier and his deployment in a covert “ambush OP” [Observation Post] on the night of the atrocity.

Ciarán complained to the MoD and directed officials to where they should have looked for the information, including a redacted page in a battalion military logs and the disciplinary files (the ambush was recorded as the accidental discharge of a weapon by a soldier). 

Ciarán previously accessed a partially redacted log sheet for the 2nd Battalion of Royal Regiment of Fusiliers (2 RRF) which proved the existence of a covert British Army unit near McGurk’s Bar (see below).

2Gallery

C Company 2 RRF reported to its Headquarters at Glenravel, close to McGurk’s Bar, at 1645 hours (4.45pm) around four hours before the bomb: “Accidental discharge in the York St ambush OP – [REDACTED]” 

In its Internal Review, MoD has now admitted: “The redaction at Serial 33 relates to the rank and surname of the soldier” continuing:  “APC [Army Personnel Centre] was able to locate, retrieve and extract relevant information from the individual’s formal personnel record.”

Nevertheless, the MoD maintain that the soldier’s unit is unknown as he may have been “on loan”.

Ciarán MacAirt said: “I welcome the fact that the MoD has been forced to admit the existence of the covert British military operation in the vicinity of McGurk’s Bar and that the families have uncovered a potential British Army witness to the atrocity. 

“Nevertheless, I have raised a complaint with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) against the MoD for withholding evidence in the murder of the 15 civilians killed in McGurk’s Bar.                                                          

“This new evidence is the latest example of the failure of Police Service Northern Ireland (PSNI) and Office Police Ombudsman Northern Ireland (OPONI) to investigate this atrocity and police cover-up.

“MoD, PSNI and OPONI all denied the presence of British armed forces in the area, but we have proved that they were completely wrong.

“Not only was there a covert British military operation in place on the night of the McGurk’s Bar Massacre, but I have flushed a potential British Army witness to the atrocity after battling with the MoD for information; but MoD is withholding even more evidence, so I have been forced to take a complaint to ICO.

“As for the chronic failures at PSNI and OPONI, I do not where collusion ends and incompetence begins.”