Name ‘Stakeknife’ IRA spy, authorities advised as report finds operation price extra lives than it saved | EUROtoday
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Ministers have been urged to call a British spy who infiltrated the IRA through the Northern Ireland Troubles – and difficulty an apology to victims, after a serious unbiased investigation into the operation.
The interim findings of Operation Kenova discovered extra lives had been most likely misplaced than saved by way of the operation of Stakeknife, an agent who “committed grotesque, serious crime” together with torture and homicide.
From 2016, the investigation, costing a complete £47.5m, examined the actions of the agent throughout the inner safety unit of the Provisional IRA, which interrogated folks suspected of passing info to the safety forces through the battle.
The agent is believed to be west Belfast man Freddie Scappaticci, who died aged 77 in 2023.
Following the ultimate report, revealed on Tuesday, Kenova chief Sir Iain Livingstone mentioned there was a “compelling ethical case for the UK Government to derogate from the Neither Confirm Nor Deny (NCND) policy regarding the agent Stakeknife’s identity”.
“It is in the public interest that Stakeknife is named,” he added.
It was additionally revealed on Tuesday that MI5 has alerted the investigation to beforehand undisclosed materials, following the discharge of the interim report final yr. But the paperwork, which provided a higher data of the agent, got here too late for investigation.
Sir Iain described it as a “significant failure” by the MI5. He mentioned: “The very fact that material owned and held by MI5 was not timeously disclosed understandably undermined the confidence of communities that state authorities had cooperated fully with Kenova.”
MI5 director normal Sir Ken McCallum apologised, however mentioned the fabric had not been intentionally withheld.
He mentioned: “MI5 retrieved and provided to the Kenova investigation a very large volume of historical records. Regrettably, after this extensive disclosure process was complete, we discovered additional relevant information.”
More than 3,000 folks died throughout three a long time of battle between between principally Catholic supporters of unification with the Republic of Ireland and principally Protestant backers of continued hyperlinks with the United Kingdom.
The investigation examined 101 murders and abductions linked to the PIRA unit.
Last week, the Public Prosecution Service (PPS) in Northern Ireland introduced that no prosecutions can be pursued after consideration of the final batch of recordsdata from the investigation.
Some 32 folks, together with former police, former navy personnel and other people linked with the IRA, had been thought of for prosecution on a spread of expenses from homicide and abduction to misconduct in public workplace and perjury.
However, the PPS discovered there was inadequate proof to pursue circumstances.
Among the up to date 10 suggestions within the report, the UK authorities has been urged to acknowledge and apologise to bereaved households and surviving victims. It additionally referred to as for a full apology from the Republican Movement for the Provisional IRA’s abduction, torture and homicide of these it suspected of being brokers.
On the decision for the identification of Stakeknife to be revealed, Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) Chief Constable Jon Boutcher mentioned there was “no good reason” to withhold it. He mentioned: “The identity of Stakeknife still cannot be confirmed and the full story of his operation still cannot be told, more than 30 years after he stopped providing intelligence.
“This outcome was imposed on Kenova by the government for no good reason and I know it will be a great disappointment to the families affected and cause them further pain and suffering.”
He added: “No statement about the identity of Stakeknife can be made without reference to Freddie Scappaticci. He is publicly alleged to have been a senior member of the IRA internal security unit and to have been Stakeknife.
“To directly quote a solicitor for the Kenova families who spoke to the BBC in 2024, the dogs in the street know that Fred Scappaticci is the agent Stakeknife. Scappaticci remained a critical person of interest at the heart of Operation Kenova, and strong evidence was found implicating him in serious criminality.”
On the late discovery of fabric, he mentioned: “The fact this material was provided so late and at a point when further investigation was impossible only caused further upset to the families who have already waited many years to find out what happened to their loved ones.”
Tuesday’s publication additionally included a report of Operation Denton, which reviewed a sequence of assaults carried out by loyalists with involvement by some members of the safety forces within the Seventies often called the Glenanne Gang.
It discovered that the UVF was liable for the 1974 Dublin and Monaghan bombings, and there was no particular intelligence that might have prevented the assaults, which claimed 33 lives.
It stays the most important lack of life on any single day of the Troubles.
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/stakeknife-ira-spy-report-freddie-scappaticci-b2880825.html