Declassified files reveal British establishment's fear of online Irish Republican activity
Newly declassified files reveal that the British government had anticipated Irish Republican prowess in the online information warfare arena.
According to newly released state papers, the British establishment – led by the intelligence and security community – was fearful of the successful use of the internet for “propaganda purposes” by Irish Republicans, as early as the mid-1990s.
The potential threat to British national security from a Sinn Féin website (in the early days of the internet) was raised by then minister of state at the Home Office, David Maclean.
In a letter to Sir John Wheeler, the then Northern Ireland Office minister, dated March 12, 1996, Maclean wrote: “Amongst the unsavoury nasties were these very professionally produced pages, apparently showing our complete [military] deployment in NI”.
“It horrifies me to find such dangerous and nasty propaganda on the internet”. Maclean added by referencing enclosed documents from the Sinn Féin website which supplied details of British military, Royal Navy, RAF and Royal Irish Regiment numbers.
Maclean tried to raise the issue again in April 1996 at the Northern Ireland Office (NIO) Security Information Group meeting at Stormont Castle.
According to the declassified files, whilst officials learnt that the NIO had a website, it was noted that it was inferior to Sinn Féin’s “sophisticated” website.
The release of the declassified material from quarter of a century ago coincides with the resurgence of the Irish Unity movement spearheaded by Sinn Féin and other nationalist groups.
Reflecting the growing anxiety of the British establishment, Jonathan Powell, who is a former senior diplomat and Downing Street Chief of Staff under Tony Bair, said recently that Brexit “could lead” to a United Ireland “within a decade”.
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