Northern Ireland

State papers: Simulated missile-aiming unit theft sparked concerns

The old Short Brothers sign at Bombardier Aerospace on the Airport Road in Belfast
The old Short Brothers sign at Bombardier Aerospace on the Airport Road in Belfast The old Short Brothers sign at Bombardier Aerospace on the Airport Road in Belfast

THE theft of a simulated missile-aiming unit by armed men from the north's largest industrial employer sparked concern among Northern Ireland Office officials.

The device, used for missile system training, was stolen from Shorts Brothers Aerospace's Castlereagh factory.

Declassified papers from November 1988 show that Peter Viggers, industry minister at the Northern Ireland Office (NIO), voiced concern over the theft.

Shorts' managing director Roy McNulty informed the minister that the device was used to provide training in the use of the Javelin missile system.

Files released by the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland (PRONI) under the 20/30 Year Rule also reveal business difficulties facing Shorts, including disappointing productivity and the problems over its privatisation.

At the time the company announced that it had secured a $60 million contract with the US Army National Guard for the supply of Super Sherpa aircraft.

But in November 1988 McNulty informed secretary of state Tom King that due to strained relations between the UK and Kuwait, negotiations on the sale of Tucano aircraft to the Kuwait Air Force had been suspended.

Fearing that the contract "may well go to our competitors", McNulty asked King to urge the Foreign and Colonial Office "to do what they could to improve the political climate for a successful negotiation of the contract".

Meanwhile, the British government's determination to privatise the company was opposed by all political parties in Northern Ireland.

The prospect of privatisation also prompted fears from Frank Shrontz, CEO of Boeing in Seattle, of the impact on Shorts' ability to build tracking edge flaps for the Boeing 747.

In a reply King assured him of the company's future in the private sector.

The crisis facing Shorts was discussed at a meeting involving company chairman Rodney Lund and McNulty at Stormont House in December 1988.

McNulty said that the firm had secured firm commitments for an additional 10 aircraft at a price of $5m each.

However, the CEO acknowledged that deliveries of an additional 400 missiles were required if the firm's targets were to be met.

The secretary of state stressed the importance of both the government and the company working together towards privatisation.

The government had taken its decision in the best interests of the company and he was concerned about unfavourable press publicity.

King told Shorts' representatives: "There was no possibility of Shorts remaining in the public sector in an overwhelmingly private trading sector in the UK. British Steel was the latest example of a company turned around by private sector disciplines."

In a later memo for ministers, King said he was seeking offers for the company as a whole and not for individual parts, though it was uncertain if this could be achieved.

The secretary of state added: "I have told the chairman that the government will not provide any support for a new aircraft project while the company remains in public ownership."

Total bank borrowings at October 1988 amounted to £336m but, King told Cabinet colleagues, "no purchaser will be prepared to take on this level of debt". He therefore recommended a capital injection of £300m.

King's blunt language to Shorts' management struck home. In November 1988 Lund wrote him a sharp letter saying that "the damage to the privatisation process was done last July when Shorts was placed in the 'lame duck' category".

"We have had to do our best since then to counter epithets such as 'dinosaur'," he said.

Lund told the Northern Ireland secretary that "Shorts is no dinosaur" and "is at the frontier of design, innovation and technology in all three of its businesses".

He concluded: "Although Shorts is smaller, its relevance in employment terms to the province is equivalent to that in Britain of British Coal or Rolls Royce."

In December 1988 the chief secretary to the treasury John Major informed King that "the sale of Shorts as a whole in suitable terms" was the preferred option of the government.

However, in his view, "the weak and deteriorating financial position of the company" made it a far from attractive prospect for purchase.

They needed a full recapitalisation of the company before inviting offers for its sale.

The future of the company was discussed with the secretary of state at Stormont in January 1989.

King was briefed on the company's current trading and production performance including production problems and cost overruns.

Shorts PLC was sold to Bombardier in June 1989.