Name ‘Stakeknife’ IRA spy, government told as report finds operation cost more lives than it saved
Ministers have been asked to name a British spy who infiltrated the IRA during the Northern Ireland Troubles and apologize to victims after a major independent investigation into the operation.
The interim findings of Operation Kenova revealed that more lives were likely lost than saved by the operation of Stakeknife, an agent who “committed grotesque, serious crimes” including torture and murder.
It looked at the activities of the agent in the Provisional IRA’s internal security unit, which was responsible for interrogating and torturing individuals suspected of passing information to security forces.
Agent Stakeknife was believed to be West Belfast man Freddie Scappaticci, who was 77 when he died in 2023. He denied the allegations.
After the final report was published on Tuesday, Kenova chief Sir Iain Livingstone said there was “a compelling ethical case for the UK Government to abandon its policy of Neither Confirm Nor Deny (NCND)” regarding the identity of agent Stakesnife.
“It is in the public interest to name Stakeknife,” he added.
It was also revealed on Tuesday that MI5 had alerted the inquiry to previously undisclosed material following the publication of the interim report last year. But it was too late to be included, as it came eight months after the probe was launched.
Sir Iain described it as a “significant failure” by MI5. He said: “The failure to disclose material owned and held by MI5 in a timely manner understandably undermined communities’ confidence that state authorities were co-operating fully with Kenova.
MI5 director general Sir Ken McCallum apologized but said, as previously stated, material providing further information about the agent had not been deliberately withheld.
He said: “MI5 brought and provided a huge amount of historical records to the Kenova investigation. Unfortunately, after this extensive disclosure process was completed, we discovered additional relevant information.”
Among the 10 updated recommendations in the report, the UK government was asked to acknowledge and apologize to bereaved families and surviving victims. It also calls for a full apology from the Republican Movement for the Provisional IRA’s abduction, torture and murder of people it suspected of being agents.
Responding to calls for Staknife’s identity to be revealed, Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) Chief Constable Jon Boutcher said there was “no good reason” to conceal it. He said: “Stakeknife’s identity still cannot be confirmed and the full story of his operation remains untold, more than 30 years after he stopped providing intelligence.
“This outcome has been unfairly imposed on Kenova by the government and I know it will be a huge disappointment to the families affected and will cause them further pain and suffering.”
He said of the late discovery of the material: “The provision of this material so late and at a point when further investigation was impossible has further upset families who have already waited many years to find out what happened to their loved ones.”
More to follow…
