ELITE army surveillance specialists who have spent years monitoring republican and loyalist terrorists in Northern Ireland are to be drafted into a new military unit to be used on missions overseas.

The wealth of experience gleaned over the years by men and women of 14 Intelligence Company will be available to assist the SAS and the Special Boat Service (SBS) in all future operations abroad. The “super-spooks” regiment will be tied in closely with MI6.

The setting-up of the Special Reconnaissance Regiment (SRR), to be based at Hereford, home of the SAS, was announced yesterday by Geoff Hoon, the Defence Secretary, in a written statement to the Commons.

It is part of the Government’s strategy to expand the special forces to meet the threat posed by international terrorism. In December it was announced that the 1st Battalion The Parachute Regiment was being converted into a “ranger” unit to be attached to the SAS and SBS to provide back-up for discreet covert missions.

From today the SRR will be on hand to provide additional capability, involving covert surveillance of terrorist organisations before an operation by British special forces. The Pathfinder Platoon has a similar role for the Army’s 16 Air Assault Brigade. Although 14 Intelligence Company has had its expertise exported to other military units in the past, the announcement means that its specialist skills will be developed for worldwide missions.

The new regiment will also be open to any other member of the three Armed Forces who feels that he or she has the aptitude for what is potentially one of the most dangerous roles in the counter-terrorist business. The SRR will be small, probably fewer than 100 people.

Men and women have served in 14 Intelligence Company because experience in Northern Ireland showed that “couples” operating in civilian clothes and in unmarked cars often had a better chance of carrying out their surveillance missions undetected by their targets.

In the expanded role as part of an expeditionary force, the question of whether the women members of the new regiment will be deployed will depend on the circumstances and the mission.

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