In the 20th century , the United Kingdom ( UK ) has been accused of supporting Ulster loyalist paramilitaries during The Troubles in Northern Ireland . During the 1970s , a group of loyalists known as the " Glenanne gang " carried out numerous shootings and bombings against Irish Catholics and Irish nationalists in an area of Northern Ireland known as the " murder triangle " . It also carried out some cross-border attacks in the Republic of Ireland . The group included members of the illegal Ulster Volunteer Force ( UVF ) as well as British soldiers and RUC police officers . It was allegedly commanded by British Military Intelligence and RUC Special Branch . Evidence suggests that the group was responsible for the deaths of about 120 civilians . The '' Cassel Report '' investigated 76 killings attributed to the group and found evidence that soldiers and policemen were involved in 74 of those . One former member , RUC officer John Weir , claimed his superiors knew of the group 's activities but allowed it to continue . Attacks attributed to the group include the Dublin and Monaghan bombings ( which killed 34 civilians ) , the Miami Showband killings and the Reavey and O'Dowd killings . The UK is also accused of providing intelligence material , training , firearms , explosives and lists of people that the security forces wanted to have killed
Reavey and O'Dowd killings
Reavey and O'Dowd killings
State-sponsored terrorism