From chapter 4 of the de Silva report: "It is significant, in my view, that agent-handlers and their managers were actively seeking guidance from Government as to the appropriate
boundaries for agent-running at the time. It was manifestly not the case that agent-handlers were..."

"...seeking to conceal the general nature of their activities
from those in authority; on the contrary, they wanted the political leadership to provide a clear framework and direction."

This is a very different picture to what is presented in collusion conspiracy theories.

De Silva: "In such circumstances the UK Government had a duty to provide an effective statutory framework and clear policy direction. The issue was considered extensively at Cabinet level and Government Ministers were clearly aware
that agents were being handled in Northern..."

"...Ireland without reference to any adequate guidelines because no such framework existed. Ministers nonetheless
continued to place a high priority on pursuing an intelligence-led approach to the terrorist threat. The result of this was that agent-handlers and their...

"...supervisors were being asked to perform a task – namely the penetration of agents to the heart of a terrorist group – that, in some cases, could not be carried out in a way
that was both effective and lawful."

As I have stated in the past, agent handlers were...

...running agents inside terrorist groups, but with no clear legal framework issued by the government, that spelled out in an unambiguous fashion, what was and wasn't permitted. It is an operational necessity to allow agents to break the law, to protect their cover etc....

... but despite repeated requests by the RUC and MI5, successive governments were unwilling to produce a framework.

When people now look back at the 1980s and claim that there was collusion and wrong-doing, what they are actually seeing is agent-handling in an environment...

... that was not only dangerous, but devoid of proper government guidance or protection for agents and their handlers. That left people in the unenviable position of trying to counter terrorist groups, whilst never being sure if their actions would be later held against them....

... whilst their government masters scurried away and hid under a rock, denying any responsibility or knowledge of the legal grey area that they had failed to deal with.

And here is a comment by de Silva that David Cameron & others in govnt, mysteriously shy away from...

"Many of the grave issues relating to the involvement of agents in the murder of Patrick Finucane must, therefore, be considered in the context of the wilful and abject...

".. failure by the UK Government to put in place adequate guidance and regulation for the running of agents."

So when David Cameron passes comment about "shocking levels of collusion", what he in fact should be doing is apologising for the failure of successive governments...

...to provide the legal framework that the RUC and MI5 had repeatedly requested. If that framework had existed, the activities now labelled as "collusion", would actually have been covered by the type of legislation, passed only this year. It is the legal grey area that was...

...allowed to exist for years, that is now open for opportunists with an axe to grind, or a generous salary to justify, to make allegations about collusion, even though they know fine well, that they have no evidence that would stand up in court. in the unlikely event that...

... a case ever makes it to court, you can rest assured that all of these issues will be raised by any shrewd defence QC.