Submission to UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Opinion & Expression: The Case of Ed Moloney
1st October 1999
British Irish Rights Watch is an independent non-governmental organisation that monitors the human rights dimension of the conflict and the peace process in Northern Ireland. Our services are available to anyone whose human rights have been affected by the conflict, regardless of religious, political or community affiliations, and we take no position on the eventual constitutional outcome of the peace process. This submission to the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression and Opinion concerns the situation of a journalist, Ed Moloney, who has been ordered by the Northern Ireland courts to disclose notes of confidential interviews with a source. Ed Moloney is the Northern Ireland editor of the Sunday newspaper the Sunday Tribune, which is published in the Republic of Ireland but read throughout the island of Ireland, that is Northern Ireland and the Republic. He is a very experienced and highly respected journalist, noted for his political commentary and investigative reporting, and for his independence. One of the many cases investigated by Ed Moloney has been that of the murder of Belfast lawyer Patrick Finucane. He was murdered by the loyalist Ulster Freedom Fighters (UFF) on 12th February 1989. Since his death a series of allegations have surfaced which strongly suggest that there was official collusion in his murder. Ed Moloney has been researching the case since 1989. On 22nd June 1999 William (Billy) Stobie was arrested and on 23rd June he was charged with the murder of Patrick Finucane. His arrest came after a senior English police officer, John Stevens was called in by Sir Ronnie Flanagan, the Chief Constable of the RUC (the Royal Ulster Constabulary, the Northern Ireland police) to investigate the case for a third time. On 12th February 1999, British Irish Rights Watch presented a confidential report to the British and Irish governments concerning collusion between British army intelligence and the RUC with paramilitaries over a number of years. The report, called Deadly Intelligence, set out all that was known about the murder of Patrick Finucane at that time. British Irish Rights Watch called on the British government to establish an independent judicial inquiry into the matters covered in their report, including the Finucane murder. After studying the report, the Irish government echoed that call. The Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, Mo Mowlam, passed a copy of Deadly Intelligence to, among others, the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), who passed a copy to the Chief Constable of the RUC. He called in John Stevens to investigate the allegations in the report. The Secretary of State told British Irish Rights Watch that the Chief Constable had done so because their report identified alleged crimes that had not previously been investigated. However, British Irish Rights Watch is of the opinion that the Chief Constable called in John Stevens in order to prevent the Secretary of State from establishing an independent inquiry. Whether they are right of wrong, the Secretary of State has since said that she cannot establish such an inquiry until the police investigation is completed. Stobie has now confessed publicly that he was at the time of the murder a quartermaster for the Ulster Defence Association, whose armed wing was the UFF, and that he supplied the weapons used in the murder. He has also said publicly that he was acting as an informer for the RUCs Special Branch, and that he told his handlers everything he knew at the time concerning the murder. The RUC apparently deny that he did so, but they have not denied that he was their agent. If Stobies claims are true, they imply that the RUC knew that named UFF men had asked for weapons, but made no effort to keep them under surveillance; that they knew these men were about to commit a murder, but did nothing to prevent it; and that they knew when and where these men were due to deliver the guns back to Stobie, but made no attempt to arrest them. Ed Moloney had interviewed Billy Stobie in September 1990 and on various occasions subsequently concerning his role in the murder of Patrick Finucane. Before he met Ed Moloney, Stobie had also spoken in June 1990 to another journalist, Neil Mullholland, who at that time worked for the Sunday Life newspaper (he is now a press officer at the Northern Ireland Office). Although Stobie spoke to Mulholland in confidence, Mullholland departed from journalistic ethics and discussed what Stobie had told him about the Finucane murder with Bill McGookin, the head of the RUC press office. On 7th September 1990, Mullholland was formally interviewed by the RUC. He told them all he knew, but refused to sign a statement or hand over his interview notes. On 13th September 1990 Stobie was arrested and questioned about the Finucane murder during a period of seven days detention under emergency laws. He denied direct involvement in the murder, but admitted to being the UDAs quartermaster, supplying the weapons used in the murder, and recovering them afterwards. He said he did not know who was the intended target, but only that it was a top provo (provo = member of the Provisional IRA). Stobie was released without charge, but a file was sent to the DPP. Knowing that Mulholland had breached his confidentiality, Stobie then spoke to Ed Moloney. He agreed to tell the journalist everything he knew about the Finucane murder and various other matters in return for an absolute undertaking from Ed Moloney that he would not publish what he was told without Stobies express permission. After Stevens was called in to investigate the allegations in Deadly Intelligence, he interviewed Mullholland on 3rd June 1999. On this occasion, Mullholland abandoned his ethics altogether and gave Stevens a signed statement and his original notes of his interview with Stobie. On 23rd June 1999 Stobie was charged with the murder of Patrick Finucane. On 24th June he appeared at Belfast Magistrates Court, where it was reported that he had made the following statement upon being charged:
“Not guilty of the charge that you have put to me tonight. At the time I was a police informer for Special Branch. On the night of the death of Patrick Finucane I informed Special Branch on two occasions by telephone of a person who was to be shot. I did not know at the time of the [name of the] person who was to be shot.””
Stobies solicitor Joe Rice told the court that his client was a paid Crown agent from 1987 until 1990 and that he gave the police information on two occasions before the Finucane murder which was not acted upon. In addition Joe Rice claimed that