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States of Terror

on BBC One London

In the final investigation of the series about state responses to terrorism, Peter Taylor uncovers the story of how Army
Intelligence and M15 recruit and deploy agents within Northern Ireland's paramilitary groups.
The report focuses on two agents. One was for many years one of MI5's top operators in the province, feeding information to the security services that succeeded in saving lives.
In a first interview with an M15 agent, the film reveals the process of his recruitment and how he operated. He claims to have taken on the work not for money but for moral reasons, to help prevent terrorist killings.
He is still alive, whereas IRA man Gregory Burns is dead. His naked and hooded body, along with those of two other alleged British agents, was found last year dumped in South Armagh.
All three had been "executed" by the IRA. The programme has gained unique access to the records of their final "confessions" in a film that defines the secret battleground between the British state and terrorists, Loyalist and Republican, in Northern Ireland. ProducerStephen Walker
Executive producer Steve Hewlett

Contributors

Unknown:
Peter Taylor
Unknown:
Gregory Burns

BBC One London

About BBC One

BBC One is a TV channel that started broadcasting on the 20th April 1964. It replaced BBC Television.

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