Spoilers and Stovepipes: Problems with Intelligence Management in Northern Ireland 1969-1976

Though the preference for singular control of all intelligence was recognised, it was the British army who effectively controlled security intelligence in Northern Ireland from its deployment there in 1969. This control effectively separated intelligence that was operationally useful from that which was of political use throughout the early years of the Northern Ireland Troubles. The result of military control was the creation of a security intelligence ‘stovepipe’ that operated at times as a spoiler to the political initiatives also being tried by other parts of the UK government in the province. This stovepipe existed until at least the mid-1970s despite the opposition of the Joint Intelligence Committee, the Office of the UK Representative and later the Northern Ireland Office and contributed to the failure of government led peacemaking initiatives in both 1972 and 1975.