Captain Robert Nairac - An Enduring Mystery

Robert Laurence Nairac, GC

May 15th 2017 marked the fortieth anniversary of the passing of British Army intelligence officer Captain Robert Nairac while serving on undercover duty during the Northern Ireland Troubles.

I suggested back in March that the narrative of Nairac’s activities in Northern Ireland would be presented in as polarized a manner as was the recent passing of former Provisional IRA commander, Martin McGuinness.

The British narrative I predicted would emphasize that he was a ‘tragic hero’: a brave and well-intentioned maverick soldier who might have become the Lawrence of Arabia of Northern Ireland. The Republican counter-narrative would cast him as a bloodthirsty adventurer at the helm of a number of loyalist death squads which committed the most heinous of crimes directed against the nationalist community.

Nairac, an officer of the Grenadier Guards, remains one of the few disappeared of the conflict whose remains have yet to be returned to their respective families for burial, in Nairac’s case one which would be according to the rites of the Roman Catholic faith into which he was born.

© Adeyinka Makinde (2017)

Adeyinka Makinde is a law lecturer with an interest in intelligence and security matters.

My Interview at 'The Mind Renewed' About 'Extraordinary Rendition' and 'The Troubles' - Part Two of 'Can the British State Convict itself?'

The second part of a wide-ranging interview that I had with Julian Charles of the 'Mind Renewed' about my forthcoming paper 'Can the British State Convict itself?'

This segment looks at Britain's role in the American-led extraordinary rendition of Islamist terror suspects involving the former foreign secretary Jack Straw and the former head of counter-intelligence at MI6, Mark Allen and Britain's counter-insurgency strategy in Northern Ireland which was initiated in the early 1970s by the then Brigadier Frank Kitson.

TMR page - Episode 160 ‘Can the British State Convict Itself?’ (Part Two: 'Rendition' and 'The Troubles')

“...it is sometimes necessary to do unpleasant things which lose a certain amount of allegiance for a moment in order to produce your overall results.” - Frank Kitson

This week we conclude our two-part interview with lawyer and university lecturer Adeyinka Makinde on his forthcoming academic paper: “Intelligence Accountability - Can the British State Convict Itself?”

In the first part we discussed Tony Blair’s decision to take Britain to war against Iraq in 2003, and the considered the prospects for war-crime prosecution under international and domestic law.

In the second part we move on to discuss Britain’s role in the US-led “extraordinary rendition” programme - asking to what extent former UK foreign secretary, Jack Straw, and former head of counter-intelligence at MI6, Mark Allen, were involved in that - and end by looking at Britain’s counter-insurgency strategy in Northern Ireland, which was initiated in the early 1970s by then Brigadier Frank Kitson.

Adeyinka Makinde trained for the law as a barrister. He lectures in criminal law and public law at a university in London, and has an academic research in intelligence & security matters. He is a contributor to a number of websites for which he has written essays and commentaries on international relations, politics and military history. He has served as a programme consultant and provided expert commentary for BBC World Service Radio, China Radio International and Voice of Russia.

TMR 160: Adeyinka Makinde: ‘Can the British State Convict itself?’ (Part Two: 'Rendition' & 'The Troubles')

© Adeyinka Makinde (2016)

Adeyinka Makinde is a writer based in London, England