The Hooded Men: BBC One programme to give first-hand accounts of NI interrogation techniques

More than 50 years ago, 14 men were interned without trial in Northern Ireland and subjected to what the UK authorities described as “deep interrogation”.

This form of interrogation which has sometimes been called ‘five techniques’ – involved white noise, wall-standing, deprivation of food and sleep and hooding. Those affected became known

as ‘The Hooded Men’.

Since 1971, the men have campaigned for the UK authorities to acknowledge the truth of what happened to them and to apologise for it.

The film makes use of intimate, first-hand testimony from some of the surviving Hooded Men, interviews with retired senior members of the security services and declassified government documents. It includes access to the 2021 legal case that was made to the UK’s Supreme Court and explores its wider implications and relevance.

‘The Hooded Men’ will be aired on BBC One Northern Ireland on Monday, January 23 at 10.40pm and available on BBC iPlayer.