inclines to Connie’s view that Surtees is “slippery.” His second email is more conciliatory than his first, following my request for copies of O’Connell’s documentation/photo. To date, these haven’t materialized, but I’ll keep pressing for them because I want to know if I have a ringer on my patch. It’s hard enough keeping track of the indigenous population without fake UK passports being thrown into the pot.
It’s a big “if”—but if the murders are linked, if the killer’s a Brit and if he returns to the UK—that puts him on home turf where we do have the resources to nail him. I keep waking up of a night thinking what a perfect bloody crime this is, Alan. Life’s so cheap in these war zones no one gives a damn if a psychopath gets his rocks off by chopping women into little pieces. It’s been another bad day. 3 toddlers died and a 12-year-old kid got his legs blown off by an “unexploded” cluster bomb. I hate this wretched slaughter-house…
Email (1) from Alastair Surtees to Bill Fraser
…I assume your interest has been sparked by Ms. Connie Burns of Reuters, who engineered an interview with me in order to make unfounded and slanderous accusations against Mr. Kenneth O’Connell. She claims to have known him under a different name in Sierra Leone, however it’s now clear that the man she saw was wrongly identified to her. You have my personal assurance that none of our operatives was at the Baghdad police academy on the day Ms. Burns visited it. I trust this settles the matter…
Email (2) from Alastair Surtees to Bill Fraser
…I’m sorry you thought I deliberately evaded some of your requests. I do not and would not condone the use of a false passport by any BG employee, however I thought my personal assurance would be enough to convince you that Ms. Burns was in error. I have questioned O’Connell on two occasions since Ms. Burns made her allegations against him, and I have absolutely no reason to believe that Kenneth O’Connell is an alias for John Harwood or Keith MacKenzie. The Baycombe Group is scrupulous in its vetting procedures and thoroughly examines the records of all its employees.
Kenneth O’Connell came to us with unimpeachable references. His history in brief: Sergeant, Royal Irish Regiment; service duty (multi-deployed) but including: Falklands and Bosnia; left the Army in 2000 (aged 36) to join the London Metropolitan Police (served 3 years); signed up with the Baycombe Group in September 2003. He has held two positions here in Iraq: 1) Lead trainer of restraint techniques at the Baghdad Police Academy from 1.11.03 to 1.02.04; 2) Personal Security Officer to Spennyfield Construction 14.02.04–ongoing. Spennyfield Construction are a UK firm, currently working out of Karbala.
O’Connell’s documentation is held at our Cape Town office. I have requested a copy to be faxed to the number you gave me, with the proviso that his name, next of kin, and present location are blacked out. Faxes go astray or fall into the wrong hands and the safety of our personnel is important to us. I trust this meets your requirements and that any suspicions you have of Mr. O’Connell can be speedily laid to rest…
Email from Bill Fraser to Alastair Surtees
…It is now two weeks since I requested information on Kenneth O’Connell. In the absence of documentary evidence supporting his claim to a legitimate passport, his name will be posted with the British Embassy and all attempts by him to exit this country will be blocked. Furthermore, if I have any suspicion that Mr. O’Connell has left the country under a different name…
From:
[email protected]
Sent:
Tues 20/07/04 23:15
To:
Dan Fry ([email protected])
Subject:
Sorry!
----
Dear Dan,
I received your first email so you don’t need to keep bombarding me with new ones. I’m sorry you’ve been feeling sick and I’m sorry that my long silences are making it worse. It has nothing to do
It’s a big “if”—but if the murders are linked, if the killer’s a Brit and if he returns to the UK—that puts him on home turf where we do have the resources to nail him. I keep waking up of a night thinking what a perfect bloody crime this is, Alan. Life’s so cheap in these war zones no one gives a damn if a psychopath gets his rocks off by chopping women into little pieces. It’s been another bad day. 3 toddlers died and a 12-year-old kid got his legs blown off by an “unexploded” cluster bomb. I hate this wretched slaughter-house…
Email (1) from Alastair Surtees to Bill Fraser
…I assume your interest has been sparked by Ms. Connie Burns of Reuters, who engineered an interview with me in order to make unfounded and slanderous accusations against Mr. Kenneth O’Connell. She claims to have known him under a different name in Sierra Leone, however it’s now clear that the man she saw was wrongly identified to her. You have my personal assurance that none of our operatives was at the Baghdad police academy on the day Ms. Burns visited it. I trust this settles the matter…
Email (2) from Alastair Surtees to Bill Fraser
…I’m sorry you thought I deliberately evaded some of your requests. I do not and would not condone the use of a false passport by any BG employee, however I thought my personal assurance would be enough to convince you that Ms. Burns was in error. I have questioned O’Connell on two occasions since Ms. Burns made her allegations against him, and I have absolutely no reason to believe that Kenneth O’Connell is an alias for John Harwood or Keith MacKenzie. The Baycombe Group is scrupulous in its vetting procedures and thoroughly examines the records of all its employees.
Kenneth O’Connell came to us with unimpeachable references. His history in brief: Sergeant, Royal Irish Regiment; service duty (multi-deployed) but including: Falklands and Bosnia; left the Army in 2000 (aged 36) to join the London Metropolitan Police (served 3 years); signed up with the Baycombe Group in September 2003. He has held two positions here in Iraq: 1) Lead trainer of restraint techniques at the Baghdad Police Academy from 1.11.03 to 1.02.04; 2) Personal Security Officer to Spennyfield Construction 14.02.04–ongoing. Spennyfield Construction are a UK firm, currently working out of Karbala.
O’Connell’s documentation is held at our Cape Town office. I have requested a copy to be faxed to the number you gave me, with the proviso that his name, next of kin, and present location are blacked out. Faxes go astray or fall into the wrong hands and the safety of our personnel is important to us. I trust this meets your requirements and that any suspicions you have of Mr. O’Connell can be speedily laid to rest…
Email from Bill Fraser to Alastair Surtees
…It is now two weeks since I requested information on Kenneth O’Connell. In the absence of documentary evidence supporting his claim to a legitimate passport, his name will be posted with the British Embassy and all attempts by him to exit this country will be blocked. Furthermore, if I have any suspicion that Mr. O’Connell has left the country under a different name…
From:
[email protected]
Sent:
Tues 20/07/04 23:15
To:
Dan Fry ([email protected])
Subject:
Sorry!
----
Dear Dan,
I received your first email so you don’t need to keep bombarding me with new ones. I’m sorry you’ve been feeling sick and I’m sorry that my long silences are making it worse. It has nothing to do
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