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'I was in the IRA but then they sentenced me to death'

John O'Kane & David Hunter
BBC Spotlight
BBC Brendan Hughes looks directly into the camera. He has grey hair and a short beard with a mix of green and brown in his eyes. Brendan is wearing a blue shirt with the top button open. Behind him is an out of focus room with long curtains, a fireplace and a bookshelf with warm lighting which gives off an orange glow. BBC
Brendan Hughes said the Northern Ireland conflict was a "total waste" of life

A former IRA leader who plotted bank robberies and jail breaks has told the BBC that being condemned to die made him realise what the group's victims had gone through.

Brendan Hughes, who is originally from County Tyrone, said he believes the IRA intended to make him one of the Disappeared – killing him and burying him in a secret grave.

Mr Hughes described the practice as "a war crime" that "should never have happened".

In a wide-ranging interview, the former IRA leader told BBC Spotlight that the Northern Ireland conflict was a "total waste" of life.

Hughes said the IRA passed a death sentence on him in 1975 after he carried out an armed robbery for personal gain.

"Suddenly you realise the position that other people were in, the position that you had been putting people in all these years, that there was a threat over their very existence.

"I didn't want to be disappeared. I never agreed with that.

"The disappearing of people is a war crime. It should never have happened."

The Disappeared are those who were abducted, murdered and secretly buried by republicans during Northern Ireland's Troubles.

Despite extensive searches, the bodies of four of the victims have yet to be found.

Siobhan O'Sullivan Harvey Brendan is pictured laying on a floral couch as a young man. The bottom of his scuffed up formal shoes are close to the camera on the armrest. Brendan lays back in dark jeans and a jumper with one arm behind his head. He is smoking a cigarette with the other hand, with a watch poking out of his sleeve. He has medium length dark hair which is swooped to the side of his face. In the background of the image a scuffed up white door is to Brendan's right, while a police officer stands to his left. He is behind the couch but in front of a wood panel wall. The officer is dressed in an old style black police uniform. It has large metal buttons and a belt buckle on show. Siobhan O'Sullivan Harvey
Brendan Hughes was involved in several robberies on behalf of the IRA in the early 1970s

Hughes, who said he was never involved in Disappeared cases, survived the assassination attempt on him.

He tried to steal more money to buy his way out of the death sentence but was captured by Gardaí (Irish police) and jailed for 20 years.

Speaking to Spotlight, he detailed the planning of a helicopter hijacking which saw three republican prisoners escape from Mountjoy Prison in the Republic of Ireland in 1973.

However, he insisted he was not glorifying violence by taking part in the two-part film, called 'Those Who Want Me Dead'.

"I'm telling my story to tell people who I am, what I am and where I am today, and where I am today, I would not do any of those things," he said.

"I'm not prepared to lift one finger in a violent way ever again. Never will.

"I see war as the most futile and destructive thing that man ever created."

Hughes, who is in his late 70s, offered an apology to those impacted by his actions during the Troubles.

He said he had come to realise the long-term implications he had on the lives of "ordinary, innocent and decent people."

'A total waste of life'

Brendan Hughes looks directly into the camera. He has grey hair and a short beard with a mix of green and brown in his eyes. He is wearing a dark blue coat. The background of the image is blurry but some greenery and a large metal frame is visible.
Hughes said he was prepared to talk about the conflict "in the right forum"

The former IRA leader said he wanted to engage with a truth commission to give victims answers about the 30-year conflict in Northern Ireland.

"It wasn't worth leaving one family without a father or a brother or a sister.

"It was a total waste, absolute total waste of energy, of life, of resources," he said.

His interview for Spotlight comes amid government efforts to repeal the controversial Legacy Act.

Introduced by the previous Conservative government, the legislation introduced a ban on inquests and civil actions related to incidents during the conflict in Northern Ireland.

It also sought to offer a conditional amnesty for people suspected of Troubles-related crimes in exchange for co-operating with a new Independent Commission for Reconciliation and Information Recovery (ICRIR).

The High Court in Belfast later ruled parts of the legislation, including such an amnesty, would be in breach of the European Convention on Human Rights.

PA Media A large sign is printed on white paper reading 'scrap the legacy act and I.C.R.I.R' in black text. It is being held by someone in a navy blue coat. Only their fingers are visible on the bottom of the sign, and part of a blue checked shirt worn by someone standing beside them. PA Media
The Legacy Act has been criticised by victims groups and political parties in Northern Ireland.

Hughes said he would engage with such a body - if there were no repercussions for doing so.

"I'm prepared to sit down with anyone, anytime, anywhere and talk about this – in the right forum.

"If the victims say that's the forum and there's no repercussions for anyone for doing this, that's where I want to be.

"The first requisition for reconciliation is truth," he said.

A number of victims' groups and political parties in Northern Ireland objected to the Legacy Act.

They argued that the act denied justice to those bereaved and injured during the Troubles, with some calling for the ICRIR to be scrapped.

The government previously said the commission would continue operating, but new legislation would be brought forward to "reform and strengthen" the ICRIR's "independence, powers and accountability".