A State in Denial: British Collaboration with Loyalist Paramilitaries

by Margaret Urwin

This meticulously researched book uses previously secret official documents to explore the tangled web of relationships between the top echelons of the British establishment, incl Cabinet ministers, senior civil servants, police/military officers and intelligence services with loyalist paramilitaries of the UDA & UVF throughout the 1970s and early 1980s. Covert British Army units, mass sectarian screening, propaganda ‘dirty tricks,’ arming sectarian killers and a point-blank refusal over the worst two decades of the conflict, to outlaw the largest loyalist killer gang in Northern Ireland. It shows how tactics such as curfew and internment were imposed on the nationalist population in Northern Ireland and how London misled the European Commission over internment’s one-sided nature. It focuses particularly on the British Government’s refusal to proscribe the UDA for two decades – probably the most serious abdication of the rule of law in the entire conflict. Previously classified documents show a clear pattern of official denial, at the highest levels of government, of the extent and impact of the loyalist assassination campaign.

Genres: History, Ireland, Irish Literature, Nonfiction, Politics

320 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 7, 2016

Reviews

[Karrie · Rating 5 out of 5]

the parallels between the collusion of the British Goverment and the UDA during The Troubles and The United States Goverment and MAGA is striking and frightening.

[Tom · Rating 3 out of 5]

Definitely goes into a level of detail I wasn't really expecting, lots of minutiae, but also a lot of really interesting facts; British collusion with loyalist death squads in Northern Ireland runs deep. The two go together like the Ulster Freedom Fighters and the Ulster Defense Association (you'd get it if you read the book).

[Paul · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting analysis of collusion between the British state and loyalist paramilitaries during the Northern Ireland troubles. The failure to proscribe the UDA as a terrorist organisation for so long is particularly shocking. On the down side, the book does have quite a narrow focus with little discussion of the wider accusations of the RUC facilitating terrorism, and a lot of knowledge is assumed, with a lack of context for those who may not know a lot about the timeline of events in the 70s and 80s.

[Kevin Doyle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent, disturbing book. I consider myself generally well-read and aware of current affairs and recent history - particularly where this involves Ireland - but I found myself re-evaluating this view on completion of A State In Denial. I guess it would be too much to ask that it would be put on the required reading list for students in the UK?

[Peggy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Outstanding true look at the British government and Loyalist paramilitaries during the Troubles.
The collusion between these two groups the author documents puts to lie that there was no collusion.
Some of the documents,needed to prove this further have been locked up to the year 2051.

[Mick Maye · Rating 4 out of 5]

astounding documentation

The detailed litany of British government collusion and collaboration with Loyalist paramilitaries is absolutely astounding. It flies in the face of the British government declaration of even handedness throughout the conflict. The ongoing treatment of Ireland as a third world country where violence could bully the population into accepting the state of affairs at that point beggars belief. However, one shouldn’t be surprised as this is how they established the world’s biggest empire.

[Lee Rolls · Rating 5 out of 5]

Informative and well researched

Good, well informed and researched. A good introduction and explanation of state collusion. Good use of source materials and well explained.