British Military Intelligence During the Troubles (1969-1984)
British Security Forces
For the purposes of this website, four units of British military intelligence have been selected for examination. These units are placed chronologically over time.
The Military Reaction Force (MRF) was the ancestor to all undercover operations in Northern Ireland. The unit was founded in 1972 by Frank Kitson, an expert in counterinsurgency. was tasked with the infiltration and surveillance of Republican neighborhoods and acted as a replacement of the RUC “bomb squads” that had patrolled with the Army in 1971. Its two most effective operations were usually based in propaganda, but were also based in creative undercover operations.
MI5, or the Security Service, was the prime deposit for intelligence in Northern Ireland for British security forces. Agents would often be posted within RUC headquarters as coordinators of intelligence. Throughout the Ulsterization process, however, MI5 was often distrustful of both Northern Irish and Westminster intelligence groups. It was also at this time when the Security Service (MI5) was vying for supremacy away from the Secret Intelligence Service (MI6).
The SAS was founded in 1941 as a commando force during World War Two. After the successful Iranian Hostage Siege in 1981, the SAS were used on an increasingly regular basis to dispatch or kill suspected IRA terrorists. Their aggressive methods earned the SAS infamy from the IRA, who would often use the violence to their advantage in propaganda.
The Military Reaction Force (MRF) was the ancestor to all undercover operations in Northern Ireland. The unit was founded in 1972 by Frank Kitson, an expert in counterinsurgency. was tasked with the infiltration and surveillance of Republican neighborhoods and acted as a replacement of the RUC “bomb squads” that had patrolled with the Army in 1971. Its two most effective operations were usually based in propaganda, but were also based in creative undercover operations.