MI6 and the bombing of Rainbow Warrior

The 11 July 1985 bombing of Rainbow Warrior killed Greenpeace photographer Fernando Pereira.

Mitterrand had authorised the bombing. He wanted to stop Greenpeace disrupting French nuclear weapon tests in the Pacific.

Sections of the French media claimed that French secret agents had bought the dinghies used to plant the bombs from people close to MI6 and that MI6 knew of the planned sabotage. By late August the Sunday Times was telling the Foreign Office that "French official sources were briefing freely to 'anyone who would listen' about British involvement".

http://politics.guardian.co.uk/foi/story/0,9061,1652392,00.html

~~

Published on June 17, 2001 in The Sunday Times of London (http://www.commondreams.org/headlines01/0617-01.htm )

MI6 'Firm' Spied on Green Groups
by Maurice Chittenden and Nicholas Rufford

A PRIVATE intelligence firm with close links to MI6 spied on environmental campaign groups to collect information for oil companies, including Shell and BP.

MPs are to demand an inquiry by Jack Straw, the foreign secretary, into whether the secret intelligence service used the firm as a front to spy on green activists.

The firm's agent, who posed as a left-wing sympathizer and film maker, was asked to betray plans of Greenpeace's activities against oil giants.

He also tried to dupe Anita Roddick's Body Shop group to pass on information about its opposition to Shell drilling for oil in a Nigerian tribal land.

The Sunday Times has seen documents which show that the spy, German-born Manfred Schlickenrieder, was hired by Hakluyt, an agency that operates from offices in London's West End.


~~