The Kew Files: Sam McBride unveils secret memos on former NI Secretary of State's IRA intelligence concerns

Under Prime Minister John Major, he held the role between 1992 and 1997, a time when the peace process was just beginning and the Troubles were still raging.

More information about the period, which was previously shrouded in secrecy, has emerged.

The Belfast Telegraph’s Sam McBride has now discovered a secret briefing written by Mayhew to then Prime Minister Major in the national archives in Kew, London.

It suggests the IRA was in a stronger position in the early 90s than previously thought, and questions some of the received wisdom about the intelligence war against the Provisionals.

The highly classified memos also show how a post-Cold-war military shrinkage meant that there weren’t enough troops to give Mayhew what he wanted to combat the IRA.

In this episode, which is the 4th episode of The BelTel’s series on the Kew Files, Ciarán Dunbar is joined by Belfast Telegraph Northern Ireland editor Sam McBride to reveal his recent findings from the national archives in Kew, London.

This episode of The BelTel is part of a series of podcasts on The Kew Files. The Previous episode covered IRA decommissioning and how it almost collapsed the Good Friday Agreement.