london • Britain’s then prime minister drew up a secret “apocalyptic note” 30 years ago examining what would happen if Britain had to pull out of Northern Ireland, newly declassified documents revealed yesterday.
In his final months in office, Harold Wilson wanted to work out what to do if “all present policies fail” and Northern Ireland became ungovernable because of “terrorism amounting to civil war” or paralysing industrial action.
He raised the possibility that events in the province might quickly force a “total separation”. “All in all, therefore, the apocalyptic situation envisaged in this note raises frightening prospects, frightening above all for Northern Ireland... but it might involve Britain in very serious consequences, including some of an international kind,” he wrote.
“I think we should be prepared to consider these implications, since a situation could arise very quickly in which action has to be taken. Should it do so, we should not shrink from taking that action.”
Northern Ireland was at the time near the start of the three-decade long Troubles, which saw over 3,000 people killed amid tensions between Catholic and Protestant communities, respectively backing union with the Republic of Ireland and remaining part of the United Kingdom.
The Troubles eventually drew to an end with the landmark 1998 Good Friday agreement, although wrangling still continues over its implementation — in theory self-government could finally be restored next March.
The paper, headed “apocalyptic note for the record”, was written in January 1976, two months before Wilson announced his resignation.
He is scathing about the “unruly mob” which he predicted could force the situation to crisis point.
“What I am sure about is that those who have the bit between their teeth in Northern Ireland have almost certainly given very little consideration even to the implications which I have set out,” he wrote. “Their purblind fanaticism would condition them to disregard such questions, some of them, however, are so ingenuous and limited in experience to think these questions through.”
Wilson feared that militant Protestants could make a unilateral declaration of independence.
Wilson did, though, stress that there was “no question” of Queen Elizabeth II relinquishing sovereignty over Northern Ireland “without the fullest consultation and her consent”.
The document was released by the National Archives in London under rules which say that official papers can be made public after 30 years.
