Free Radio Forum: Re: Alternative facts

I have take the liberty to repost below Mike's contribution to the 14 August 1967 thread since it fits in, and adds to, the discussion on this thread.

Posted by Mike Barraclough on 18/8/2025, 17:17:45, in reply to "Re: 14th August 1967"

From an article Paul Easton, radio consultant, posted on Tony Benn's plans for an alternative to Radio One in 2014

"Incidentally, one other thing that emerged from Tony Benn’s political diaries was that Prime Minister Harold Wilson was actually a keen listener to some of the pirate stations, especially Radio 390. In his diary entry of Sunday 22nd May 1966 Benn commented: “He [Harold Wilson] enjoys the pirates and has always been trying to find some way of taxing them. This of course would be guaranteed to consolidate their strength and the Treasury would then never let us kill them.”

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Offshore Echo's has published many often quite detailed documents on the RNI jamming and there's no mention of Cobra Mist which hadn't started broadcasting when they were off the UK coast. A lot of government documents on offshore radio they publish are from civil servants, their conclusions, if they then have to be submitted to the relevant minister for approval, suggest what they believe to be the right course of action. The Russian Woodpecker OTH Radar used to interfere with broadcasts in the shortwave band including the 27Mhz citizens band when it was operating.

An alternative view of the Labour Government in the 60's. Holding the Fort, Michael Bates, Pages 78 and 79

August 1967 "Harold Wilson had asked for the situation with the fortess (Sealand) to be resolved. He called a meeting at his offices involving government Treasury solicitors, Ministry of Defence, the Home Office and other official bodies that might have an interest. These included the Post Office in charge of radio and broadcast licencing........The Law Office at the Department of Justice had written and rewritten legal opinion to try and bring the fortress under UK jurisdiction...they feared that the pirate stations that they had so successfully managed to close down could start rebroadcasting from this fortress.

More meetings called in earnest and it was decided that off all the services the Navy should be used and that the situation should be resolved by force.

The initial plans to storm the fortess by helicopter and ship were rejected by the Prime Minister,....it was explained to him by the Admiralty that any attempt to attack our position would undoubtebly be met by considerable resistance and there was every possibility of loss of life to service personnel or the Bates family..Harold Wilson bless him rejected the plan as he didn't want to see military personnel injured or killed. It made me very proud to be an Englishman as well as a Sealander when in later years I read the minutes of this meeting. There are not many, if any, world leaders that would have the fortitude to take that stance under such pressure from their cabinet to resolve that situation."

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Thanks Mark - good bedtime reading there
I'll plough through it.

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This is all the FOIA papers on Cobra Mist

https://www.cufon.org/cufon/cobramst.htm

I doubt there is any connection to the MOA timeline or the RNI jamming.

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They probably will, Al
Yes, it is all probably just speculation, but considered with what we NOW know about how Cobra mist was supposed to work, how important National security & secrecy then was - I don't consider it unfounded speculation, yes - RNI arriving, was probably far from welcome, but it could have still been a problem for Cobra, when it was off Holland.

The Russian Woodpecker, was I understand, THEIR version of Cobra - it had it's own reactor power supply at Chernobyl - to eliminate induced mains noise from other sources & of course, it was well away from local noise- radio wise.

We will probably never hear any more about this, mainly because a lot of money was wasted - the taxpayers, might ask difficult questions, why the experts did not see that coming - so sleeping dogs, will lie.

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From reading through the posts, it would appear to me that the MOA was introduced after the tragic Radio City incident. However, there has been mention of the link to the Cobra Mist installation. If it began testing in late 1971, based on a design from 1961, then the arrival of RNI in 1970 must have set alarm bells ringing. Using 6 - 40Mhz, I would think the last thing you would want is a 49mb and 31mb transmitter almost in line with the main lobe? I'm sure someone will shoot me down, but was this the real reason it was jammed?