en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Shayler
2 corrections found
Shayler joined MI5 in October 1991
Shayler did not join MI5 in October 1991. Parliamentary and court records place the start of his MI5 service in November 1991.
Full reasoning
This date is one month early.
A House of Lords judgment in R v Shayler states that David Shayler "was a member of the Security Service ("the service") from November 1991 to October 1996." A later report on the French extradition case gave the dates even more precisely, saying he worked for MI5 from November 11, 1991, to October 4, 1996.
Because the article says he joined MI5 in October 1991, it conflicts with those records. The supported start month is November 1991.
2 sources
- House of Lords - Regina v Shayler (On Appeal From The Court of Appeal (Criminal Division))
The appellant was a member of the Security Service ("the service") from November 1991 to October 1996.
- British bid to extradite former MI5 agent fails – The Irish Times
Mr Shayler, who worked for MI5 from November 11th, 1991, to October 4th, 1996, was detained last August 1st following the issuing of a British arrest warrant.
The attack happened in March 1996 in Gaddafi's native Sirte, a coastal city.
Contemporaneous reporting and parliamentary material place the alleged attack in February 1996, not March 1996.
Full reasoning
The month given here does not match the cited record on the alleged plot.
A contemporaneous Guardian report says an MI6 report stated the plot took place in February 1996, and quotes the report saying the coup was scheduled to start "on February 14, 1996." Parliamentary written evidence submitted to the House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee likewise summarized Shayler/Tomlinson's allegation as an attempt to assassinate Gaddafi in February 1996.
So while the location at Sirte is consistent with reporting, the article's statement that the attack happened in March 1996 is contradicted by the available sources, which place it in February 1996.
2 sources
- Cook urged to explain MI6 role in Gadafy plot | The Guardian
The report, headed "UK eyes alpha" said MI6 was told by a "delicate source" about the plot two months before it took place in February 1996... "The coup was scheduled to start at around the time of the next general people's congress on February 14, 1996."
- House of Commons - Foreign Affairs - Written Evidence
David Shayler and Richard Tomlinson... have both vigorously argued that Britain's intelligence services had attempted to assassinate Libya's Colonel Muammar Gaddafi in February 1996.