Auto Amazon Links: No products found. Blocked by captcha.
Members of Parliament have urged the government to officially disclose the identity of the spy known as Stakeknife, emphasizing that such a move would demonstrate that state agents cannot expect anonymity if they engage in actions that “cross a line.” Stakeknife was an undercover Army informant embedded within the IRA who was linked to the deaths of at least 14 individuals during the Troubles. Despite longstanding speculation, the government has yet to confirm or deny the true identity of this agent.
The Northern Ireland Affairs Committee, a cross-party group within Westminster, is pressing the government to end its persistent refusal to address Stakeknife’s real name. Tonia Antoniazzi, chair of the committee, highlighted the deep and enduring impact that the lack of formal identification has had on victims and their families. The committee argues that while state agents deserve protection, those involved in serious wrongdoing should not be shielded from accountability. Antoniazzi stated, “By naming Stakeknife, the government can send a strong signal that agents who cross a line will not receive the protection of anonymity.”
This call for transparency follows a detailed report by MPs informed by testimony from officers who conducted Operation Kenova, a nine-year investigation into Stakeknife. The committee reports reassurance that revealing Stakeknife’s identity would neither endanger active agents nor deter future recruitments. In response, the government acknowledged the troubling findings of the Kenova report and outlined that significant reforms and oversight mechanisms have since been implemented in agent handling. However, the government is currently unable to officially respond to the request to name Stakeknife due to ongoing legal proceedings and considerations linked to a recent Supreme Court ruling. The Secretary of State has promised to update Parliament when possible.
Operation Kenova, initially led by Detective Chief Constable Jon Boutcher, now headed by Sir Iain Livingstone, gathered evidence supporting the committee’s recommendation. Boutcher expressed his support for revealing Stakeknife, saying the disclosure would provide much-needed closure for many affected families. He emphasized that the principle of “neither confirming nor denying” (NCND) should not serve as a tool to obscure state wrongdoing. Sir Iain Livingstone also endorsed the report, affirming the strong ethical case for revealing the agent’s true identity.
The figure widely believed to be Stakeknife was Freddie Scappaticci, whom media exposed in 2003 as the senior British agent within the IRA’s internal security unit. Scappaticci, grandson of an Italian immigrant, grew up in west Belfast and worked as a bricklayer. In the late 1970s, after reportedly being assaulted by IRA members, he is thought to have been recruited by the Army as an informant. By the 1980s, he rose to prominence within the IRA’s so-called “nutting squad,” responsible for executing suspected informers. He denied the allegations linking him to Stakeknife and subsequently went into hiding in England under MI5 protection, where he is believed to have lived for nearly twenty years until his death in 2023.
The extensive Kenova investigation concluded that MI5 was aware of Scappaticci’s involvement in criminal acts and that his handlers even facilitated trips outside Northern Ireland while he was wanted for conspiracy to murder. The report suggested that Scappaticci likely caused more deaths than he prevented. Despite this, the government maintains a policy of NCND, a practice used by successive administrations to protect those who operate undercover or assist security services. This approach often means not even confirming the existence of sensitive information. Nonetheless, given the assurances about active agents’ safety and recruitment, MPs argue that revealing Stakeknife’s identity is a measured step that serves the public interest and delivers justice to victims
Read the full article from The BBC here: Read More
Auto Amazon Links: No products found. Blocked by captcha.