By David McCullagh and Fiachra Ó Cionnaith
A bizarre threat to poison English water supplies in 1999 was taken seriously by British authorities because it appeared to be technically feasible, newly released government documents show.
The threat was made in letters to the British embassy and the Papal Nunciature in Dublin in June 1999 on behalf of what was called the 'Republican Revenge Group'.
Unless the British government announced its intention to withdraw from "occupied Ireland" by the following day, the group threatened to introduce weed killer into the water supply in England.
The letters gave details of the method to be used, with what it called an 'Improvised Chemical Weapon' which would be attached to fire hydrants.
This would force the chemical, a commonly available weedkiller called 'New Pathclear', into the water supply, potentially poisoning hundreds of thousands of people.
While the threat might appear far-fetched, the British authorities took it seriously, because the technical processes had been checked and were feasible, because the threatening letter was "cohesive and literate", and because it had been sent to the right people in Britain, including the appropriate water authorities.
However, the British embassy in Dublin thought the letter might be a dirty trick by loyalists designed to smear republicans.
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The potential giveaway was that it referred throughout to "HMG" (Her Majesty’s Government), which no self-respecting republican would ever do.
The authorities decided they had to take the threat seriously in the circumstances, even though it was thought the risk to life was low.
Most people who drank contaminated water would suffer nothing worse than a stomach upset, though it could threaten the lives of babies, and of people on dialysis.
The media in London, including RTÉ and the Irish newspapers, were called into a government briefing and asked not to report the story, for fear of causing panic over what might well be a hoax.
The government promised that if a real threat was established, the public would be informed, and said that the media would be told whether or not anything happened when the deadline ran out.
Meanwhile, in Dublin, gardaí were cooperating with British police and quickly identified a suspect, a Scottish former soldier living in Dublin, who was arrested but never charged.
He was described by some observers as a "Walter Mitty character", and evidently the authorities felt a prosecution would cause more harm than good.
After his arrest, some details of the threat emerged, but not the precise technical details which caused the authorities to take it seriously.
They are now available to view in the National Archives.
[Based on documents in 2024/28/12]
