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65-568: The MRF also handled informers within the paramilitary groups and ran several front companies to gather intelligence. In October 1972, the IRA uncovered and attacked two of the MRF's front companies—a mobile laundry service and a massage parlour—which contributed to the unit's dissolution. The MRF was succeeded by the Special Reconnaissance Unit (SRU; or 14 Intelligence Company ) and, later, by

130-480: A nearby house was also wounded by the gunfire. Shortly afterward, the MRF unit's car was stopped by the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) and the occupants were arrested. Inside the car was a Thompson sub-machine gun, "for years the IRA's favourite weapon". One of the MRF members—Clive Graham Williams—was charged with attempted murder. He told the court that two of the men had been armed, and one had fired at

195-582: A nearby pub that was allegedly linked to the Official IRA . It is claimed the MRF plan was to help the UVF bomb The Gem, and then blame the bombing on the Provisional IRA . This would start a feud between the two IRA factions, diverting them from their fight against the security forces and draining their support. Campbell said that The Gem had security outside and, after waiting for almost an hour, they decided to bomb

260-450: A number of drive-by shootings in Catholic and Irish nationalist areas of Belfast, some of which were attributed to Ulster loyalist paramilitaries. MRF members have asserted the unit's involvement in most of these attacks. There are also allegations that the unit helped loyalists to carry out attacks. On 4 December 1971, the loyalist Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) detonated a time bomb at

325-570: A taxi home from a disco and were dropped off at Slievegallion Drive. As they began walking along the street, in the direction of a vigilante barricade, the MRF team opened fire on them from an unmarked car. The MRF team told the Royal Military Police that they had shot a man who was firing a rifle. Witnesses said there was no gunman on the street, and police forensics experts found no evidence that McAloon or Devlin had fired weapons. Two weeks later, on 27 May, Catholic civilian Gerard Duddy (20)

390-500: A woman. According to some sources, the IRA claimed to have killed two surveillance officers allegedly hidden in the laundry van, and two MRF members at the massage parlour. However, the British Army only confirmed the death of the van driver on that day. Brendan Hughes said that the operation "was a great morale booster for the IRA and for the people that were involved". The MRF, realising its undercover operations were blown, disbanded

455-399: Is a public policy compromise. As denatured alcohol is sold without the often heavy taxes on alcohol suitable for consumption, it is a cheaper solution for most uses that do not involve drinking. If pure ethanol were made cheaply available for fuel, solvents, or medicinal purposes, it could be used as a beverage without payment of alcohol tax. Despite its poisonous content, denatured alcohol

520-575: Is for this reason that agents are ideally trained to resist interrogation for a defined period of time. If an agent is able to resist interrogation for a defined period of time, the odds improve that other members of the network can be alerted to the compromise. A case officer is an intelligence officer who is a trained specialist in the management of agents and agent networks. Case officers manage human agents and human intelligence networks. Case officers spot potential agents, recruit prospective agents and train agents in tradecraft . Case officers emphasize

585-411: Is not uncommon, for example, for a case officer to manage a number of principal agents, who in turn handle agent networks, which are preferably organized in a cellular fashion . In such a case, the principal agent can serve as a "cut-out" for the case officer, buffering him or her from direct contact with the agent network. Using a principal agent as a cut-out, and ensuring that the human agent network

650-513: Is often added to give the substance an extremely bitter flavour. Substances such as pyridine are added to give the mixture an unpleasant odour , and agents such as syrup of ipecac may also be included to induce vomiting. New Zealand has removed methanol from its government-approved "methylated spirits" formulation. In the USSR , denatured alcohol was used as drinking alcohol surrogate, along with many other technical ethanol-containing products. This

715-415: Is organized in a cellular fashion, can provide some protection for other agents in the network, as well as for the principal agent, and for the case officer if an agent in the network is compromised. Assuming that standard principles of intelligence tradecraft have been strictly observed by the principal agent and the agents in the network, compromised agents will not be able to identify the case officer, nor

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780-566: Is sometimes consumed as a surrogate alcohol . This can result in blindness or death if it contains methanol. For instance, during the thirteen-year prohibition of alcohol in the US, federal law required methanol be added to domestically manufactured industrial alcohols. From 25–27 December 1926, which was roughly at the midpoint of nationwide alcohol prohibition, 31 people in New York City alone died of methanol poisoning. To help prevent this, denatonium

845-488: Is to penetrate a target with a human agent, or a network of human agents. Such agents can either infiltrate the target, or be recruited "in place". Case officers are professionally trained employees of intelligence organizations that manage human agents and human agent networks. Intelligence that derives from such human sources is known by the abbreviation HUMINT . Sometimes, agent handling is done indirectly, through "principal agents" that serve as proxies for case officers. It

910-458: Is used as a solvent and as fuel for alcohol burners and camping stoves . Because of the diversity of industrial uses for denatured alcohol, hundreds of additives and denaturing methods have been used. The main additive usually is 10% methanol (methyl alcohol), hence the name methylated spirits . Other common additives include isopropyl alcohol , acetone , methyl ethyl ketone , and methyl isobutyl ketone . Denaturing alcohol does not alter

975-490: Is used identically to ethanol itself but only for applications that involve fuel, surgical and laboratory stock. Pure ethanol is required for food and beverage applications and certain chemical reactions where the denaturant would interfere. In molecular biology , denatured ethanol should not be used for the precipitation of nucleic acids , since the additives may interfere with downstream applications. Denatured alcohol has no advantages for any purpose over normal ethanol; it

1040-574: The 39th Infantry Brigade . It has been claimed that he was responsible for establishing the MRF and that the unit was attached to his brigade. The MRF was based at Palace Barracks in the Belfast suburb of Holywood . The MRF's first commander was Captain Arthur Watchus. In June 1972, he was succeeded as commander by Captain James 'Hamish' McGregor. The unit consisted of up to 40 men, handpicked from throughout

1105-659: The Andersonstown area. An MRF team in an unmarked car approached a checkpoint manned by members of the Catholic Ex-Servicemen's Association (CESA) at the entrance to Riverdale Park South. The CESA was an unarmed vigilante organization set up by former members of the British Army to protect Catholic areas. The car stopped, and then reversed. One of the MRF men opened fire from the car with a sub-machine gun, killing Catholic civilian Patrick McVeigh (44) and wounding four others. The car continued on, turned, and then drove past

1170-901: The Force Research Unit (FRU). The MRF was established in the summer of 1971. It appears to have its origins in ideas and techniques developed by Brigadier Sir Frank Kitson , a senior commander in the British Army , who had created "counter gangs" to defeat the Kenya Land and Freedom Army in the Colony and Protectorate of Kenya during the Mau Mau rebellion . He was the author of two books on counter-insurgency tactics: Gangs & Counter Gangs (1960) and Low Intensity Operations (1971). From 1970 to 1972, Kitson served in Northern Ireland as commander of

1235-460: The Intelligence Corps . The Freds would work inside paramilitary groups, feeding back information to the MRF. They were also ferried through Belfast in armoured cars, and through the gunslit would point-out paramilitary individuals of note. Through this method the MRF compiled extensive photographs and dossiers of Belfast militants of both factions. In 1972, it is alleged MRF teams carried out

1300-521: The BBC's Panorama , Soldier F, said "We were not there to act like an army unit, we were there to act like a terror group ". Soldier H said "We operated initially with them thinking that we were the UVF ", to which Soldier F added: "We wanted to cause confusion". Another said that their role was "to draw out the IRA and to minimise their activities". They said they fired on groups of people manning defensive barricades, on

1365-648: The British Army. A Ministry of Defence review concluded the MRF had "no provision for detailed command and control". In March 1994, the UK's Junior Defence Minister Jeremy Hanley issued the following description of the MRF in reply to a parliamentary written question: "The MRF was a small military unit which, during the period 1971 to 1973, was responsible for carrying out surveillance tasks in Northern Ireland in those circumstances where soldiers in uniform and with Army vehicles would be too easily recognized". Martin Dillon described

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1430-624: The CESA members were armed, and this was supported by forensic evidence. The MRF members involved were never prosecuted. There is no evidence that any of their targets were in the IRA. An MRF member stated in 1978 that their intention was to make it look like a loyalist attack, thus provoking sectarian conflict and "taking the heat off the Army". Minutes before the shooting at the checkpoint, two other Catholic civilians had been shot nearby by another MRF team. The two young men—Aidan McAloon and Eugene Devlin—had taken

1495-541: The Gemini massage parlour on Antrim Road . The MRF also had an office at College Square. All were set up to gather intelligence on the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) and Irish nationalist movement. A Four Square van visited houses in nationalist West Belfast twice a week to collect and deliver laundry. One "employee" (a young man) drove the van while another (a young woman) collected and delivered

1560-498: The IRA about the MRF's operations, including the laundry and the massage parlour. The leaders of the Provisional IRA Belfast Brigade ordered that the companies immediately be put under surveillance. This surveillance confirmed that McKee's information was correct. The IRA later took Wright and McKee to South Armagh, where they were "executed" as spies. Their bodies were recovered in 2015. Following these revelations,

1625-538: The IRA. In October 1973, however, the Belfast Telegraph published an article suggesting that Smith could have been shot by the MRF. Documents uncovered from the British National Archives reveal that the MRF fired shots in the area that night. They claim to have fired at two gunmen and hit one of them. The Belfast Telegraph article also suggested that Smith could have been shot by the IRA, who fired on

1690-459: The MRF car. He claimed he was returning fire. Witnesses said that none of the civilians were armed, and that it was an unprovoked attack. Police forensics experts found no evidence that the civilians had fired weapons. However, key witnesses were not called to give evidence in person, and Williams was acquitted on 26 June 1973. He was later promoted and awarded the Military Medal for bravery. On

1755-520: The MRF organised the bombing and helped the bombers get in and out of the area. Two days before the bombing, republican prisoners had escaped from nearby Crumlin Road Prison . Security was tightened, and there were many checkpoints in the area at the time. However, locals claimed that the security forces helped the bombers by removing the checkpoints an hour before the attack. One of the bombers—Robert Campbell—said that their original target had been The Gem,

1820-512: The MRF was involved in a drive-by shooting in the Catholic New Lodge area on 3 February 1973. The car's occupants opened fire on a group of young people standing outside a pub on Antrim Road, killing IRA members James Sloan and James McCann and wounding others. The gunmen drove on and allegedly fired at another group of people outside a takeaway. In the hours that followed, a further four people—an IRA member and three civilians—were shot dead in

1885-590: The MRF's purpose as being "to draw the Provisional IRA into a shooting war with loyalists in order to distract the IRA from its objective of attacking the Army". Many details about the unit's modus operandi have been revealed by former members. One issued a statement to the Troops Out Movement in July 1978. In 2012–13, a former MRF member using the covername 'Simon Cursey' gave a number of interviews and published

1950-457: The United Kingdom, and as denatured rectified spirit , is ethanol that has additives to make it poisonous , bad-tasting, foul-smelling, or nauseating to discourage its recreational consumption . It is sometimes dyed so that it can be identified visually. Pyridine and methanol , each and together, make denatured alcohol poisonous; and denatonium makes it bitter. Denatured alcohol

2015-565: The United States Title 27 of the Code of Federal Regulations Section 21.151. A specially denatured alcohol is a combination of ethanol and another chemical substance, e.g., ethyl acetate in SDA 29, 35, and 35A , added to render the mixture unsuitable for drinking. SDAs are often used in cosmetic products, and can also be used in chemical manufacturing, pharmaceuticals, and solvents. Another example

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2080-571: The area by British snipers. The dead became known as the "New Lodge Six". In June 1973, the Northern Ireland Civil Rights Association issued advice on how to behave in the event of being "shot by MRF/SAS squads", saying for example that people should "pretend to be dead until the squad moves away". The MRF ran a number of front companies in Belfast during the early 1970s. They included Four Square Laundry (a mobile laundry service operating in nationalist West Belfast) and

2145-440: The assumption that some might be armed. The MRF member who made a statement in 1978 opined that the unit's role was one of "repression through fear, terror and violence". He said that the unit had been trained to use weapons favoured by the IRA. Republicans argued that the MRF deliberately attacked civilians for two main reasons: firstly, to draw the IRA into a sectarian conflict with loyalists and divert it from its campaign against

2210-435: The book MRF Shadow Troop about his time in the unit. In November 2013, a BBC Panorama documentary was aired about the MRF. It drew on information from seven former members, as well as a number of other sources. The Panorama documentary identified 10 unarmed civilians who were shot by the MRF (the MRF was disbanded in 1973). The MRF had both a "defensive" surveillance role and an "offensive" role. MRF operatives patrolled

2275-470: The car thinking it was carrying MRF members. The IRA deny this and claim that it was not in the area at the time of the shooting. On 22 June 1972, the Provisional IRA announced that it would begin a ceasefire in four days, as a prelude to secret talks with the British government. That afternoon, MRF members in an unmarked car shot and wounded three Catholic men standing by a car at Glen Road bus terminus. A man in

2340-545: The car while three others did the shooting. They shot dead the driver, an undercover British soldier of the Royal Engineers , and machine-gunned the roof compartment where undercover operatives were thought to be hiding. The other Four Square employee—a female soldier from the Women's Royal Army Corps (WRAC)—was collecting and delivering laundry from a nearby house at the time. The residents, who thought that loyalists were attacking

2405-429: The denaturation. Methanol is commonly used both because its boiling point is close to that of ethanol and because it is toxic. Another typical denaturant is pyridine. Often the denatured alcohol is dyed with methyl violet . There are several grades of denatured alcohol, but in general the denaturants used are similar. As an example, the formulation for completely denatured alcohol , according to 2005 British regulations

2470-673: The direction of a principal agent or a case officer. When agents work alone, and are not members of an agent network, they are termed "singletons". The identification of potential agents is termed "agent spotting" (also termed "talent spotting"). Identifying potential agents, and investigating the details of their personal and professional lives, involves the granular verification of their bona fides . Such activities can include uncovering personal details that leave potential agents vulnerable to coercion , blackmail , or other inducements, such as sexual approaches. Approaches to potential agents can be multitudinous and considerable time can pass before

2535-545: The door of McGurk's public house , located on the corner of North Queen Street and Great George's Street in Belfast . The pub was frequented by Irish Catholics / nationalists . The explosion caused the building to collapse, killing fifteen Catholic civilians and wounding seventeen more. It was the deadliest attack in Belfast during the Troubles. The book Killing For Britain (2009), written by former UVF member 'John Black', claims that

2600-529: The elements of tradecraft that enable the agent to acquire needed information, and enable the case officer to communicate with and supervise the agent. Most importantly, case officers train agents in methods of avoiding detection by host nation counter-intelligence organizations. By definition, an "agent" acts on behalf of another, whether another individual, an organization, or a foreign government. Agents can be considered either witting or unwitting, and in some cases, willing or unwilling. Agents typically work under

2665-848: The emplacement of audio devices, sensors, or other transmitters. Case officers generally train agents one at a time, in isolation, including only those elements of tradecraft needed to penetrate the target at hand. Case officers will also teach agents how to develop cover for status , and cover for action , meaning how to establish credible pretexts for their presence and behavior while engaged in collection activities. A well-trained and competent agent can conduct his or her clandestine tasks while under close surveillance, and still evade detection. More advanced agent training can include resistance to interrogation . Denatured alcohol Denatured alcohol , also known as methylated spirits , metho , or meths in Australia, Ireland, New Zealand, South Africa, and

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2730-509: The ethanol molecule ( chemically or structurally), unlike denaturation in biochemistry. Rather, the ethanol is mixed with other chemicals to form a foul-tasting, often toxic, solution. For many of these solutions, it is intentionally difficult to separate the components. In many countries denaturated alcohol is traditionally dyed with methyl violet or similar hue ( crystal violet , methylene blue ) dye for safety reasons. In Central and Eastern Europe (Czechoslovakia, Poland and others) this

2795-483: The gunmen returned to the car and spoke into a handset radio. Shortly afterward two armoured personnel carriers arrived, and there was a conversation between the uniformed and the plainclothes soldiers. The three vehicles then left, and the brothers were taken by ambulance to the Royal Victoria Hospital . The British Army told journalists that an army patrol had encountered two wanted men, that one had fired at

2860-534: The house was harbouring an IRA member. Surveillance operatives and equipment were hidden in the back of the van or in a compartment in the roof. Further intelligence was gathered by staff observing and "chatting" to locals whilst collecting their laundry. However, in September 1972, the IRA found that two of its members—Seamus Wright and Kevin McKee—were working for the MRF as double agents. Under interrogation, McKee told

2925-438: The identification of a principal agent, the protection provided by cellular network organization can be time-sensitive. If principles of intelligence tradecraft have not been strictly observed, it is also possible that compromised agents can reveal information that exposes other members of the network. In the real world of espionage, human lapses are very much the norm, and violations of the principles of tradecraft are common. It

2990-430: The laundry. Both were from Northern Ireland. Four Square initially gathered customers by offering "discount vouchers", which were numbered and colour-coded by street. Clothes collected for washing were first forensically checked for traces of explosives, as well as blood or firearms residue. They were also compared to previous laundry loads from the same house—the sudden presence of different-sized clothes could indicate that

3055-515: The leaders of the IRA's Belfast Brigade planned an operation against the MRF, which was to take place on 2 October 1972. The 2nd Battalion would attack the Four Square Laundry van and the office at College Square, while the 3rd Battalion would raid the massage parlour. At about 11:20 AM on 2 October, IRA volunteers ambushed the Four Square Laundry van in the nationalist Twinbrook area of West Belfast. Four volunteers were involved: one drove

3120-535: The men's families, and residents of the area denied this, and Rooney's name has never appeared on a republican roll of honour. An inquest was held in December 1973. The court was told that forensic tests on the men's hands and clothing found no firearms residue. The six soldiers involved repeated the British Army's claim, but they did not appear at the inquest. Their statements were read by a police officer and they were referred to by initials. There are also allegations that

3185-488: The nearest 'Catholic pub' instead. Immediately afterward, the security forces claimed that a bomb had accidentally exploded while being handled by IRA members inside McGurk's. On 15 April 1972, brothers Gerry and John Conway—both Catholic civilians—were walking along Whiterock Road to catch a bus. As they passed St Thomas's School, a car stopped, and three men leapt out and began shooting at them with pistols. The brothers ran, but both were shot and wounded. Witnesses said one of

3250-463: The night of 27 September 1972, the MRF shot dead Catholic civilian Daniel Rooney and wounded his friend Brendan Brennan. They were shot from a passing car while standing on a street corner at St James's Crescent, in the Falls district. British Army told journalists that the two men fired at an undercover Army patrol and that the patrol returned fire. They also claimed that the two men were IRA members. The IRA,

3315-412: The other members of the network. Ideally, agents may work side by side in the same office, and conduct their clandestine collection activities with such discipline, that they will not realize that they are both engaged in espionage, much less members of the same network. Since an agent can sometimes identify his or her principal agent, however, or reveal information under interrogation that can lead to

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3380-535: The patrol, and that the patrol returned fire. In a 1978 interview, a former MRF member claimed he had been one of the gunmen. He confirmed that the brothers were unarmed but claimed his patrol had mistaken the brothers for two IRA men whom the MRF were ordered to "shoot on sight". On 12 May 1972, the British government announced there would be no disciplinary action against the soldiers involved in Bloody Sunday . That night, MRF personnel shot seven Catholic civilians in

3445-429: The potential agent is maneuvered into a position where a recruitment "pitch" can be hazarded. Agent training often includes techniques of tradecraft such as clandestine communication , including cryptography , the use of one-time pads , the construction of concealment devices , and the employment of dead drops . Other elements of tradecraft include elicitation, surveillance and countersurveillance , photography and

3510-478: The proportion of 1.5 grams to every 1000 litres of the mixture. The European Union agreed in February 2013 to the following mutual procedures for the complete denaturing of alcohol: Per hectolitre (100 L) of absolute ethanol: 3 litres of isopropyl alcohol, 3 litres of methyl ethyl ketone and 1 gram denatonium benzoate . A specially denatured alcohol ( SDA ) is one of many types of denatured alcohol specified under

3575-445: The same way. This, together with the spokesman's statement, implied that loyalists were responsible. An inquest into the attack was held in December 1972, where it was admitted that the car's occupants were soldiers belonging to an undercover unit known as the MRF. The soldiers did not appear at the inquest but issued statements to it, claiming they had been shot at by six gunmen and were returning fire. However, eyewitnesses said none of

3640-414: The scene of the shooting. All of the men were local residents and McVeigh, who was shot through the back, had stopped to chat to the CESA members as he walked home. He was a married father of six children. The British Army told journalists that gunmen in a passing car had fired indiscriminately at civilians and called it an "apparently motiveless crime". The car had come from a Protestant area and had returned

3705-465: The state; and secondly, to show Catholics that the IRA could not protect them, thus draining its support. The MRF's surveillance operations included the use of front companies (see below ) and disguises. Former members claim they posed as road sweepers, dustmen and even homeless meths -drinkers while carrying out surveillance. The MRF is known to have used agents referred to as 'Freds'. These were republican or loyalist paramilitaries who were recruited by

3770-411: The streets in these cars in teams of two to four, tracking down and arresting or killing suspected IRA members. They were armed with Browning pistols and Sterling sub-machine guns. Former MRF members admitted that the unit shot unarmed people without warning, both IRA members and civilians. Former MRF members claim they had a list of targets they were ordered to "shoot on sight". One member interviewed for

3835-586: The units and was itself disbanded shortly afterwards. The incident was believed to have prompted the establishment of a new undercover intelligence unit: the 14 Intelligence Company (also known as "The Det"). [REDACTED] Category Agent handling In intelligence organizations , agent handling is the management of so-called agents (called secret agents or spies in common parlance), principal agents, and agent networks (called " assets ") by intelligence officers typically known as case officers . A primary purpose of intelligence organizations

3900-422: The van, took her into the house and kept her safe. The woman was later secretly invested at Buckingham Palace with an MBE . About an hour later, the same IRA unit raided College Square but found nobody there. Meanwhile, a unit of the 3rd Battalion made for the room above the massage parlour, which they believed was being used to gather intelligence. They claimed to have shot three undercover soldiers: two men and

3965-402: Was a tyre bursting. When he got out to check, the car was hit by a burst of automatic gunfire. Smith was shot in the head and died shortly afterward. Her companion stopped a passing taxi and asked the driver to take her to hospital. However, the taxi was then stopped by police and diverted to Andersonstown RUC base, where they were held for several hours. The security forces blamed the killing on

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4030-434: Was as follows: Completely denatured alcohol must be made in accordance with the following formulation: with every 90 parts by volume of alcohol mix 9.5 parts by volume of wood naphtha or a substitute and 0.5 parts by volume of crude pyridine, and to the resulting mixture add mineral naphtha ( petroleum oil ) in the proportion of 3.75 litres to every 1000 litres of the mixture and synthetic organic dyestuff (methyl violet) in

4095-580: Was especially common during various anti-alcohol campaigns initiated by the Soviet government. There is much evidence to that in both popular folklore and in literature and music. The word "denaturat" (Russian: денатурат) even gained a special symbolic meaning. Its consumption is mentioned in songs of Vladimir Vysotsky , as well as written works of Venedikt Yerofeev , Yuz Aleshkovsky , and Vyacheslav Shishkov . Diverse additives are used to make it difficult to use distillation or other simple processes to reverse

4160-464: Was killed in a drive-by shooting at the same spot where Patrick McVeigh was killed. His death was blamed on loyalists. On the night of 9 June 1972, Catholic civilian Jean Smith (or Smyth) was shot dead on the Glen Road. Jean was a 24-year-old mother of one. She was shot while sitting in the passenger seat of a car at the Glen Road bus terminus. As her male companion turned the car, he heard what he thought

4225-478: Was mandatory during the communist era . In many countries, sales of alcoholic beverages are heavily taxed for revenue and public health policy purposes (see Pigovian tax ). In order to avoid paying beverage taxes on alcohol that is not meant to be consumed, the alcohol is usually "denatured", or treated with added chemicals to make it unpalatable. Its composition is tightly defined by government regulations in countries that tax alcoholic beverages. Denatured alcohol

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