February 9th, 1977:
Outside Reading: 1145 GMT
The pub was one of many in the many in the area, but this was the furthest away from any nearby. His bodyguard had driven Healey to the pub after their escape from Buckinghamshire. The officer had booked a room, and Healey had been forced to sneak through the building to avoid unnecessary attention.
Both still wore the same suits they’d been dressed in since the attack at Chequers. DCI Ritley had picked up a copy of the Guardian at a nearby news agents whilst Healey had lain low in the bedroom of the pub.
“So Mountbatten was behind all this?”
“It looks that way, Sir.”
Healey shook his head bitterly. “That bastard. What do we do, Jack?”
“We lay low,” Ritley answered, “Maybe try to get in contact with someone from the press.”
“Hmm…it would have to be a local paper,” Healey continued. “No way could we get into London. The whole city is under martial law.”
“Definitely. Maybe there are some people in the Military who will help us.”
“Hopefully. You served, didn’t you?”
“With the Para’s, Sir. In Egypt and Ulster.”
“Do you know anybody?”
“I can try to get in touch with someone.”
Ten Downing Street, London: 1200 GMT
“What!?” Mountbatten thundered. “How’s that possible?”
His comments were in reference to that day’s copy of the Telegraph, with a headline in bold black letters which read; “Mountbatten’s coup conspiracy.”
Sir Michael Hanley shrugged morbidly. “I don’t know who or how, Sir…”
“Somebody here must’ve overheard one of our conversations,” Admiral Lewin suggested. “Or one of Stirling or Walker’s men suddenly had a change of heart.”
Mountbatten was seething, furiously clenching his fists as he paced around the office. “Now that the truth is out, what do we do?”
“The Military will remain loyal to us, Sir,” Lewin answered. “As long as we make it worth their while. Perhaps a few promotions, some pay rises for the rank-and-file, plus giving the troops in Northern Ireland clear rules of engagement.”
“Fine.” Mountbatten turned to Sir Michael Hanley. “And Michael…”
“Yes, Sir?”
“Find who was responsible for that leak.”
Manchester: 2212 GMT
Crowds surged forwards, lobbing Molotov cocktails as they advanced. Explosions warmed the frosty night air as the petrol bombs detonated, sending shards of broken glass into the air. Some of the more sophisticated devices had been filled with nails, and it wasn’t long before a police officer was killed by one such weapon.
Cars were firebombed and buildings trashed by the furious mobs. Rocks and bricks were thrown, wounding several officers clad in riot gear. As the thin blue line retreated down the road, three green Lorries came to an abrupt halt, and forty soldiers disembarked, carrying SLR’s with fixed bayonets. They wore gas masks and helmets, making them look more like something out of Doctor Who.
As the police line withdrew, the troops took aim.
The rioters didn’t have time to scatter and run. Even as they turned, they were cut down. Twelve of them fell in the first volley of gunfire; eight more when the troops advanced forwards, merging with the ranks of the police officers. The remaining rioters soon found themselves facing an oncoming wave of green and blue. Soldiers cut down four more rebels with their bayonets, for the loss of a single serviceman to a hit in the face with a crowbar.
Ten Downing Street, London: 2330 GMT
“Defence Regulation 18B, Sir,” Sir Hanley told Mountbatten. “It was repealed after the Second World War, but if you were to enact it, it would allow us to detain those on the subversive list without due process.”
“We didn’t worry about due process with the cabinet.”
“That was a different thing entirely. If we’re going to use the official security services, we need this to be enacted.”
“Who would be rounded up?” Mountbatten asked.
“About 4,000 people earmarked by MI-5 or Special Branch as ‘subversive’. We can add people to that list as necessary.”
“And where do we hold them?”
“We don’t have an official holding place yet. However, my staff came up with a solution.”
“Let’s hear it, Michael.”
“The Shetland Islands.”
“In Defence of the Realm” – Mike Jackson – Page 346
With the revelation that Lord Mountbatten and certain senior Military officers had been involved in the assassination of Prime Minister Wilson and his colleagues, riots broke out in virtually every city in the country. As an officer with 2nd Battalion of the Parachute Regiment, I was deployed to South London, where we were tasked with maintaining order and supporting the police.
When I heard the truth about Wilson’s murder, I was in shock. It was early evening by that point, and me and my company were just setting up a command post in a local council building. Although there was rioting in the capital, it was largely confined to the centre of the city, for now, and we were not needed for riot control duties that night.
I knew it was wrong, what Mountbatten and the others had done. I knew that at some point, I would have to do something. It would be just two days before discussions of a counter-coup began.
“A Very British Coup” – Chris Mullin – Page 399
The fact that the Armed Forces, temporarily, at least, remained loyal to Mountbatten even after Barrie Penrose’s revelations was largely due to the promises increase in pay for the rank-and-file, along with the relaxed rules of engagement in Northern Ireland.
The policy of ‘internment’ was used to crack down on dissent in the mainland, but also was instrumental in quelling the threat posed by the IRA and its sister organisations. In the day following the putsch, troops in Ulster mounted hundreds of raids, arresting no less than 981 men and women thought to be associated with terrorist organisations.
“A History of Britain” - Peter Hennessy – Page 691
The mass round-up of those deemed ‘subversive’ by the security services began after intense rioting broke out in London, Manchester, Birmingham, Southampton and Glasgow. During these riots, troops used live ammunition against the perpetrators, killing ninety-one across the country.
Soon, police officers and troops began the round-up, mounting thousands of overnight raids against those suspected of committing crimes against the state…
