Republican News · Thursday 14 November 2002

Fr Troy slams PSNI use of child as informer

Holy Cross priest Father Aidan Troy has accused the PSNI of using a 13-year-old North Belfast boy with learning difficulties as an informer.

According to the priest, the Ardoyne boy was asked by the PSNI to keep an eye on known republicans in the Ardoyne area after being picked up a few months ago along with an older boy and accused of stealing cars. He was taken to a North Belfast barracks where, according to the boy, members of the PSNI told him the matter would not be pursued if he agreed to help them by informing on people.

Father Troy, chairperson of the board of governors at Holy Cross Girls School, said he was approached by a republican after Mass on Sunday 3 November and told of the allegations and his immediate concern was for the child's safety.

"The child has the maturity level of a nine or ten year old and is terrified and deeply traumatised by what has happened," he said.

Father Troy said he is profoundly disturbed by the revelations and that the incident has caused him to question his previous statement urging the community to trust the PSNI. "Involving a 13-year-old child is a very worrying development and undermines what I have been trying to do recently," he said.

Phoblacht has been told that suspicion had fallen on the boy about six weeks ago and that he subsequently admitted his involvement with the crown forces. It was then decided to approach Father Troy to act as an intermediary.

Labour MP Kevin McNamara is to table a question in the British Parliament asking for an explanation of the PSNI's actions. He is also asking how a child's human rights could have been violated in this way.

Sinn Féin councillor Fra McCann, speaking after it emerged the PSNI admitted it was routine policy to recruit juveniles as informers, told An Phoblacht that by recruiting child informers the PSNI is only feeding the increase in anti-social activity by young people.

"This practice of trawling for informers among children is a practice which all right thinking people will find as deplorable and has to be condemned," he said. "Involving children in informing and paying them to do so only encourages anti-social behaviour".