BBC Airs ‘Secret’ Videos Bought at Garage Sale
Britain’s Defense Ministry promised an investigation Wednesday into how secret videotapes detailing army tactics against terrorists came to be marketed at a garage sale.
Journalist Bob Tomalski said he unsuspectingly bought the videos with a video recorder at a garage sale where “electronic junk” was going for scrap value.
“I got home, cleaned the machine up and played the tapes and was absolutely horrified to find it carried footage of the security services,” Tomalski said.
The British Broadcasting Corp. on Wednesday showed sections of the military tapes, used to train soldiers for service in Northern Ireland. The BBC said it omitted visuals that could endanger soldiers’ lives.
Britain bases more than 17,000 soldiers in Northern Ireland. The black-and-white videos, which were accompanied by documents marked “secret,” give details of how British troops deal with snipers, ambushes and attacks.
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