For 20 years Sinn Féin Man Spied for British
Angelique Chrisafis
The Guardian, UK
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A top Sinn Féin member who headed the party's Stormont offices last night confessed that he had been spying for the British for 20 years.
Denis Donaldson, a 55-year-old former head of administration at Stormont, said he was recruited in the 1980s as a paid agent and deeply regretted working for British intelligence. His admission, which prompted his expulsion from the party, is the latest twist in a three-year saga dubbed "Stormontgate" in which allegations of an IRA spy ring in Northern Ireland's parliament led to the suspension of the assembly in 2002 and three years of direct rule.
Nationalist and unionist politicians last night demanded that Tony Blair make a statement shedding some light on what appeared to be an increasingly murky affair. The Irish prime minister, Bertie Ahern, described Mr Donaldson's confession as "as bizarre as it gets".
Mr Donaldson was working as a Sinn Féin administrator in Parliament Buildings when police raided his party's offices in October 2002. Officers investigating an alleged IRA spy ring seized computer disks in what would become one of the highest profile spying cases in Northern Ireland. The government swiftly suspended the assembly after unionists threatened to resign.
Dec 17, 2005
See: Donaldson Killed (Apr 05 , 2006 Report)
Angelique ChrisafisThe Guardian, UK
_____________
A top Sinn Féin member who headed the party's Stormont offices last night confessed that he had been spying for the British for 20 years.
Denis Donaldson, a 55-year-old former head of administration at Stormont, said he was recruited in the 1980s as a paid agent and deeply regretted working for British intelligence. His admission, which prompted his expulsion from the party, is the latest twist in a three-year saga dubbed "Stormontgate" in which allegations of an IRA spy ring in Northern Ireland's parliament led to the suspension of the assembly in 2002 and three years of direct rule.
Nationalist and unionist politicians last night demanded that Tony Blair make a statement shedding some light on what appeared to be an increasingly murky affair. The Irish prime minister, Bertie Ahern, described Mr Donaldson's confession as "as bizarre as it gets".
Mr Donaldson was working as a Sinn Féin administrator in Parliament Buildings when police raided his party's offices in October 2002. Officers investigating an alleged IRA spy ring seized computer disks in what would become one of the highest profile spying cases in Northern Ireland. The government swiftly suspended the assembly after unionists threatened to resign.
Dec 17, 2005
See: Donaldson Killed (Apr 05 , 2006 Report)
