ShareFacebook, Twitter, Google Plus, Pinterest, Email Print Infamous Death-Squad Killer Dies by admin 10 March, 2022, 9:19 pm 0 Comments March/April 2022 31Infamous Death-Squad Killer Diesserious shooting incidents, but he has escaped justice once and for all. He goes to his grave with many of the UK’s secrets regarding its dirty war in Ireland.That suits the British government and its armed forces but leaves victims and survivors bereft of truth and justice.Clive Graham Williams (British Army number 24031479) received a decorated soldier’s funeral, having risen to the rank of Major follow–ing an exchange with the Royal Military Police (RMP) in Britain and the Royal Australian Corps of Military Police (RACMP) in the 1980s.Lieutenant Colonel Craig Kingston of the Aus–tralian Army gave a cofn-side oration at Williams’ funeral:“Taf has many RMP highlights and the most notable being the award of the Military Medal when serving… in Northern Ireland in the 1970s. Today’s not the occasion to detail the circum–stances of how Taf was awarded the Military Medal, however it is the day to detail why a AN INFAMOUS killer, wanted in connection with a series of murders and attempted murders of Irish civilians in Belfast in 1972, has died.Clive Graham Williams, or Taf as he known to his fellow gang members, died just before Christmas.Despite proof of their involvement in serial mur–ders and attempted murders, the British courts brought neither Williams nor any members of his gang members to justice.The reason is simple. They had a licence to kill; and killed Irish civilians for the British state.Clive Graham Williams was a leading member of Britain’s Military Reaction Force (MRF), an extra-legal, covert, ofensive British Army unit which stalked the streets of Belfast in the early 1970s.In 2020, I collated archival evidence from secret British military logs which proved that Wil–liams and his death-squad were guilty of a litany of unprovoked and vicious attacks on unarmed civilians, including young teenagers. I presented this evidence in a report for the charity Paper Trail (Legacy Archive Research) which we then submitted to an independent investigative police team working under former English police Chief Constable, Jon Boucher.Only in June 2020 did the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) refer fles on seven former MRF soldiers to the Public Prosecution Service (PPS) although the British justice system has failed to hold any to account yet. Williams’ name had to be on one of those fles as I proved he was directly responsible for several By Ciarán MacAirtTaff’s secretive Military Medal was for nefarious murders in Northern IrelandThe reason for Lieutenant Colonel Kingston’s tasteless nudge-nudge-wink-wink about Williams’ medal citation may be because it covered the period when Williams and his death-squad were shooting unarmed civilians on the streets of BelfastMilitary Medal is bestowed on an individual. It is awarded to personnel for bravery in battle, for acts of gallantry and devotion, to duty under fre… Taf did not speak often about his medal and many who knew him in later years had no idea about his past, such was his humility”.Normally, the circumstances of the award of such a prestigious Military Medal would be the centre-piece of any British military commemora–tion, but, as I discovered over a decade ago, Williams’ Military Medal was recorded in the London Gazette of 3 October 1972.The reason for Lieutenant Colonel Kingston’s tasteless nudge-nudge-wink-wink about Wil–liams’ MM citation may be because it covered the period when Williams and his death-squad were shooting unarmed civilians on the streets of Belfast.Williams did not talk about the circumstances of his MM as it would have left him open to pros–ecution for serial murders and attempted murders. In my published research, I redacted his name and the other MRF shooters named in the fles to ensure I facilitated the work of the families’ legal teams.On 6 May 1972, then Sergeant Williams is named in relation to a report of the MRF sighting and fring upon 3 alleged gunmen beside Oliver Plunkett School in West Belfast. That area of Glen Road was a favoured hunting ground for Williams and his death squad.POLITICS 32March/April 2022The 39 Brigade Commander’s Diary records that the MRF fred 24 rounds from a submachine gun and claimed “1 hit defnite”. It alleged that the gunmen had a rife and 2 pistols, and fred two rounds in return. [See image i above]Williams and his unit had not hit a gunman. Wil–liams had just shot and badfrsly injured an 18-year-old unarmed teenager.The following night, an MRF patrol in the same area alleged it was fred on again and that they returned fre, claiming one defnite hit. [See image 2 above]. Lies again. The MRF had blasted and nearly killed a 15-year-old boy who was walk–ing home from the local disco.A few nights later, just after midnight, 13th May 1972, the MRF attacked local residents in nearby streets minutes apart. The neighbours were man–ning local vehicle checkpoints to protect the area from attack. [See image 3 above].A teenager was shot by the MRF whilst alight–ing from a taxi at one checkpoint in Slievegallion and a few minutes later the MRF alleged that it shot at seven gunmen in Riverdale. Again, there were no gunmen, just a group of local unarmed civilians – easy targets for the Brit–ish Army death squad. The MRF shot fve men, murdering one. Patrick McVeigh was a married man with six children.The British Army admitted no responsibility for the shooting but informed the media that there was a gun battle which was disputed by the local parish priest. Then, British Army PR told the media that the attempted mass murder was “an apparent motiveless crime” and only admitted it involved its troops many weeks later.At the time of his death, Clive Graham Williams was wanted for questioning for this murder and attempted mass murder too.He escaped justice for another attempted mass murder of unarmed civilians a few weeks later, although he was questioned and brought before the court, albeit a pro-state British court that was heavily weighted against the innocent civilians.Around midday on 22nd June 1972, Williams and his MRF death squad attacked the bus termi–nus on the Glen Road just beyond Oliver Plunkett School. Taxi drivers and their customers used the terminus too.A British Army spokesperson originally told the Belfast Telegraph that “Our men were not involved in this shooting at all.”The British Army denials began to unravel within hours and Army PR then told reporters that “A group of men standing at the bus terminus opened fre” on a British Army “mobile patrol wearing plain clothes and on surveillance duty.” It claimed that the covert unit “returned fre.”Lies again. The MRF shot four unarmed civilians who were lucky to escape with their lives. An infa–mous court case ensued in May 1973 and named Clive Graham Williams as the shooter.It was subsequently proved that he had fred a non-standard-issue Thompson submachine gun (then favoured by the Irish Republican Army). This gun belonged to Captain James Alastair McGregor, leader of the MRF at the time, who was also in the vehicle. It was a World War II trophy belonging to his father, also called James Alastair McGregor, a founding father of the Special Air Service.The bullets for the gun came from Royal Ulster Constabulary stores.Despite the facts of the case, civilian witness testimony and a litany of previous MRF attacks recorded in British military and police logs, charges of unlawful possession against Williams and McGregor were dropped. Williams was then acquitted of attempted murder after a pitifully brief trial. The judge who presided over the trial was a former member of the British Special Forces.In 2010, I tracked the MRF’s Commander, then retired Brigadier James Alastair McGregor to his home in Broadstairs, Kent, but he did not want to engage with me about his tenure as MRF commander.The architect of the MRF, General Sir Frank Kitson (retired), is still alive as well. Writers such as David Burke and me, have examined how Kitson provided the blueprint for the British Army’s dirty war in Ireland throughout the confict. We can trace the evolution of Kitson’s gangs and counter-gangs – created to terrorize the Irish Catholic community – from the MRF to collusion with Loyalist extremists. It is signposted by the bodies of dead civilians.Just this week, the Ofce of the Police Ombuds–man released a horrifying report detailing how the Royal Ulster Constabulary armed and man–aged Loyalist, sectarian killers in South Belfast in the 1980s and 1990s. One of the atrocities per–petrated by these police agents was the Sean Graham’s Bookies Massacre 30 years ago which claimed the lives of fve civilians, including two teenagers.Throughout its whole existence, the so-called reformed Police Service of Northern Ireland did little except protect these agents and their police handlers whilst obstructing the victims’ paths for truth and justice.As an aside, it would be interesting if Irish jour–nalists asked former Garda Commissioner Drew Harris for his comment as he was in the command structure of the force in question during this period. Denial, Delay and Death is the simple strategy that the British government deploys to deal with the legacy of its confict in Ireland. It denies the truth, it delays families for as long as possible and hopes the victims or the killers, like Clive Graham Williams, go to their graves.Now that brave families are dismantling this strategy after half a century, Britain threatens to legislate a pernicious Legacy Bill which would bury its war crimes in Ireland and protect its kill–ers once and for all. This has re-traumatised victims and survivors across the community as their basic human rights and equal access to due process of the law are uncertain.What is certain is that Britain would not arm and manage killers who were executing civilians on the streets of Bristol or Birmingham as fa–grantly. It did it in Belfast and got away with murder.I would also ask the reader to imagine that these British state murders happened in Black–rock or Ballsbridge and consider why you may be more appalled. Williams and his unit had not hit a gunman. Williams had just shot and badly injured an 18-year-old unarmed teenagerImage 2Image 3Image 1 ShareFacebook, Twitter, Google Plus, Pinterest, Email See more Previous article Maximus, Maximum profits, Minimal benefits Back All Entries Next article TWITT
