Photo: From Yahoo

(Story Info From Reuters News Agency)

Speaking to Spanish media at an exhibition of her art work in Zaragoza, Spain, Yoko denied reports which have resurfaced that John gave money to the Irish Republican Army.

``My husband did not give money to the IRA. My husband gave money ... when it was asked (for) by people who were in need.''

The British weekly, The Observer, said Sunday it had seen a court statement by a former spy saying he was shown secret files that included references to John giving money to the IRA in the early 1970s. The IRA fought a 30-year armed campaign to try to force Britain to abandon its rule over Northern Ireland. Yoko told reporters in Spain that she and her husband sent money to Ireland and other countries, but the cash was intended for ``children, orphans and women in need.''

``Even in the 1960s, I did not believe that violence was a way of getting things,'' she said. Both John and Yoko have given many interviews speaking out against violence, even in a revolutionary cause.

The files cited in The Observer referred directly to John's support for the Trotskyist Workers' Revolutionary Party (WRP), whose members included actress Vanessa Redgrave. The newspaper said the statement by the spy, David Shayler, claimed a British intelligence source within the WRP said John had contributed tens of thousands of pounds to the WRP as well as funding the IRA.

Shayler's claims came amid a court battle in the United States over confidential letters about John from an unidentified foreign government, believed to be Britain. A U.S. federal judge has ruled that three letters should be turned over to Jon Wiener, a history professor at the University of California who is trying to obtain 10 classified documents on Lennon. The documents remain in a file on Lennon held by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Professor Wiener told the BBC that while John was sympathetic to the Irish civil rights movement, the British intelligence service could have been misinformed about any link with the IRA.

A mistake like this is not unbelievable when you consider that the FBI had identified a picture of David Peel as John Lennon in their files. Well, they both had long hair and dark glasses, didn't they?!

SPECIAL NOTE: Be watching for "The Nation" magazine next week for more complete and accurate information about this story!!

Read about Jon Wiener's "Gimme Some Truth" Book

Visit Jon Wiener's Lennon FBI Files web site

Related Story: Jon Wiener Gets More FBI Files