British informant sues MI5 for breach of contract

RIRA gunmen

By IAN ALLEN | intelNews.org |
An informant, who was used by British intelligence to infiltrate an Irish Republican dissident group, is suing the British government claiming he was forced to give evidence in court despite his will. The case, which is believed to be the first of its kind in British legal history, has been brought before the court by a man identified only as “Amir”. Britain’s domestic intelligence agency, MI5, has admitted recruiting Amir in 2004, and using him to infiltrate the Real Irish Republican Army (RIRA), a Provisional IRA splinter group that continues its armed campaign against British presence in Northern Ireland. But the informant claims that he accepted payment from MI5 on condition that he would never be expected to testify as a witness in court. Amir established contact with RIRA members in Luxembourg, and eventually put them in contact with two other MI5 informants posing as weapons merchants. The latter offered to sell the RIRA rifles, AK-47s, rocket-propelled grenades, and even plastic explosives. But when the MI5, which was monitoring the RIRA members’ meetings with the informants, decided to move ahead with a trial, Amir was surprised to receive a court summons to give evidence in the case. He claims that he was ultimately forced to appear in court in May 2010, after he was threatened with imprisonment if he refused to testify. He is now suing the British government for nearly $1 million, accusing the MI5 of breach of trust, and claiming that his livelihood as an informant has been compromised by his forced appearance in court. The trial continues.