Irish ‘knew Mountbatten killers’

London: The Irish authorities were accused last night (Saturday) of failing to pursue Irish Republican Army (IRA) terrorists over the 1979 death of Earl Mountbatten of Burma, the great-uncle of the Prince of Wales.

A senior Westminster source told The Sunday Telegraph that he feared suspects were given a form of amnesty in a covert deal that formed part of the peace process. The source alleged that there had been no appetite to investigate historic terrorism cases after the signing of the Good Friday Agreement. The claim comes ahead of this week’s historic first official visit by the Prince to the scene of the murder in Mullaghmore, Co Sligo, as part of a four-day tour of the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. The source said: “Of course the Irish knew who did it [the Mountbatten murder]. Nobody would accuse the Irish police of not knowing. They were very good at gathering intelligence, but not so good at putting these guys through the courts.”

Only one man, Thomas McMahon, has ever been convicted over the murder of the Earl, a war hero and the last Viceroy of the British Indian Empire. McMahon was in police custody at the time the bomb went off, meaning that at least one accomplice, who detonated the device from the shore, has evaded justice.

One senior member of Parliament, formerly on the Northern Ireland affairs select committee, said last night that the visit of Prince Charles and the claims made by the source signalled a need for a reinvigorated investigation into the atrocity. For the visit of the Prince, a “ring of steel” will be thrown around the village where in August 1979 his 79-year-old great-uncle, the Queen’s cousin, was killed on his boat, Shadow V.

A bomb packed with 22kg of explosives had been hidden on board and detonated remotely as the boat was being taken out to sea. Two teenage boys — Earl Mountbatten’s grandson Nicholas Knatchbull, 14, and Paul Maxwell, 15, a local boat hand — were also killed in the blast. The Dowager Lady Brabourne, 82, another passenger on the boat, died from her injuries 24 hours later. Authorities in Ireland have always denied claims that they failed to investigate IRA terror cells properly.

Last night a spokesman for the Garda, the Irish police, insisted the investigation into the Earl’s murder remained open and urged members of the public with fresh information to come forward. Tensions have been heightened by the arrests last week of six men, understood to have close links to the Continuity IRA and Real IRA, ahead of the visit by the Prince and the Duchess of Cornwall. The men, aged between 21 and 62, were alleged to be in possession of a stash of weapons and bomb-making equipment. The well-placed source has told The Sunday Telegraph that he believed the Irish authorities were aware of names of suspects in the Mountbatten murders and in other terror attacks, but that an effective amnesty had been offered to them at the time the British and Irish governments signed the Good Friday Agreement in 1998.

The British Government has been exposed for sending on-the-run, or comfort, letters to IRA suspects who, at the time of the agreement, had not been prosecuted. The letters offered suspects comfort that they were not being sought in connection with any specific offence, ensuring that the agreement did not stall over the thorny issue of how to deal with terror suspects on the run. Convicted terrorists, including McMahon, were released as a result of the peace deal. The disclosure of the letters followed the collapse last year of the trial of John Downey, who was charged with murdering four soldiers in the Hyde Park bombing in 1982, but who had received an on-the-run letter. The source, who has seen documentation between the Irish and British governments at the time, said he believed Ireland also offered an effective amnesty for crimes committed south of the border. That meant, from 1998, suspects for the Mountbatten killing and other atrocities were not sought. The source said: “Just as the British Government offered on-the-run letters to IRA suspects wanted in the UK, the government in Dublin did the same.” Kate Hoey, the former Labour minister and a member of the Northern Ireland affairs select committee, which investigated on-the-run letters, said the Prince’s visit to Mullaghmore signalled a need for a fresh investigation. “Only one man has ever been convicted for the murder of Earl Mountbatten and two children. We know there were accomplices,” she said.

“With the visit of Prince Charles, this is an opportunity for the Irish government to call him and tell him what they know and to tell us if any of the people suspected of the Mountbatten bombing have been sent comfort letters or were given some form of amnesty.” Ireland’s ministry of justice has strongly denied on-the-run letters were sent to terror suspects. But senior politicians in Ireland have admitted that at the time of the peace agreement an understanding was reached not to pursue historic terror cases. “The case is still open and any leads or information will be fully investigated,” said a Garda spokesman.