Is Jim Slaven Scotland's Denis Donaldson?

international | miscellaneous | news report Thursday January 12, 2006 16:10 by Freelance Journalist

The recent events regarding "Stormontgate" are now reaching to Scotland.

Is Jim Slaven Scotland's Denis Donaldson?

The similarities between the two men are remarkable and has led to many republicans claiming that it has more to do with design than accident. After recieving a phone call from a New York based journalist asking me to confirm some aspects of a story that they were going to publish in the United States I decided that this was in the public interest and as a freelance journalist I had a duty to put this story into the public domain on this side of the atlantic. Here is a man in my home city and who I have met on several occasions thinking that he was an unrepentant Irish republican and now I discover that it is all a lie.

Jim Slaven and Denis Donalson were extremely close and everything that Mr. Slaven done in Scotland was relayed to Denis Donaldson through his positon on the International Affairs Dept. of Sinn Féin through which Mr. Slaven gave details of everything that happened in Scotland.

The 'Stormontgate' affair is well known to everyone but how many people know about another spying case this time in the Scottish Office. In October 1996 a senior Scottish republican was revealed to be Sinn Féin's mole within the Scottish Office-this man was Jim Slaven. Mr. Slaven who had never been a member of Sinn Féin was also the source for his own outing. Strange you may think but when one considers the fact that he was acting on his own the episode takes a more sinister turn."I was IRA's mole in the Scottish Office" screamed the headline in the Daily Record at the time. Many observers noted that the individual in question was also the leader of a well known Irish republican group based in Edinburgh. Two moles none of whom were acting on behalf of the Republican Movement.How such a prominent figure with such a high public profile could secure a vacancy within the Scottish Office beggars belief and poses the question of how did he pass the stringent security checks?

Denis Donaldson has been credited with the exposure of the Columbia 3. A huge camaign was organised to promote the case of the Columbia 3 of which Jim Slaven was involved and through his involvement he even managed to visit the men while they were held in a Columbian prison. On his numerous journey's to Ireland Mr. Slaven experiances no special attention from the Special Branch, a feat which cannot be shared by the many travelers to and from Ireland who don't have Mr. Slaven's public profile. Denis Donaldson was known to have a similar history of traveling with ease, where he did not have to endure the harrassment from those Special Branch officers who made it their duty in life to detain and question anyone with a history of supporting militant republicanism. Denis was never subject to the same level of scrutiny as other Irish republicans whilst traveling to and from the United States and Mr. Slaven was not suject to the same level of scrutiny as other Irish republicans as he traveled from Scotland to Ireland, even after traveling to Columbia to visit the Columbia 3.

Cairde Na hÉireann was set up in Scotland in 2004 whilst Cairde Sinn Féin was set up in America in 1995. Both orginisations have been accused of attempting to undermine the previously stalwart republican solidarity groups in their respective countries. It is of no surprise that Denis was one of the key architects of Cairde Sinn Féin in the United States whilst Jim Slaven was the key architect of Cairde Na hÉireann in Scotland. Once each orginisation had been established all traces of the militant republican tradition had been wiped clean.

In 2002 Jim Slaven was along with others again at the centre of controversy. When Her Majesty the Queen went to Scotland in 1999 to officiate at the opening of the newly devolved parliament Slaven along with some of his closest associates staged a protest in support of disbanding the RUC they were promptly arrested after breaking a cordon and charging towards the coach and horses carrying Her Majesty the Queen. All of the men were held over night and subsequently charged with displaying provocative posters, shouting slogans, scaling a security barrier and approaching the carriage during a procession which included Her Majesty the Queen and placing the public in a state of fear and alarm..After 3 years the case collapsed in suspicious circumstances when KEY WITNESSES INCLUDING POLICE OFFICERS FAILED TO APPEAR to give evidence. In Denis's case his case was dropped after 3 years because the DPP stated that it was no longer in the public interst to continue with after he was accused of running a spying ring inside Stormont.

Mr.Slaven who is unemployed has been noted for his ability to travel extensively by air and stay in the best hotels while many of his employed comrades have trouble in affording the cost of travel to various republican events.

Coincedence or something more sinister?

This is just the beginning there are more revelations to come regarding the activities of Mr. Slaven.