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World News See other World News Articles Title: Lost Boys documentary links British intelligence to decades old mystery of missing boys MI5 fabricated documents which were presented to the Historical Institutional Abuse inquiry in an effort, it is suggested, to influence its outcome Violent paedophiles protected by British intelligence could lie at the heart of a decades old mystery surrounding the disappearance of five boys, a new documentary will show today. The team behind Lost Boys: Belfast’s Missing Children has painstakingly pieced together documents and witness testimony to try and shine a light on how the young lads vanished, yet no one has ever been held accountable. Their investigation has unearthed a raft of evidence pointing to how the lads’ disappearances could be linked to predatory paedophiles who were allowed to operate with impunity as they worked for one of a number of intelligence agencies. Read more: Family of "sadistically" murdered teenager say killer "still walks amongst us" And in a revelation that illustrates how this episode is no historical legacy of the Troubles, one former intelligence operative tells the film makers that MI5 fabricated documents which were presented to the 2014 Historical Institutional Abuse inquiry in an effort, it is suggested, to influence its outcome. Of the five boys who disappeared, just one was later found - the charred and mutilated remains of 11-year-old Brian McDermott had been dumped in the River Lagan. His death prompted speculation that witchcraft may have been an element in his murder. The other fours boys - Thomas Spence and John Rodgers and David Leckey and Jonathan Aven - were two separate sets of pals who disappeared in 1974 and 1969. But after spending five years researching all five boys’ disappearances the documentary makers believe they may be linked. The one and a half hour film weaves through the darkest days of the Troubles painting a picture of a police force unable or unwilling to properly investigate any of the disappearances, before its grim journey reaches the door of the Kincora Boys Home in East Belfast. If any conclusion is reached, it is that the Troubles provided the cover and opportunity for serial predators to prey on vulnerable children with little or no consequences. Worse still, some of those violent paedophiles were members of, or close to, loyalist paramilitary groups and had been recruited as informers, giving them a free reign to do what they liked. A “the end justifies the means” type attitude reigned in those days, Brian Gammell, a young army intelligence official on the ground in Belfast in the mid 1970s told the documentary makers. Colin Wallace, the intelligance officer turned whistleblower, tells how he raised concerns as far back as 1973, the year before Thomas Spence and John Rodgers vanished after being last seen at a bus stop on the Falls Road. The RUC, he adds, “knew of these allegations” about abuse at the home. Around five years worth of files on Kincora were destroyed after Wallace was “mysteriously” removed from his role. Tying the work of the Army’s Psychological Warfare or Psyops Unit to the Brian McDermott case, Wallace says the unit had a “witchcraft type project” running after hearing that some “paedophiles were dabbling in witchcraft”. As they draw together the strands of evidence, the film illustrates how Thomas Spence and John Rodgers, two boys from the Falls, may have ended up in the hands of paedophiles in North Belfast. The lads, according to a friend who went to the same special school as them on the Somerton Road, says they had spent the days in the run-up to their disappearance talking about running away with the circus. A circus was in Belfast at the time and set-up on the Shore Road - close to Ross House where, the documentary reports, a number of known paedophiles used an apartment to abuse children. Those involved in the use of that apartment were part of a broader network of sex offenders linked to Kincora. One suspect believed to have used this flat had been investigated previously by the RUC for abducting a boy from a bus stop at Wellingtron Place, sexually assaulting him then threatening to kill him if he told anyone. The case later collapsed and the police file was destroyed in a bomb attack. Spence and Rodgers had no obvious links to Leckey and Aven, from East Belfast, but forensic psychologist Prof. David Canter, who advises police forces on serial murders, says the boys’ deaths indicate an “unusual cluster of disappearances”, given their relatively close geographical proximity. Darren Brown, who lodged with the family of David Lecky years after his disappearance, developed an interest in the case and, after years of painstaking research discovered a link between David’s disappearance and Kincora. However the old news report which stated that RUC detectives investigating Kincora were “studying files” on the the Lecky and Aven disappearance did not lead to any major leads as Darren was never granted access to the file. And in an indication that obfuscation surrounding the issue continues to the present day, the filmmakers found, via a Freedom of Information request, that “relevant documents were being destroyed” even after the Historical Institutional Abuse inquiry was established. Documents MI5 did want the HIA to see, however, only muddy the waters, the documentary has found. “They were releasing false information” Mike Taylor, a former Army Intelligence Officer tells the film. A statement, purportedly made by Taylor, that “helps to discredit the claims” of a paedophile ring operating at Kincora, was fabricated he tells the programme. The new documentary will have its joint World Premiere in Belfast in partnership with Docs Ireland on Thursday, September 28 at the Odeon Cinema and in Dublin on Wednesday, September 27 in partnership with the Irish Film Institute (IFI). Filmmaker Des Henderson (How to Defuse A Bomb: The Project Children Story) joined forces with criminologist Robert Giles, journalist Martin Dillon and investigative reporter Chris Moore to make the documentary. Join our new WhatsApp community today Click this link or scan the QR code to receive breaking news and top stories from Belfast Live. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don’t like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you’re curious, you can read our Privacy Notice. Speaking ahead of the premiere, Director Des Henderson said: “When we set out to make this documentary, we knew we were dealing with a sensitive subject matter. Little did we know as we started to investigate, we would find such a sinister set of circumstances surrounding the disappearance of five young boys within the same area. “Due to the nature of the revelations in the documentary; there have been many twists and turns in the completion of the film. “It has been 50 years since the boys went missing, so we feel like it is now or never for their story to be heard. At the time there was concerningly little media coverage of what had happened, and the boys seemed to disappear from the public’s mind just as quickly as they had from the street. “It is unlikely that the boys will ever have justice, given how long ago these crimes took place, but the least we can do is try to expose the truth surrounding their disappearance, and who may have been involved.” Lost Boys Producer, Ed Stobart and Director Des Henderson in posed PR shot Lost Boys Producer, Ed Stobart and Director Des Henderson Producer Ed Stobart added: “It has taken 5 years of intense investigation to get the film to screen, and along the way we have amassed a huge body of evidence around some of the Troubles’ darkest remaining secrets, many of which extend beyond the cases we set out to investigate. “From what we have found, especially around the Kincora Boys Home scandal, there is much more to be told about the ‘Dirty War’ than is fully in the public domain. The security services, MI5 in particular, have a lot of questions to answer. “The suffering experienced by the families of the missing and murdered boys, and all those who were abused on an almost industrial scale in Kincora must have been unimaginable. We hope that this film might aid any process that brings them some measure of justice.” Post Comment Private Reply Ignore Thread
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