12 JUNE
BRITISH ARMY URGES TOLERANT APPROACH TO LOYALIST PARAMILITARIES IN ITS RANKS.
12 June 1972 – British Military HQ in Northern Ireland urged the Ministry of Defence not to dismiss Ulster Defence Regiment soldiers with links to the paramilitary Ulster Defence Association, despite its many known terror links and its involvement in multiple bombings and shootings. It argued that any such dismissals would
“lead to men joining a paramilitary organisation such as the UDA as an alternative to the UDR. For these reasons it is felt that it would be counter-productive to discharge a UDR member solely on the grounds that he was a member of the UDA. I am sure the moderate line towards UDA supporters is the right one in the light of the role of the UDA as a safety valve.”(1)
FOOTNOTE
- Anne Cadwallader (2013), “Lethal Allies: British Collusion in Ireland,” Mercier Press, Cork, p36.