An MI5 secret agent ordered to infiltrate the IRA is taking the British security services to a tribunal after claiming they abandoned him and left him fearing for his life.
Raymond Gilmour, who says he now sleeps with a gun under his pillow, was a member of the IRA during the worst of the troubles in Northern Ireland.
He went on to become a supergrass for MI5 and became the only witness in a trial of 35 IRA suspects, which collapsed in 1984.
But Mr Gilmour, who lives in south-east England, now claims he has been abandoned by MI5 and not given the compensation or protection he was promised.
The secret agent, who helped bring the “IRA to their knees”, said he was promised £500,000, a new home, psychiatric support and a pension by his spook handlers.
But Mr Gilmour, who lives under a false identity, says he now suffers from post traumatic stress disorder, was given just £600 a month for three years and only received moderate accommodation.
He also says his secret identity does not stand up to scrutiny and he lives in constant fear of being killed.
The former secret agent is taking his case to the Investigatory Powers Tribunal (IPT) – a body which examines complaints against the intelligence services.
He said: “I brought the INLA to their knees in Derry, I brought the IRA to their knees in Derry and I saved countless lives.
“If I’m being treated like this after so many years, what do you think people down the chain are being treated like?
“I am living on a knife edge because of my mental health, I have no financial stability, which I was promised – I have nothing.”
Mr Gilmour was 17 when he joined the Irish National Liberation Army (INLA) in 1976 as a Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) special branch agent.
He then moved to the IRA in 1980 before his cover was blown two years later when police used information he supplied to recover a machine gun.
Mr Gilmour decided to testify against his fellow countrymen from Londonderry in the early 1980s.
His testimony led to the arrest of 35 Republicans but the case sensationally collapsed when the then Lord Chief Justice dismissed Mr Gilmour’s evidence as being “unworthy of belief”.
He added: “I knew I was telling the truth, I was told there were deals struck by RUC men behind the scenes that decisions had to be made that wouldn’t be palatable for me, so I was going to be the fall guy.”
Following the trial graffiti appeared across Londonderry stating he would “be got sooner or later.”
Former Sinn Fein publicity director Danny Morrison said: “There will be no love lost for him, no sympathy for him and it doesn’t come unexpected that when MI5 are finished with people they discard them.”
Ian Paisley Jr, the Democratic Unionist Party MP for North Antrim, said: “An agent – that’s who we’re talking about – who worked for the government in the dirtiest war ever this side of Kosovo should be protected and given his contractual obligations.”
The Northern Ireland Office (NIO) said they were unable to comment on whether any individual had or had not been an agent.
A spokesman said: “Anyone who has a complaint about the conduct or proposed conduct by or on behalf of any of the intelligence services can lodge a complaint with the Investigatory Powers Tribunal.
“If a complaint falls within their jurisdiction, they will investigate and respond to the claimant.”
The IPT said it could not confirm whether or not it had received a complaint.
Anyone even thinking about helping or god forbid working for MI5, Security Services should read up(search Google) on the cases of former British Agents Kevin Fulton, Martin McGartland and Raymond Gilmore. Each infiltrated terrorist groups (PIRA) on behalf of MI5 (Security Services) but only to be abandoned by MI5 when each had past their sell-by-date. In fact in the case of Martin McGartland MI5 set him up to be murdered in 1991 and again in 1999: http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/local-national/northern-ireland/two-exspies-target-mi5-in-landmark-legal-battle-over-payouts-28792426.html – http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-19829532 – http://www.channel4.com/news/articles/uk/mi5%2Bunder%2Bscrutiny%2Bnot%2Bfor%2Bthe%2Bfirst%2Btime/3538142.html Do not trust MI5.
Mi5, Security Service have done the very same to Martin McGartland; I was abandoned by MI5, says former agent, Martin McGartland, who infiltrated the IRA on behalf of Mi5 in Belfast; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=11yk7p3KpSI
Mi5 the British security service apply for a secret court hearing in the Martin McGartland legal case against them; http://rt.com/news/mi5-ira-disposable-agent-934/
Martin McGartland told the BBC that; “MI5 will say, do anything so that they do not have to face me in an open court. This is because the evidence which I have to prove their wrongdoing also shows that they breached, many times, their duty of car towards me.”