Tim Collins | |
---|---|
![]() Collins in 2008 | |
Born | Belfast, Northern Ireland | 30 April 1960
Allegiance | United Kingdom |
Service/ | British Army |
Years of service | 1981–2004 |
Rank | Colonel |
Commands held | 1st Battalion, Royal Irish Regiment |
Battles/wars | 1st Gulf War, Colombia Drugs War, Zaire Army Rebellion 1991, Bosnia, Kosovo, Iraq War |
Awards | Officer of the Order of the British Empire Queen's Commendation for Valuable Service |
Colonel Timothy Thomas Cyril Collins OBE [1] (born 30 April 1960) is a retired Northern Irish military officer in the British Army. He is best known for his role in the Iraq War in 2003, and his eve-of-battle speech, which President George W. Bush had displayed on the White House's Oval Office. [2] He is chairman (and co-founder) of intelligence-based security services company Horus Global. Collins unsuccessfully stood for the Ulster Unionist Party in the seat of North Down in the 2024 United Kingdom general election.
Collins was born and raised in Belfast, Northern Ireland, where he grew up during The Troubles. He was educated at the Royal Belfast Academical Institution before attending Queen's University of Belfast, where he gained a degree in economics. [3]
After graduating from university, Collins was accepted into the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, from where he was commissioned into the Royal Signals as a second lieutenant on a short service commission on 2 October 1981. [4] He was promoted to lieutenant with seniority from 7 April 1982. [5] He transferred to the Royal Irish Rangers on 18 October 1982. [6] He switched to a full commission on 22 October 1984, [7] and was promoted captain on 7 October 1985. [8]
He passed selection into the SAS in 1988, going on to serve 2 operational tours with the Regiment and 1 tour at HQ Special Forces in York barracks London
He was promoted major on 30 September 1992, [9] and lieutenant-colonel on 30 June 1999. [10] Collins was appointed commanding officer of the 1st Battalion, Royal Irish Regiment in 2001. For a tour of duty in Northern Ireland between October 2001 and March 2002, he was awarded the Queen's Commendation for Valuable Service on 29 October 2002. [11] It was in the capacity of 1 R Irish's commanding officer that he rose to prominence while serving in Iraq.
On 31 October 2003 he was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire, for his service in Iraq [1] and was invested on 7 April 2004. Collins was promoted to colonel and moved to the General Staff on 30 June 2003. [12]
He set up the Peace Support College in Sarajevo before becoming DACOS Training at HQ Land Command until his retirement. [13]
As Lieutenant Colonel (Commanding Officer) of the 1st Battalion, Royal Irish Regiment of the British Army, Collins gave a rousing eve-of-battle speech to his troops in Kuwait on Wednesday 19 March 2003. The speech was extemporised, and was recorded in shorthand by a single journalist, Sarah Oliver. [14] No recording or film of the speech exists, Collins told the BBC. [15]
We go to Iraq to liberate not to conquer. We will not fly our flags in their country. We are entering Iraq to free a people and the only flag which will be flown in that ancient land is their own. Show respect for them.
There are some who are alive at this moment who will not be alive shortly. Those who do not wish to go on that journey, we will not send. As for the others I expect you to rock their world. Wipe them out if that is what they choose. But if you are ferocious in battle remember to be magnanimous in victory.
Iraq is steeped in history. It is the site of the Garden of Eden, of the Great Flood and the birthplace of Abraham. Tread lightly there. You will see things that no man could pay to see and you will have to go a long way to find a more decent, generous and upright people than the Iraqis. You will be embarrassed by their hospitality even though they have nothing. Don't treat them as refugees for they are in their own country. Their children will be poor, in years to come they will know that the light of liberation in their lives was brought by you.
If there are casualties of war then remember that when they woke up and got dressed in the morning they did not plan to die this day. Allow them dignity in death. Bury them properly and mark their graves.
It is my foremost intention to bring every single one of you out alive but there may be people among us who will not see the end of this campaign. We will put them in their sleeping bags and send them back. There will be no time for sorrow.
The enemy should be in no doubt that we are his nemesis and that we are bringing about his rightful destruction. There are many regional commanders who have stains on their souls and they are stoking the fires of hell for Saddam. He and his forces will be destroyed by this coalition for what they have done. As they die they will know their deeds have brought them to this place. Show them no pity.
It is a big step to take another human life. It is not to be done lightly. I know of men who have taken life needlessly in other conflicts, I can assure you they live with the Mark of Cain upon them. If someone surrenders to you then remember they have that right in international law and ensure that one day they go home to their family.
The ones who wish to fight, well, we aim to please.
If you harm the regiment or its history by over-enthusiasm in killing or in cowardice, know it is your family who will suffer. You will be shunned unless your conduct is of the highest for your deeds will follow you down through history. We will bring shame on neither our uniform or our nation.
[Regarding the use by Saddam of chemical or biological weapons] It is not a question of if, it's a question of when. We know he has already devolved the decision to lower commanders, and that means he has already taken the decision himself. If we survive the first strike we will survive the attack.
As for ourselves, let's bring everyone home and leave Iraq a better place for us having been there.
Our business now is north. [16]
The "Mark of Cain" line from the speech inspired the title of the 2007 Film4 Productions drama The Mark of Cain . In the film a commanding officer makes a speech based on Collins' to his men. [17]
The last episode of the 2008 television series 10 Days to War features a version of the speech performed by Kenneth Branagh as Collins. [18]
In 2003, Collins was accused by Major Re Biastre of the US Army's 402nd Civil Affairs Battalion of mistreating Iraqi detainees. In Biastre's allegations, he stated that he had never seen any of the alleged mistreatment personally, but had instead overheard them being discussed by British and American military personnel. The Royal Military Police (RMP) opened an investigation into Biastre's claims, during which it found that Biastre had been verbally reprimanded by Collins and made to stand at attention for 45 minutes for distributing sweets to Iraqi children against explicit orders not to do so. The allegations were denounced by USMC Major Stan Coerr, who stated in an interview that "I didn’t see any of these incidents and I don’t for a second believe them. The fact is that this whole thing was started by an incompetent officer lashing out at someone who embarrassed him in front of his troops." Several Royal Irish Regiment soldiers who had served under Collins signed testimonies supporting his refutations of Biastre's allegations. In September 2003, the Ministry of Defence announced that the RMP investigation had concluded that Collins was innocent of all charges and would not be prosecuted. Collins subsequently sued the Sunday Mirror in the High Court of Northern Ireland for libel over their reporting of the allegations, winning a substantial amount of undisclosed damages from them. After Collins' court victory, his solicitor Ernie Telford stated that the allegations "have caused immense distress to my client, his wife and children." [19] [20] [21]
He officially left the British Army on 5 August 2004. [22]
Since leaving the Army, Collins' views on the Iraq conflict and other military issues have been widely sought. [23] In 2007, Collins was host of a three-part documentary called "Ships That Changed the World" [24] for BBC Northern Ireland. In December 2008 – during an interview on the BBC's Today programme, Collins said that, when he left in 2004, the British Army was already undermanned for existing commitments. [25] In February 2011 Tim Collins appeared on the BBC news programme Panorama in a special entitled 'Forgotten Heroes'. In the documentary, Collins meets veterans struggling to cope with civilian life and sleeps rough on the streets of Brighton with another former soldier. [26]
Collins has been approached by both the Conservative Party and the Ulster Unionist Party to run for Parliament, and confirmed in January 2024 that he will run for the Ulster Unionist Party in the 2024 United Kingdom general election. [27] During the 2005 Ulster Unionist leadership election he was cited by a number of prominent Ulster Unionists as an outside figure who would make a good leader, but Collins declined as he felt he had "no experience of politics." [28] Collins is a signatory of the founding statement of principles of the Henry Jackson Society, which advocates a pro-active approach to the spread of liberal democracy through the world. He has recently been critical of the Iraq war: "the UK and US pour blood and treasure into overseas campaigns which seem to have no ending and no goal ... Clearly I was naive". [29]
In December 2011, it was revealed that Collins was approached to stand as an elected police and crime commissioner for the Conservative Party in Kent and originally was standing, however he later dropped out of the race. [30] In August 2014, Collins was one of 200 public figures who were signatories to a letter to The Guardian opposing Scottish independence in the run-up to September's referendum on that issue. [31]
In January 2024, Collins confirmed that he will run for the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) in the 2024 United Kingdom general election. [32] He said that it was the right time to for a new career path, and he chose to run for the UUP because their views and values are compatible with his own. The Democratic Unionist Party previously asked Collins to run for them but he turned down the offer. [27] He contested the North Down constituency and made controversial statements regarding the cost of insuring his Rolls-Royce. [33] He finished third with 15.6% of the vote, [34] and attributed his loss to voters being more interested in "potholes and hedges" than international affairs. [35]
Collins is chairman of specialist security company, Horus Global.
The Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) is a unionist political party in Northern Ireland. The party was founded as the Ulster Unionist Council in 1905, emerging from the Irish Unionist Alliance in Ulster. Under Edward Carson, it led unionist opposition to the Irish Home Rule movement. Following the partition of Ireland, it was the governing party of Northern Ireland between 1921 and 1972. It was supported by most unionist voters throughout the conflict known as the Troubles, during which time it was often referred to as the Official Unionist Party (OUP).
William David Trimble, Baron Trimble, was a Northern Irish politician who was the inaugural First Minister of Northern Ireland from 1998 to 2002, and leader of the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) from 1995 to 2005. He was also Member of Parliament (MP) for Upper Bann from 1990 to 2005 and Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) for Upper Bann from 1998 to 2007.
Sir Jeffrey Mark Donaldson is a British former politician, who served as leader of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) from 2021 to 2024, and leader of the DUP in the UK House of Commons from 2019 to 2024. He was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Lagan Valley from 1997 to 2024.
James Henry Molyneaux, Baron Molyneaux of Killead, KBE, PC, often known as Jim Molyneaux, was a unionist politician from Northern Ireland who served as leader of the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) from 1979 to 1995, and as the Member of Parliament (MP) for South Antrim from 1970 to 1983, and later Lagan Valley from 1983 to 1997. An Orangeman, he was also Sovereign Grand Master of the Royal Black Institution from 1971 to 1995, and a leading member of the Conservative Monday Club.
David Wilson Boyd Burnside is an Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) politician, who was the Member of Parliament (MP) for South Antrim from 2001 to 2005.
Sylvia Eileen, Lady Hermon is a retired Unionist politician from Northern Ireland. She served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for the constituency of North Down from 2001 to 2019.
Basil Stanlake Brooke, 1st Viscount Brookeborough,, styled Sir Basil Brooke, 5th Baronet, between 1907 and 1952, and commonly referred to as Lord Brookeborough, was an Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) politician who served as the third Prime Minister of Northern Ireland from May 1943, until March 1963.
Reginald Norman Morgan Empey, Baron Empey,, best known as Reg Empey, is a Northern Irish politician who served as the acting First Minister of Northern Ireland in 2001. He was the leader of the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) from 2005 to 2010 and served as chairman of the party from 2012 to 2019. Empey was a Member of the Northern Ireland Assembly (MLA) for East Belfast from 1998 to 2011.
The 2005 Ulster Unionist Party leadership election began on 7 May 2005 when David Trimble resigned as leader of the Ulster Unionist Party following his party's poor performance in the 2005 general election when it lost all but one of its seats, including Trimble's own. Following his resignation, the UUP's executive committee charged Sir Reg Empey, Lady Hermon and Lord Rogan with the interim leadership of the Party.
Sir John Charles Hermon was the Chief Constable of the Royal Ulster Constabulary from 1980 to 1989.
Thomas Beatty Elliott is a Northern Irish unionist politician, life peer and farmer who was leader of the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) from 2010 to 2012, and has been a Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) for Fermanagh and South Tyrone since 2022, having previously served from 2003 to 2015. He was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Fermanagh and South Tyrone from 2015 to 2017. He was a soldier in the Ulster Defence Regiment (UDR) from 1982 to 1992 and its successor the Royal Irish Regiment from 1992 to 1999. He backed a Leave vote in the 2016 EU membership referendum. He was appointed to the House of Lords in the 2024 Dissolution Honours on the 4th July 2024.
John McCallister is a Northern Irish Unionist politician. In 2007, he was elected to the Northern Ireland Assembly as an Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) member for South Down. On 14 February 2013, McCallister announced that he had resigned from the UUP due to its decision to engage in an electoral pact with the Democratic Unionist Party. He was a co-founder of the NI21 party with fellow ex-UUP member Basil McCrea but resigned the following year following disputes with McCrea. He re-contested his seat as an Independent at the 2016 election but lost his seat, receiving just 2.8% of the vote.
Sir Richard Dawson Bates, 1st Baronet, known as Dawson Bates, was an Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) member of the House of Commons of Northern Ireland.
Basil McCrea is a former Northern Irish politician. He was the party leader of NI21 from 2013 until it disbanded in 2016. He was also a Member of the Northern Ireland Assembly (MLA) for Lagan Valley from 2007 to 2016.
Sir Robert Wilson Porter, PC (NI), QC was a Northern Irish politician, barrister and judge. He served as a pilot in the Royal Air Force during World War II and was later an officer in the Territorial Army.
Major General Timothy Cross, CBE is a retired British Army officer and military logistics expert. He was commissioned in 1971 into the Royal Army Ordnance Corps and went on to serve in Germany, Northern Ireland and Cyprus, interspersed with staff duties and further education. He was posted to Paris in 1984, where he was involved in the development of the MILAN anti-tank weapon, before returning to his regiment as a company commander. He took command of 1 Ordnance Battalion in 1990 and was tasked with running logistics for 1st Armoured Division during the Gulf War. He went on to serve as Commander, Logistic Support for 3rd Infantry Division in 1992.
Douglas Ricardo Beattie is a British politician and former member of the British Army, who has been leader of the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) since 27 May 2021. He has been a Member of the Northern Ireland Assembly (MLA) for Upper Bann since 2016. He is characterised as a 'progressive' and 'liberal' unionist.
Stephen Ronald Aiken is a Northern Irish politician, serving as the Deputy Speaker of the Northern Ireland Assembly since 2024.
Ian James Marshall is a farmer and former Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) politician from Markethill, County Armagh, in Northern Ireland. He is from a unionist background and campaigned against Brexit. He was elected to Seanad Éireann in Dublin in 2018, but lost his seat in the 2020 Seanad election.
The 2024 general election in Northern Ireland was held on 4 July 2024, with all 18 Northern Irish seats in the House of Commons contested. The general election occurred after the recently completed constituency boundaries review.