The Angolan hostages episode, and more …
Although Unita’s capture of 16 Britons at Kafuno diamond mine in Angola received massive publicity, the intriguing titbits thrown up by the reporting were not pursued. In particular, there was the article by Stephen Glover (Daily Telegraph 16th May 1984) in which he stated that he had been approached ten days before the hostage taking with a view to reporting the capture.
Glover was approached by an unnamed Conservative MP with an interest in Africa, who suggested flying with him and a senior director of Lonrho to Unita’s headquarters at Jamba, Southern Angola, to preside over the return of some British hostages.
In some reports, in Private Eye in particular, it has been claimed that the whole affair was orchestrated by an alliance of right-wingers in MI6, the Foreign Office, Unita, and Lonrho. There is no direct evidence of this but it is clear that some people are highly embarrassed by Britain’s support of the Marxist government in Angola, and the pointers towards a plot are highly suggestive.
In July 1983 Sir James Scott Hopkins MP travelled with three other MPs to Jamba where Dr Jonas Savimbi, Unita’s President, said that the Kafuno mine area would be attacked after Christmas and hostages would be taken. On his return Sir James contacted the Foreign Office, but they apparently didn’t take the warning seriously. In fact, Marrack Goulding, British Ambassador in Luanda, has assured Britons working in Kafuno that Unita posed no threat. (Times 14th May 1984). But as one of the hostages later said “Unita had been in the town for some time spying out the land. They knew we were all here.” (Times 16th April 1984)
Perimeter security at the mine was carried out following consultations with the shadowy British group, Defence Systems International. D.S. (UK) advises North Sea oil operators on security measures (See Lobster 4). They acted as security consultants to the diamond mining company Diamang, and supplied ex-SAS personnel who were officially employed to help prevent diamond smuggling.
One report suggested that they were flying helicopter gunships for the MPLA government. Obviously the arrangement was acutely embarrassing for all concerned. The contract was to have ended in June but was terminated earlier this year. In April 14 other staff were withdrawn. (Times 18th.May 1984)
It is possible that DSI have links to British intelligence, and this strange affair takes on a new light when one learns that four of the hostages were DSI employees, and three of the four ex-SAS: Budd Sanders (of Croft Road, Hereford); Ken Moffat (of Elgin Road, Hereford); Alfred Tasker (of Greencroft, Redhill, Hereford), all said to have retired from active SAS service five years ago. The fourth was Martin Dougherty, a former Irish Guardsman (Westminster Road, Swindon).
There are two curious points in all this. DSI’s spokesman, David Abbot (also from Hereford), said that the men had been unarmed – which could be true if someone knew they would be captured. Secondly, Unita supplied the names and addresses, and yet supposedly didn’t see anything suspicious in the Hereford connection. Following the Angolan mercenaries episode, Unita are not naive.
It is said that Dr. Savimbi was recruited by British intelligence 1964-66.(Covert Action No 4 April/May 1979). Even stronger are his links to Lonrho. Its boss, ‘Tiny’ Rowland, has visited Savimbi at the residence in Rabat, lent by the King of Morocco to Unita’s President; and Lonrho executives have visited Unita’s headquarters at Jamba. As long ago as 1974 Rowland provided Savimbi with a Hawker Siddley 125 and two pilots. He also set up a small company, Armitage Industrial Holdings, from the Slater/Walker group, to transport arms and supplies to Unita. (British Intelligence and Covert Action p193). When Savimbi visited Britain in 1980, Lonrho paid for expensive receptions hosted by Tory MP Edward Du Cann, a Lonrho director, at which Savimbi met Tory MPs.
Unita’s links to South Africa, a source of arms and finance, are well established. In April, Tertius Myburgh, editor of the Johannesburg Sunday Times, organised a public relations exercise for Unita. He took almost every English-language newspaper on a jaunt into Southern Angola to meet Savimbi. Transport was safeguarded by the South African army.
This resulted in highly favourable coverage for Unita. The Guardian reported (15th June 1984) that Myburgh had been carrying messages on behalf of Savimbi. He had been to see Sir John Leahy, the senior Foreign Office diplomat concerned with African affairs and former Ambassador in South Africa. It was Sir John, in preference to a Conservative MP, who was chosen by the Foreign Office to negotiate with Savimbi on the sixteen hostages. He later said of the Unita leader that “He had great qualities of leadership and (a) colourful style.”(Times 17th May 1984).
Leahy’s visit to Angola was reported by an international group of journalists especially flown into Angola for the occasion. From this Unita, and in particular Savimbi, received huge international publicity; and, importantly, though not officially, recognition by Britain.
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Defence and Security International (see Lobster 4) will “analyse potential terrorist targets and devise counter-measures for installation, such as air-fields, desalination plants and oil refineries.” (Financial Times 17th April 1984). Based in Limassol, Cyprus, it “plans to establish operations with local partners in countries such as Saudi Arabia, Dubai and Kuwait.” Helping will be The Middle East Institute for Strategic Studies.
Set up in 1983 in Amman to advise Arab armies and Middle Eastern clients on security measures, it has taken a 51% stake in Defence and Security International. It was started by Lt Gen. Abd Al Hadi Majuli, a former chief of staff of the Jordanian armed forces, and one-time Jordanian Ambassador in Washington. (Middle East June 1984)
This ties in with one of the partners of the group Defence Systems International, one of whose directors, Viscount Monckton, is currently a member of the Conservative Middle East Council, and served as the chairman of the Conservative Defence Committee in the House of Lords. His last appointments were as director of public relations for the British Army and chief of staff of the British Army of the Rhine.
Another DSI director, Alastair Morrison, spent 19 years in the British Army, during which he undertook four tours of duty with the SAS. On his last tour he was second-in-command of 22 SAS at Hereford. He was responsible for counter-terrorist measures and advised governments on ‘security crisis management systems’.
Morrison achieved brief fame when a Lufthansa airliner was hijacked at Mogadishu. As top SAS action man at the time, Morrison stormed the aircraft accompanied by an SAS sergeant and a group of West German GSG9 security men. Morrison used a stun grenade, the first public display of one.
Morrison is still a regular visitor to the joint GSG9-SAS training centre at Wiesbaden, West Germany. It is there that the 50 strong Irish Rangers receive their training.
It was Morrison as sales director of Heckler and Koch who supplied the Rangers with their weapons. (The Phoenix 20th January 1984). The Rangers are based at the Curragh, controlled by Col. Vincent Savino, Director Operations Section, from an office at Parkgate, Dublin Army HQ. The Rangers’ deployment is a matter for the chief of staff, Lt. Gen. Louis Hogan.
It is more than likely that it was Morrison who supplied the Heckler and Koch MP5K to the Metropolitan Police. As Handgunner magazine (No 23 1984) noted: “It is soon apparent that here is an area in which conspiracy theorists could enjoy themselves.”
Professor Paul Wilkinson, so-called counter-insurgency and terrorist expert, said in a letter to the Times (11th April 1984) that “The MP5 is an extremely accurate anti-terrorist weapon of proved value to the police in many western countries.”
True, but they were actually buying the MP5K, of which Handgunner noted that it “offers a lot of firepower and not much control.”
Colin Greenwood, the editor of Gun Review said (Times 3rd April 1984) “We are going to have another situation where the Metropolitan Police are more dangerous than the terrorists.”
The other partners of Defence and Security International are Security Centres holdings (see Lobster 4). Other directors are John Adrian Salman MBA, Tom Forrest, managing director. Sir Hugh Fraser, ex-SAS, who recently died, was an advisor to the company.
SD