Ahern questioned impartiality of RUC with Blair in 1998 talks

An apparent failure by the RUC to investigate sectarian murders of Catholics was raised by taoiseach Bertie Ahern with the British prime minister, Tony Blair in 1998, according to declassified files released in Belfast on Tuesday.

In a memo for ministers in the North dated February 1998, Nick Perry of the security policy and operations division of the Northern Ireland Office revealed that in conversation with Blair, the taoiseach referred to 17 of the 19 assassination victims in the past six months being Catholics.

Perry rejected this, saying that, since July 20th 1997, 11 Catholics and six Protestants had died - 10 Catholics and three Protestants at the hands of loyalists.

According to the official, Sinn Féin had been “running a vigorous line” that “the police do not do enough to make amenable loyalists who murder Catholics whereas they appear to be able to arrest and charge republicans”.

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Perry pointed out that since January 1997, republicans had caused eight murders (four security forces, three Protestants and one Catholic) while loyalists killed 21 people (14 Catholics, six Protestants and one RUC officer).

The official informed colleagues: “The main difficulty facing the RUC and giving credence to Sinn Féin’s accusation is that no-one has yet been made amenable for any of the eight loyalist murders since Christmas though the police have questioned a number of prime suspects and several loyalists have been charged with lesser offences.” Attached to the memo were suggested lines Northern secretary Mo Mowlam to take when speaking publicly about the issue.

The speaking note for Ms Mowlam included the statement: “All these murders are appalling, whichever organisation is responsible... It is wholly unfair and inaccurate to suggest that the RUC are partial in their investigation of terrorist crime.”