A former SAS officer has denied that the British Army unit conducted shoot-to-kill missions against the IRA during the Troubles, as he criticised the UK government’s proposed legislation addressing the conflict’s legacy.
George Simm served in Northern Ireland during the 1970s and 1980s and took part in hundreds of operations. He commanded the unit involved in a 1988 ambush near Drumnakilly, in which three IRA members were killed. Simm said he had kept quiet about his service for almost 50 years before speaking out over the government’s approach to veterans.
The three men killed were Gerard and Martin Harte, brothers, and their brother-in-law Brian Mullan. According to the account, they had planned to kill an off-duty member of the Ulster Defence Regiment. The SAS had received information about the plan, and Simm posed as a lorry driver in an attempt to draw the group out.
Simm said the men opened fire as they approached, and that soldiers fired back after one of them ran around the lorry. He described the exchange as lasting three or four seconds. Asked whether it had been a shoot-to-kill mission, he said it had not, arguing that soldiers could not think rationally while under fire at close range. He said the force also sought to arrest suspects for police questioning.
The families of the three men have maintained that they could have been arrested and described the incident as a shoot-to-kill operation. Ignatius Harte, a brother of two of those killed, previously told the BBC that the Army knew the men were armed and had access to their weapons, and argued they could have been detained and charged.
Simm said that, in his experience, the SAS arrested more people than it killed, although no official figures are available. He argued that the unit’s record had been misrepresented and said he was frustrated by what he viewed as political and legal distortions of the Army’s actions.
His comments come as the Northern Ireland Troubles Bill makes its way through Westminster. The proposed law would establish a commission to investigate killings linked to the Troubles, a separate body to recover information, and a dedicated legacy unit within Ireland’s police force. It replaces the previous Conservative government’s 2023 Legacy Act, which introduced a ban on inquests and civil actions relating to Troubles-era incidents.
The UK government says it has strengthened the bill with safeguards for veterans asked to provide information to the Legacy Commission or a coroner. A Northern Ireland Office spokesperson said the legislation distinguishes lawful conduct by soldiers from terrorist actions and requires the operational context and orders from senior officers to be considered in cases involving the Army.
Simm said he had previously been questioned at an inquest about the Drumnakilly operation and had nothing to hide. He also questioned why soldiers were called to give evidence while others in the chain of command were not. He said he had decided to speak publicly because he wanted people to understand the operations and because, in his view, the government had failed to address the issue adequately.
Sources: BBC News UK.