William Stobie: Difference between revisions
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'''William "Billy" Stobie''' (1950 - 12 December 2001)<ref>British Irish Rights Watch [http://www.birw.org/Deaths%20since%20ceasefire/deaths%2001.html Conflict Related Deaths 2001]</ref> was a British soldier, [[Ulster Defence Association]] (UDA) quartermaster and [[Royal Ulster Constabulary]] (RUC) [[Special Branch]] informer<ref name =Cory>''[[Cory Collusion Inquiry]] Report: Patrick Finucane'' 1st April 2004</ref> involved in the shootings of student Brian Adam Lambert (1987) and solicitor [[Pat Finucane (solicitor)|Pat Finucane]] (1989). |
'''William "Billy" Stobie''' (1950 - 12 December 2001)<ref>British Irish Rights Watch [http://www.birw.org/Deaths%20since%20ceasefire/deaths%2001.html Conflict Related Deaths 2001]</ref> was a British soldier, [[Ulster Defence Association]] (UDA) quartermaster and [[Royal Ulster Constabulary]] (RUC) [[Special Branch]] informer<ref name =Cory>''[[Cory Collusion Inquiry]] Report: Patrick Finucane'' 1st April 2004</ref> involved in the shootings of student Brian Adam Lambert (1987) and solicitor [[Pat Finucane (solicitor)|Pat Finucane]] (1989). |
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His 1990 admissions, to journalist [[Neil Mulholland]], provided new information which |
His 1990 admissions, to journalist [[Neil Mulholland]], provided new information which led, in February 1999, to the organisation, ''British Irish Rights Watch,'' submitting a confidential report to the British Government.<ref>p307 [[Human Rights Watch]] ''World Report 2000'' </ref> This in turn would lead to the reopening of the [[Stevens Enquiry]] which uncovered State/paramilitary collusion at a level "way beyond" what [[Sir John Stevens]] had originally reported.<ref>''[[The Independent]]'', "Now it's time for Tony Blair to fulfil the promise he made to me" 18 April 2003</ref> |
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==Brian Adam Lambert== |
==Brian Adam Lambert== |
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Revision as of 11:35, 15 December 2009
William "Billy" Stobie (1950 - 12 December 2001)[1] was a British soldier, Ulster Defence Association (UDA) quartermaster and Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) Special Branch informer[2] involved in the shootings of student Brian Adam Lambert (1987) and solicitor Pat Finucane (1989).
His 1990 admissions, to journalist Neil Mulholland, provided new information which led, in February 1999, to the organisation, British Irish Rights Watch, submitting a confidential report to the British Government.[3] This in turn would lead to the reopening of the Stevens Enquiry which uncovered State/paramilitary collusion at a level "way beyond" what Sir John Stevens had originally reported.[4]
Brian Adam Lambert
On 8 November 1987, the IRA detonated a powerful bomb at the Enniskillen Remembrance Sunday ceremony killing eleven. There was no immediate direct reprisal, partially as a result of an appeal by Gordon Wilson, father of one of the victims,[5] save one.[5] Brian Adam Lambert was mistakenly targeted and shot the following day at a building site in Highfield, Belfast. He was a 19 year-old Protestant student with no criminal record or paramilitary links, but was assumed to have been a Catholic.[6][7]
Stobie admitted supplying the guns for the attack and driving Stephen Harbinson[8] in the getaway car. Both Stobie and Harbinson stated that they were sickened by the mistake and for the first time Stobie realised that the UDA was unprofessional.[2] That same month Stobie was arrested for Lambert's murder. He was not charged but, while in custody, was recruited as an agent by the RUC Special Branch. [citation needed]
Harbinson was also arrested; he was convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment. Following his release under the Good Friday Agreement he skipped bail on drug dealing charges in Northern Ireland. He was rearrested on the Costa Del Sol on separate charges of drug trafficking, kidnapping and arms possession. Once more he was given bail and disappeared. [9]
Pat Finucane
In April 1999, as part of the Stevens Enquiry, Stobie was arrested and charged with Finucane's murder. In June that year, as agreed, journalist Ed Moloney published Stobie's version of the circumstances of Finucane's death.[10] The charges were later commuted to aiding and abetting the murder.[11] Stobie's trial eventually collapsed because of the failure of Neil Mulholland, by now Northern Ireland Office Press Officer, to take the witness stand.
Stevens 3
Stobie was rearrested and charged with murder as a result of Stevens 3. At his trial the chief witness, Neil Mullholland, refused to take the witness stand and Stobie was released, I
In his overview and recommendations John Stevens stated:
- "I have uncovered enough evidence to lead me to believe that the murders of Patrick Finucane and Brian Adam Lambert could have been prevented".[12]
Death
On December 12, 2001, Stobie himself was shot dead outside his home at Forthriver Road, Glencairn, Belfast. The Red Hand Defenders (RHD) claimed responsibility.[13]
References
- ^ British Irish Rights Watch Conflict Related Deaths 2001
- ^ a b Cory Collusion Inquiry Report: Patrick Finucane 1st April 2004
- ^ p307 Human Rights Watch World Report 2000
- ^ The Independent, "Now it's time for Tony Blair to fulfil the promise he made to me" 18 April 2003
- ^ a b p125 Crimes of loyalty: a history of the UDA; Ian S. Wood; Edinburgh University Press, 2006
- ^ CAIN database of deaths
- ^ Sir John Stevens QPM, DL Stevens Enquiry:Overview & Recommendations 17 Apil 2003
- ^ Irish News, "Lambert ‘collusion’ raises new questions", 19 April 2003
- ^ Belfast Telegraph, "Loyalist killer on Costa drug charge", 29 November 2001
- ^ Ed Moloney, Northern Editor, The Sunday Tribune, "The Murder of Pat Finucane and how the RUC could have stopped it", 27 June 1999
- ^ Lawyers Committee for Human Rights, Beyond Collusion The U.K. Security Forces and the Murder of Patrick Finucane
- ^ Stevens Enquiry 3, April 17 2003, p. 13
- ^ The Sun, "Eight bullets for Stobie", 13 December 2001.