Tim Spicer
Encyclopedia
Timothy Simon Spicer, OBE (born 1952) is a British former army officer, current CEO of the private security company (PSC) Aegis Defence Services
. He is a veteran of the Falklands War
and also served with the British Army
in Northern Ireland. He became well-known as an employee of Sandline International
, a private military company
(PMC) which closed in April 2004.
, England, Spicer followed his father into the British Army
, attending Sandhurst
and then joining the Scots Guards. He tried to join the SAS
, but failed the entry course. In 1982, his unit was pulled from Tower of London
guard duty and sent to the Falklands War
where he saw action at the Battle of Mount Tumbledown
.
Spicer was involved in what became a controversial incident while serving in Northern Ireland
in 1992. Soldiers of the Scots Guards under Lieutenant Colonel
Spicer's command shot and killed Catholic civilian, Peter McBride. Subsequent evidence suggested that McBride had been unarmed and not a threat. Lt. Col. Spicer stood by his soldiers even after they were convicted of murder and sentenced to life imprisonment
on 10 February 1995, arguing that in the conditions applicable to the incident, they had legitimately believed their lives to be in peril. The soldiers were released from Maghaberry
Prison on 2 September 1998 as part of the Good Friday Agreement
following a high-profile campaign to secure their release.
, a private military company (PMC).
(PNG), and particularly that of the conflict in Bougainville
. It brought down the PNG government of Sir Julius Chan
and took Papua New Guinea
to the verge of military revolt.
After coming to power in mid-1994, Prime Minister Chan made repeated attempts to resolve the Bougainville conflict by diplomatic means. These were ultimately unsuccessful, due to the repeated failure of Bougainvillean leaders to arrive at scheduled peace talks. After a number of failed military assaults and the refusal of Australia and New Zealand to provide troops, a decision was then made to investigate the use of mercenaries. Through some overseas contacts, defence minister Mathias Ijape was put in contact with Spicer.
He accepted a contract for $36 million, but the deal fell through when the PNG Army found out that so much money was being spent on a job they claimed to be able to do. The Army overthrew the PNG government and arrested Spicer. He was eventually released and sued the PNG government for money not paid.
, Spicer was involved in military operations in the Sierra Leone Civil War
, which included importing weapons in apparent violation of the United Nations arms embargo
. He had been contacted by Rakesh Saxena
, an India
n financier hoping that a new government would grant him diamond and mineral concessions. The controversy over this incident, and whether the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office
(FCO) knew of Sandline's actions; inquiries into it concluded that the FCO had known of the actions, and that Spicer believed he was not breaking the embargo. However, former British diplomat Craig Murray
claims that he was present at a Foreign office meeting when Spicer was explicitly read the text of UN Security Council Resolution 1132
which obliges member states to prevent their nationals from importing arms to Sierra Leone. Spicer always denied that he or Sandline did anything illegal:
Spicer has claimed that he always has called for greater involvement of the British government in the PMC issue. In fact, Col. Spicer said that six weeks before the arms-to-Africa affair blew up, Sandline had submitted a paper to the Foreign Office calling for greater regulation, but had not yet received a response. At the time, with no government response, Sandline was considering setting up its own oversight committee, including a senior retired general, a lawyer and a representative of the media.
In late 1999, Spicer left Sandline, which kept operating until 2004. The next year, he launched Crisis and Risk Management. In 2001, he changed the company's name to Strategic Consulting International and also set up a partner firm specialising in anti-piracy
consulting, called Trident Maritime. In 2002, Spicer established Aegis Defence Services, which around the beginning of the Iraq war was consulting for the Disney Cruise Line.
, a PMC based in London. The Chairman is Field-Marshal Lord Inge, former Chief of the Defence Staff
and the Board of Directors include: General Sir Roger Wheeler
, Chief of the General Staff
; Paul Boateng
, former Labour Minister and ex-High Commissioner to South Africa and Sir John Birch
, former British deputy ambassador to the United Nations.
In October 2004, Aegis won a $293 million three-year contract in Iraq
outsourcing, among other things, intelligence for the U.S. Army.
Aegis Defence Services
Aegis Defence Services is a British private military company with overseas offices in Afghanistan, Bahrain, Iraq, Kenya, Nepal and the United States. It was founded in 2004 by Tim Spicer, who was previously director of the controversial company Sandline International.Aegis provides security and...
. He is a veteran of the Falklands War
Falklands War
The Falklands War , also called the Falklands Conflict or Falklands Crisis, was fought in 1982 between Argentina and the United Kingdom over the disputed Falkland Islands and South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands...
and also served with the British Army
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
in Northern Ireland. He became well-known as an employee of Sandline International
Sandline International
Sandline International was a private military company based in London, established in the early 1990s. It was involved in conflicts in Papua New Guinea in 1997 causing the Sandline affair, in 1998 in Sierra Leone and in Liberia in 2003 Sandline International was a private military company based...
, a private military company
Private military company
A private military company or provides military and security services. These combatants are commonly known as mercenaries, though modern-day PMCs refer to their staff as security contractors, private military contractors or private security contractors, and refer to themselves as private military...
(PMC) which closed in April 2004.
Military career
Born in 1952 in AldershotAldershot
Aldershot is a town in the English county of Hampshire, located on heathland about southwest of London. The town is administered by Rushmoor Borough Council...
, England, Spicer followed his father into the British Army
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
, attending Sandhurst
Royal Military Academy Sandhurst
The Royal Military Academy Sandhurst , commonly known simply as Sandhurst, is a British Army officer initial training centre located in Sandhurst, Berkshire, England...
and then joining the Scots Guards. He tried to join the SAS
Special Air Service
Special Air Service or SAS is a corps of the British Army constituted on 31 May 1950. They are part of the United Kingdom Special Forces and have served as a model for the special forces of many other countries all over the world...
, but failed the entry course. In 1982, his unit was pulled from Tower of London
Tower of London
Her Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress, more commonly known as the Tower of London, is a historic castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London, England. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, separated from the eastern edge of the City of London by the open space...
guard duty and sent to the Falklands War
Falklands War
The Falklands War , also called the Falklands Conflict or Falklands Crisis, was fought in 1982 between Argentina and the United Kingdom over the disputed Falkland Islands and South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands...
where he saw action at the Battle of Mount Tumbledown
Battle of Mount Tumbledown
The Battle of Mount Tumbledown was an engagement in the Falklands War, one of a series of battles that took place during the British advance towards Stanley.-Overview:...
.
Spicer was involved in what became a controversial incident while serving in Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
in 1992. Soldiers of the Scots Guards under Lieutenant Colonel
Lieutenant colonel
Lieutenant colonel is a rank of commissioned officer in the armies and most marine forces and some air forces of the world, typically ranking above a major and below a colonel. The rank of lieutenant colonel is often shortened to simply "colonel" in conversation and in unofficial correspondence...
Spicer's command shot and killed Catholic civilian, Peter McBride. Subsequent evidence suggested that McBride had been unarmed and not a threat. Lt. Col. Spicer stood by his soldiers even after they were convicted of murder and sentenced to life imprisonment
Life imprisonment
Life imprisonment is a sentence of imprisonment for a serious crime under which the convicted person is to remain in jail for the rest of his or her life...
on 10 February 1995, arguing that in the conditions applicable to the incident, they had legitimately believed their lives to be in peril. The soldiers were released from Maghaberry
Maghaberry
Maghaberry or Magaberry is a village and townland in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It is 9 kilometres west of Lisburn and 4 kilometres north of Moira. In the 2001 Census it had a population of 1,696 people...
Prison on 2 September 1998 as part of the Good Friday Agreement
Belfast Agreement
The Good Friday Agreement or Belfast Agreement , sometimes called the Stormont Agreement, was a major political development in the Northern Ireland peace process...
following a high-profile campaign to secure their release.
Private military company (PMC)
In 1994 he left the army and founded Sandline InternationalSandline International
Sandline International was a private military company based in London, established in the early 1990s. It was involved in conflicts in Papua New Guinea in 1997 causing the Sandline affair, in 1998 in Sierra Leone and in Liberia in 2003 Sandline International was a private military company based...
, a private military company (PMC).
Sandline affair
The Sandline affair was a political scandal that became one of the defining moments in the history of Papua New GuineaHistory of Papua New Guinea
The prehistory of Papua New Guinea can be traced back to about 60,000 years ago when people first migrated towards the Australian continent. The written history began when European navigators first sighted New Guinea in the early part of the 16th century....
(PNG), and particularly that of the conflict in Bougainville
Bougainville Province
The Autonomous Region of Bougainville, previously known as North Solomons, is an autonomous region in Papua New Guinea. The largest island is Bougainville Island , and the province also includes the island of Buka and assorted outlying islands including the Carterets...
. It brought down the PNG government of Sir Julius Chan
Julius Chan
Sir Julius Chan GCL GCMG KBE was Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea from 1980 to 1982 and from 1994 to 1997. He is currently Member of Parliament for New Ireland Province, having won the seat in the 2007 national election...
and took Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea , officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is a country in Oceania, occupying the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and numerous offshore islands...
to the verge of military revolt.
After coming to power in mid-1994, Prime Minister Chan made repeated attempts to resolve the Bougainville conflict by diplomatic means. These were ultimately unsuccessful, due to the repeated failure of Bougainvillean leaders to arrive at scheduled peace talks. After a number of failed military assaults and the refusal of Australia and New Zealand to provide troops, a decision was then made to investigate the use of mercenaries. Through some overseas contacts, defence minister Mathias Ijape was put in contact with Spicer.
He accepted a contract for $36 million, but the deal fell through when the PNG Army found out that so much money was being spent on a job they claimed to be able to do. The Army overthrew the PNG government and arrested Spicer. He was eventually released and sued the PNG government for money not paid.
Sierra Leone Scandal: the arms-to-Africa affair
When employed by Sandline InternationalSandline International
Sandline International was a private military company based in London, established in the early 1990s. It was involved in conflicts in Papua New Guinea in 1997 causing the Sandline affair, in 1998 in Sierra Leone and in Liberia in 2003 Sandline International was a private military company based...
, Spicer was involved in military operations in the Sierra Leone Civil War
Sierra Leone Civil War
The Sierra Leone Civil War began on 23 March 1991 when the Revolutionary United Front , with support from the special forces of Charles Taylor’s National Patriotic Front of Liberia , intervened in Sierra Leone in an attempt to overthrow the Joseph Momoh government...
, which included importing weapons in apparent violation of the United Nations arms embargo
Arms embargo
An arms embargo is an embargo that applies to weaponry. It may also include "dual use" items. An arms embargo may serve one or more purposes:# to signal disapproval of behavior by a certain actor,# to maintain neutral standing in an ongoing conflict, or...
. He had been contacted by Rakesh Saxena
Rakesh Saxena
Rakesh Saxena is an Indian financier and trader in the derivatives marketplace. On October 29, 2009, he was deported to Thailand after fighting the longest extradition battle in Canadian history, which lasted 13 years. He is accused of embezzlement in 1994-1995...
, an India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
n financier hoping that a new government would grant him diamond and mineral concessions. The controversy over this incident, and whether the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office, commonly called the Foreign Office or the FCO is a British government department responsible for promoting the interests of the United Kingdom overseas, created in 1968 by merging the Foreign Office and the Commonwealth Office.The head of the FCO is the...
(FCO) knew of Sandline's actions; inquiries into it concluded that the FCO had known of the actions, and that Spicer believed he was not breaking the embargo. However, former British diplomat Craig Murray
Craig Murray
Craig John Murray is a British political activist, former ambassador to Uzbekistan and former Rector of the University of Dundee....
claims that he was present at a Foreign office meeting when Spicer was explicitly read the text of UN Security Council Resolution 1132
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1132
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1132, adopted unanimously on October 8, 1997, after expressing concern at the situation in Sierra Leone, the Council, acting under Chapter VII of the United Nations Charter, imposed an oil and arms embargo on the country.-Background:A series of military...
which obliges member states to prevent their nationals from importing arms to Sierra Leone. Spicer always denied that he or Sandline did anything illegal:
Spicer has claimed that he always has called for greater involvement of the British government in the PMC issue. In fact, Col. Spicer said that six weeks before the arms-to-Africa affair blew up, Sandline had submitted a paper to the Foreign Office calling for greater regulation, but had not yet received a response. At the time, with no government response, Sandline was considering setting up its own oversight committee, including a senior retired general, a lawyer and a representative of the media.
In late 1999, Spicer left Sandline, which kept operating until 2004. The next year, he launched Crisis and Risk Management. In 2001, he changed the company's name to Strategic Consulting International and also set up a partner firm specialising in anti-piracy
Piracy
Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence at sea. The term can include acts committed on land, in the air, or in other major bodies of water or on a shore. It does not normally include crimes committed against persons traveling on the same vessel as the perpetrator...
consulting, called Trident Maritime. In 2002, Spicer established Aegis Defence Services, which around the beginning of the Iraq war was consulting for the Disney Cruise Line.
Aegis Defence Services
Spicer is Chief Executive of Aegis Defence ServicesAegis Defence Services
Aegis Defence Services is a British private military company with overseas offices in Afghanistan, Bahrain, Iraq, Kenya, Nepal and the United States. It was founded in 2004 by Tim Spicer, who was previously director of the controversial company Sandline International.Aegis provides security and...
, a PMC based in London. The Chairman is Field-Marshal Lord Inge, former Chief of the Defence Staff
Chief of the Defence Staff (United Kingdom)
The Chief of the Defence Staff is the professional head of the British Armed Forces, a senior official within the Ministry of Defence, and the most senior uniformed military adviser to the Secretary of State for Defence and the Prime Minister...
and the Board of Directors include: General Sir Roger Wheeler
Roger Wheeler (British military)
General Sir Roger Neil Wheeler GCB, CBE is a retired British Army officer who served as Chief of the General Staff between 1997 and 2000.-Army career:...
, Chief of the General Staff
Chief of the General Staff (United Kingdom)
Chief of the General Staff has been the title of the professional head of the British Army since 1964. The CGS is a member of both the Chiefs of Staff Committee and the Army Board...
; Paul Boateng
Paul Boateng
Paul Yaw Boateng, Baron Boateng is a British Labour Party politician, who was the Member of Parliament for Brent South from 1987 to 2005, becoming the UK's first black Cabinet Minister in May 2002, when he was appointed as Chief Secretary to the Treasury...
, former Labour Minister and ex-High Commissioner to South Africa and Sir John Birch
John Birch (diplomat)
John Allan Birch KCVO, CMG is a former British diplomat who was knighted in 1989. Sir John Birch was Ambassador to Hungary until his retirement in 1995.-Diplomatic career:...
, former British deputy ambassador to the United Nations.
In October 2004, Aegis won a $293 million three-year contract in Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
outsourcing, among other things, intelligence for the U.S. Army.