Brian Nelson

Brian Nelson was an agent of the British Army's Force Research Unit and senior intelligence officer in the loyalist paramilitary Ulster Defence Association.
==Early life==
Nelson was born on the Shankill Road in West Belfast in 1947. When he left school he obtained an apprenticeship at the Harland & Wolff shipyard where his father worked, which he left after 16 months.Martin Ingram & Greg Harkin, Stakeknife: Britain's Secret Agents in Ireland, O'Brien Press, 2004, p.162.
==Black Watch==
He joined the British Army's Black Watch Regiment in 1965.Barry McCaffrey, At least 29 killings blamed on actions of double agent;The secrets that died with Brian Nelson THE DEATH OF BRITISH ARMY AGENT 6137, Irish News, 14 April 2003. He left the regiment in August 1969 in somewhat murky circumstances.Martin Ingram & Greg Harkin, Stakeknife: Britain's Secret Agents in Ireland, O'Brien Press, 2004, p.164. According to journalist Greg Harkin, Nelson told one UDA associate he had gone AWOL and was a wanted man.Martin Ingram & Greg Harkin, Stakeknife: Britain's Secret Agents in Ireland, O'Brien Press, 2004, p.165.
==Loyalism==
After his return to Northern Ireland, Nelson set up his own battalion of Ian Paisley's Ulster Protestant Volunteer Force.Martin Ingram & Greg Harkin, Stakeknife: Britain's Secret Agents in Ireland, O'Brien Press, 2004, p.164. Eighteen months later, in 1972, Nelson joined the Ulster Defence Association.Martin Ingram & Greg Harkin, Stakeknife: Britain's Secret Agents in Ireland, O'Brien Press, 2004, p.164.Barry McCaffrey, At least 29 killings blamed on actions of double agent;The secrets that died with Brian Nelson THE DEATH OF BRITISH ARMY AGENT 6137, Irish News, 14 April 2003.
Greg Harkin cites a UDA source as stating Nelson was involved in taking lives in this period:
::The fact he was an ex-soldier meant he was called upon more than most. He had a deal of respect because he could handle firearms better than most, and he was always keen to impress the bosses.Martin Ingram & Greg Harkin, Stakeknife: Britain's Secret Agents in Ireland, O'Brien Press, 2004, p.164.
In March 1973, Nelson was involved in the UDA kidnapping and torture of a North Belfast Catholic, Gerald Higgins.Barry McCaffrey, At least 29 killings blamed on actions of double agent;The secrets that died with Brian Nelson THE DEATH OF BRITISH ARMY AGENT 6137, Irish News, 14 April 2003. Harkin gives the following account of the incident:
::There is absolutely no question what Brian Nelson had in mind. They had a gun. They had a Catholic and that Catholic was going to die. But Gerry Higgins was not going quietly. He had just been through hell in that UDA torture chamber, and he began to struggle as Nelson, Brown and Eppleston bundled him into the back of the car. The tussle alerted soldiers on foot patrol a few hundred yards away, and two Land Rovers sped in and blocked the car.Martin Ingram & Greg Harkin, Stakeknife: Britain's Secret Agents in Ireland, O'Brien Press, 2004, p.170.
As a result of this incident, Nelson was convicted of assault, intimidation and firearms offences in 1974.Barry McCaffrey, At least 29 killings blamed on actions of double agent;The secrets that died with Brian Nelson THE DEATH OF BRITISH ARMY AGENT 6137, Irish News, 14 April 2003. A charge of conspiracy to murder was dropped in exchange for a guilty plea.Martin Ingram & Greg Harkin, Stakeknife: Britain's Secret Agents in Ireland, O'Brien Press, 2004, p.170.
According to journalist Peter Taylor, Nelson rejoined the UDA on his release from prison.Peter Taylor, Brits: The War Against the IRA, Bloomsbury, 2002, p.288. According to Harkin, it was in the late 1970s that Nelson began working on targeting intelligence for the UDA, carrying out surveillance while working as a carpet-fitter.Martin Ingram & Greg Harkin, Stakeknife: Britain's Secret Agents in Ireland, O'Brien Press, 2004, p.173.
==The Force Research Unit==
There are a number of different accounts of when Nelson began working for British intelligence. Martin Ingram and Greg Harkin claim he was recruited by the Force Research Unit (FRU) in 1979, and may have been an agent earlier.Martin Ingram & Greg Harkin, Stakeknife: Britain's Secret Agents in Ireland, O'Brien Press, 2004, p.179. It may be significant in this respect that the FRU itself was established in 1979.Peter Taylor, Brits: The War Against the IRA, Bloomsbury, 2002, p.287.
==Germany==
According to Harkin and Ingram, Nelson worked in Germany during 1981-82 for 2 Company, spying on the Irish community for the Army and MI6. By late 1982, the FRU wanted to bring him back to Northern Ireland to infiltrate the UDA/UFF, but the RUC wanted to maintain a monopoly on the recruitment of loyalist agents. By Christmas, the FRU had won the argument on the grounds that; "Nelson was a serving British soldier and, as such, an employee of the Ministry of Defence, therefore the FRU was entitled to use him.Martin Ingram & Greg Harkin, Stakeknife: Britain's Secret Agents in Ireland, O'Brien Press, 2004, p.179.
==First FRU/UDA period==
According to an earlier account in an Irish News profile, Nelson is understood to have begun working for British military intelligence in 1983.Barry McCaffrey, At least 29 killings blamed on actions of double agent;The secrets that died with Brian Nelson THE DEATH OF BRITISH ARMY AGENT 6137, Irish News, 14 April 2003. Peter Taylor's Brits gives a similar date, reporting that Nelson told the FRU he was "sick of violence and had had enough."Peter Taylor, Brits: The War Against the IRA, Bloomsbury, 2002, p.288.
By 1985, Nelson was an intelligence officer for the UDA in West Belfast.Barry McCaffrey, At least 29 killings blamed on actions of double agent;The secrets that died with Brian Nelson THE DEATH OF BRITISH ARMY AGENT 6137, Irish News, 14 April 2003. Taylor states he was the Senior Intelligence Officer in this part of the city, and notes that he had risen "with remarkable speed."
Ingram and Harkin contrast the FRU's use of Nelson in the 1983-85 period, with that in 1987-90:
::The facts speak for themselves: during the last six months of 1983 the UDA in Belfast did not kill any nationalists or Catholics. It is our understanding that at that time Nelson's information was used to prevent a number of murder attempts (a very different modus operandi from that implemented by the regime he was to work for in the late 1980s.Martin Ingram & Greg Harkin, Stakeknife: Britain's Secret Agents in Ireland, O'Brien Press, 2004, p.180. 
===Gerry Adams===
According to Ingram and Harkin, the FRU used information from Nelson to tamper with the bullets used by the UFF in its 1984 shooting of Gerry Adams.Martin Ingram & Greg Harkin, Stakeknife: Britain's Secret Agents in Ireland, O'Brien Press, 2004, p.176. 
===Patrick Brady===
On 16 November 1984, loyalist Michael Stone killed Catholic milkman and Sinn Féin member Patrick Brady, after reading a military intelligence report passed on by Nelson.Martin Ingram & Greg Harkin, Stakeknife: Britain's Secret Agents in Ireland, O'Brien Press, 2004, p.176.
==South Africa==
In June 1985, he travelled to South Africa on an arms procurement mission.Barry McCaffrey, At least 29 killings blamed on actions of double agent;The secrets that died with Brian Nelson THE DEATH OF BRITISH ARMY AGENT 6137, Irish News, 14 April 2003.
==Return to Germany==
Nelson left Northern Ireland for another stint in Germany on 25 October 1985.Peter Taylor, Brits: The War Against the IRA, Bloomsbury, 2002, p.288. He remained an FRU agent, according to the Irish News.Barry McCaffrey, At least 29 killings blamed on actions of double agent;The secrets that died with Brian Nelson THE DEATH OF BRITISH ARMY AGENT 6137, Irish News, 14 April 2003.
==Second FRU/UDA period==
Peter Taylor states that in January 1987, the new head of the FRU, 'Colonel J' (Gordon Kerr) identified a gap in agent coverage of the loyalists, and decided to re-recruit Nelson. This decision was opposed by MI5, according to Taylor, who felt that the loyalists were sufficiently covered already.Peter Taylor, Brits: The War Against the IRA, Bloomsbury, 2002, p.289.
In 1987, he met his FRU handler and an MI5 agent at a London hotel where they persuaded him to rejoin the UDA.Barry McCaffrey, At least 29 killings blamed on actions of double agent;The secrets that died with Brian Nelson THE DEATH OF BRITISH ARMY AGENT 6137, Irish News, 14 April 2003.
The final arrangements for the South African arms shipment initiated by Nelson were made in December 1987:
::Although Nelson is understood to have informed his handlers of developments at every stage of the proceedings, no action was taken to intercept the weapons coming into Northern Ireland.
::Nelson was crucial to the UDA, UVF and Ulster Resistance 1988 shipment of 200 AK47 assault rifles, 90 pistols, 500 grenades, 30,000 rounds of ammunition and 12 RPG 7 rocket launchers from South Africa.
::Despite security forces being aware of the weapons' consignment, only the UDA's part of the shipment was intercepted.
::It is estimated that the South African weapons have been used in well over 100 murders since 1988.Barry McCaffrey, At least 29 killings blamed on actions of double agent;The secrets that died with Brian Nelson THE DEATH OF BRITISH ARMY AGENT 6137, Irish News, 14 April 2003.
On his return to Belfast, Nelson was given the code number Agent 6137. Again Taylor notes, he rose 'with surprising rapidity' becoming the UFF's senior intelligence officer for the whole of Northern Ireland. His remit with the FRU was to refine the UDA's targetingPeter Taylor, Brits: The War Against the IRA, Bloomsbury, 2002, p.289.
A Military Intelligence Source Report from 3 May 1988 stated:
::6137 wants the UDA only to attack legitimate targets and not innocent Catholics. Since 6137 took up his position as intelligence officer, the targeting has developed and become more professional.Peter Taylor, Brits: The War Against the IRA, Bloomsbury, 2002, p.290.
In theory, according to Taylor, this was supposed to make it easier to save lives, including those of republicans by allowing the FRU to pass information TCG Belfast that would prevent attacks.Peter Taylor, Brits: The War Against the IRA, Bloomsbury, 2002, p.290.
The FRU helped Nelson to compile targeting data, and to computerise the UDA's files which included existing material supplied by RUC and UDR sources.Peter Taylor, Brits: The War Against the IRA, Bloomsbury, 2002, p.290.
80 people on Nelson's files were attacked, 29 of whom were shot dead.Barry McCaffrey, At least 29 killings blamed on actions of double agent;The secrets that died with Brian Nelson THE DEATH OF BRITISH ARMY AGENT 6137, Irish News, 14 April 2003.
===Gerry Adams===
According to Peter Taylor, intelligence from Nelson enabled the TCG Belfast to foil a UFF plan to kill Gerry Adams by seizing the limpet mine that was to be used in the attack.Peter Taylor, Brits: The War Against the IRA, Bloomsbury, 2002, p.291.
===Edward Campbell===
Edward Campbell, a 40-year-old Catholic taxi-driver was shot dead by the UDA/UFF on 3 July 1987. Although he had been interned in the 1970s, he had no IRA connections at the time of his death. This was one of some 15 murders in which the Stevens Inquiry concluded Nelson played an active role.Martin Ingram and Greg Harkin, Stakeknife, O'Brien Press, 2004, p. 183.
===Michael Power===
One of the first files which Nelson passed to the UFF was on Michael Power, a Catholic with no paramilitary involvement. FRU files showed that this was purely an opportunity for Nelson to ingratiate himself with the UDA.Barry McCaffrey, At least 29 killings blamed on actions of double agent;The secrets that died with Brian Nelson THE DEATH OF BRITISH ARMY AGENT 6137, Irish News, 14 April 2003. Power was shot dead on 23 August 1987.David McKittrick, Seamus Kelters, Brian Feeney, Chris Thornton, and David McVea, Lost Lives: The stories of the men, women and children who died as a result of the Northern Ireland Troubles, Mainstream Publishing, 2004, p.1087.
===Patrick Hamill===
Patrick Hamill, a 29-year-old Catholic with no paramilitary connections, was shot dead at his West Belfast home on 9 September 1987. The UDA/UFF used intelligence given to Nelson by the FRU for the killing.Martin Ingram and Greg Harkin, Stakeknife, O'Brien Press, 2004, p. 184.
===Jim Meighan===
Jim Meighan, a 22-year-old Catholic from the New Lodge in North Belfast, was shot dead by the UDA on 21 September 1987. He was targeted by Nelson because he was going out with a Protestant girl.Martin Ingram and Greg Harkin, Stakeknife, O'Brien Press, 2004, p. 184.
===Francisco Notorantonio===
Francisco Notorantonio was shot dead at his home on 9 October 1987. The FRU allegedly passed his name to the UDA through Nelson in order to direct them away from an FRU agent in the IRA.Peter Taylor, Brits: The War Against the IRA, Bloomsbury, 2002, p.295-296.
===Adam Lambert===
Adam Lambert, a 19-year-old Protestant , was shot dead by the UDA on 9 November 1987. The gang used information supplied by Nelson who was under the impression that Lambert was a Catholic.Martin Ingram and Greg Harkin, Stakeknife, O'Brien Press, 2004, pp. 184-185. Sir John Stevens concluded that Lambert's murder could have been prevented and that there was collusion in the case.David McKittrick, Seamus Kelters, Brian Feeney, Chris Thornton, and David McVea, Lost Lives: The stories of the men, women and children who died as a result of the Northern Ireland Troubles, Mainstream Publishing, 2004, pp.1098-1099.
===Terry McDaid===
Terry McDaid was shot dead on 10 May 1988.David McKittrick, Seamus Kelters, Brian Feeney, Chris Thornton, and David McVea, Lost Lives: The stories of the men, women and children who died as a result of the Northern Ireland Troubles, Mainstream Publishing, 2004, p.1127. He died after Nelson sent UFF gunmen to the wrong address. Nelson made four phone calls to the FRU on the night of the murder but when the Stevens Inquiry team sought the transcripts they were missing.Barry McCaffrey, At least 29 killings blamed on actions of double agent;The secrets that died with Brian Nelson THE DEATH OF BRITISH ARMY AGENT 6137, Irish News, 14 April 2003.
===Alex Maskey===
Nelson called his handlers in July 1988 to check details of Alex Maskey's car registration on the same day as a planned UDA attack on the Sinn Féin councillor. His handler is alleged to have said: "You're not wrong about the car.Barry McCaffrey, At least 29 killings blamed on actions of double agent;The secrets that died with Brian Nelson THE DEATH OF BRITISH ARMY AGENT 6137, Irish News, 14 April 2003.
===UFF interrogation===
In August 1988, Nelson was subjected to a violent interrogation by the UDA, who suspected that he was passing information to the IRA.Peter Taylor, Brits: The War Against the IRA, Bloomsbury, 2002, p.294-295.
===Gerard Slane===
On 23 September 1988,the UFF shot dead Gerard Slane in his home, claiming he had been involved in an IPLO attack on UDA man William Quee. The RUC denied there was any evidence of this. Nelson had provided the intelligence for the killers. Peter Taylor reports that although Nelson had warned his handlers that Slane was being targeted ten days beforehand, and on the day of the killing itself, no action was taken.Peter Taylor, Brits: The War Against the IRA, Bloomsbury, 2002, p.289. Harkin and Ingram report that FRU handlers had actually helped prepare the targeting file.Martin Ingram and Greg Harkin, Stakeknife, O'Brien Press, 2004, p. 185.
===Pat Finucane===
In December 1988, Nelson informed his handlers of a threat to the life of solicitor Pat Finucane.Barry McCaffrey, At least 29 killings blamed on actions of double agent;The secrets that died with Brian Nelson THE DEATH OF BRITISH ARMY AGENT 6137, Irish News, 14 April 2003.
Four days before Finucane was killed, Nelson passed a photograph of him to the UFF.Barry McCaffrey, At least 29 killings blamed on actions of double agent;The secrets that died with Brian Nelson THE DEATH OF BRITISH ARMY AGENT 6137, Irish News, 14 April 2003. He was shot dead on 12 February 1989 in front of his family at his North Belfast home.Martin Ingram and Greg Harkin, Stakeknife, O'Brien Press, 2004, p. 185.
===John Joe Davey===
John Joe Davey was a 58-year-old veteran of the IRA border campaign and a Sinn Féin councillor in Magherafelt. He was shot dead by the UVF on 14 February 1989. Nelson had supplied files on him to the UDA, UVF and to Michael Stone.Martin Ingram and Greg Harkin, Stakeknife, O'Brien Press, 2004, p. 186.
===Patrick Feeney===
Patrick Feeney was a 32-year-old Catholic. He was shot dead on 22 February 1989 at the linen mill where he worked as a security guard by the UDA/UFF, who had been given a file on him by Brian Nelson. He had no paramilitary connections.Martin Ingram and Greg Harkin, Stakeknife, O'Brien Press, 2004, p. 185.
===Gerard Casey===
29-year-old Gerard Casey was an IRA member from Rasharkin in North Antrim. He was shot dead on 4 April 1989 by the UDA/UFF, using intelligence documents supplied by Brian Nelson.Martin Ingram and Greg Harkin, Stakeknife, O'Brien Press, 2004, p. 186.
===Liam McKee===
Liam McKee, a 39-year-old Catholic from Lisburn, was shot dead by the UDA/UFF on 24 June 1989. Although Nelson's files listed him as an IRA member, he had no paramilitary connections.Martin Ingram and Greg Harkin, Stakeknife, O'Brien Press, 2004, p. 186.
===Paddy McGrory===
In July 1989, Nelson received a report on the movements of solicitor Paddy McGrory. Although he passed the details on to his FRU handlers, McGrory was never warned. In the event, no attempt was made on his life.Martin Ingram and Greg Harkin, Stakeknife, O'Brien Press, 2004, p. 189.
According to journalist John Ware, the information was never entered on the official FRU record:
::Because none of the targeting details of Mr McGrory were written down, the Stevens inquiry suspects Mr Nelson's handlers were concerned to leave no trace that they had known of - but did nothing to prevent - another Finucane tragedy.John Ware, Plot to kill Belfast lawyers revealed, The Guardian, 2 August 2002.
===Loughlin Maginn===
Loughlin Maginn, a 28-year-old Catholic from Rathfriland in Co. Down, was shot dead by the UDA/UFF on 25 August 1989. The UDA attempted to justify the killing with evidence from the security forces. This led to the appointment of the Stevens Inquiry.Martin Ingram and Greg Harkin, Stakeknife, O'Brien Press, 2004, p. 187.
===Abortive attempts===
Two of the charges of which Nelson was ultimately convicted involved abortive attempts on the lives of Patrick Monaghan and James Morgan.Martin Ingram and Greg Harkin, Stakeknife, O'Brien Press, 2004, p. 188.
==Stevens Inquiry==
Following the appointment of Sir John Stevens to investigate collusion between loyalists and the security forces, intelligence files on Nelson were removed from Army headquarters. They were not turned over to Stevens until August 1990, when the Director of Public Prosecutions issued a warrant for their release. Forensic tests subsequently showed most of the files had been altered.Barry McCaffrey, At least 29 killings blamed on actions of double agent;The secrets that died with Brian Nelson THE DEATH OF BRITISH ARMY AGENT 6137, Irish News, 14 April 2003.
Stevens planned to arrest Nelson after his fingerprints were found on security force documents that had been handed over to the UDA. This was frustrated, however, when Nelson's Army handlers moved him to Liverpool the night before the planned arrest on 11 January 1990. On the same evening a fire was started at the Stevens Inquiry's offices near Larne.Barry McCaffrey, At least 29 killings blamed on actions of double agent;The secrets that died with Brian Nelson THE DEATH OF BRITISH ARMY AGENT 6137, Irish News, 14 April 2003.
The Army subsequently agreed to allow the investigation to question Nelson. Although under instructions not to talk about the FRU, he admitted his role and was charged.Barry McCaffrey, At least 29 killings blamed on actions of double agent;The secrets that died with Brian Nelson THE DEATH OF BRITISH ARMY AGENT 6137, Irish News, 14 April 2003.
After Nelson threatened to expose the FRU's activities a deal was agreed with the Government. He pleaded guilty to five counts of conspiracy to murder and was sentenced to 100 years imprisonment. During the trial, FRU commander Gordon Kerr described Nelson as a "very courageous man."Barry McCaffrey, At least 29 killings blamed on actions of double agent;The secrets that died with Brian Nelson THE DEATH OF BRITISH ARMY AGENT 6137, Irish News, 14 April 2003.
A fortnight after Nelson's imprisonment, his senior handler, Margaret Walshaw, was awarded the British Empire Medal at Buckingham Palace.Barry McCaffrey, At least 29 killings blamed on actions of double agent;The secrets that died with Brian Nelson THE DEATH OF BRITISH ARMY AGENT 6137, Irish News, 14 April 2003.
In 1993, the General Officer Commanding Northern Ireland, Sir John Wilsey, said he was in no way ashamed of Nelson's role:
::"If the Nelson episode taught us anything, it taught us that the relationship between the army and the RUC and other agencies involved was strong enough to withstand any pressures that came about because of that investigation, " he said.Barry McCaffrey, At least 29 killings blamed on actions of double agent;The secrets that died with Brian Nelson THE DEATH OF BRITISH ARMY AGENT 6137, Irish News, 14 April 2003.
According to Irish News journalist Barry McCaffrey, Sir John Stevens wanted to use Nelson as a witness against the UDA but was over-ruled because he might be cross-examined about the FRU . Charges against five leading UDA suspects were subsequently dropped.Barry McCaffrey, At least 29 killings blamed on actions of double agent;The secrets that died with Brian Nelson THE DEATH OF BRITISH ARMY AGENT 6137, Irish News, 14 April 2003. 
Nelson was released from prison in 1997 and given a new identity outside Northern Ireland.Peter Taylor, Brits: The War Against the IRA, Bloomsbury, 2002, p.294.
==External Resources==
===Books===
*Martin Ingram & Greg Harkin, Stakeknife: Britain's Secret Agents in Ireland, O'Brien Press, 2004, chapters 8-10.
*Peter Taylor, Brits: The War Against the IRA, Bloomsbury, 2002, Chapter 26.
===Reports===
*Sir Desmond de Silva, Volume 1 - Chapter 6: The recruitment of Brian Nelson, Pat Finucane Review, 12 December 2012.
*Sir Desmond de Silva, Volume 1 - Chapter 7: The activities of Brian Nelson 1987- 89, Pat Finucane Review, 12 December 2012.
===Articles===
*Barry McCaffrey, At least 29 killings blamed on actions of double agent;The secrets that died with Brian Nelson THE DEATH OF BRITISH ARMY AGENT 6137, Irish News, 14 April 2003.
==Notes==
Nelson, BrianNelson, BrianNelson, BrianNelson, Brian