/”The seven-year criminal probe known as Operation Kenova, which investigated Freddie Scappaticci’s activities based in Belfast, is set to have its findings released this Friday. Scappaticci was recognised as the leader of the IRA’s internal security unit and reportedly acted as an agent for the British intelligence during the North Ireland’s tumultuous era, referred to as the Troubles. Known as “Stakeknife” by his handlers in the clandestine Force Research Unit of the British army, Scappaticci’s role will not be openly identified in the extensive, £40 million (€76 million) investigation.
This anonymity is due to the British government’s stance on handling sensitive security details, under the policy of “neither confirm nor deny” (NCND) in relation to its agents. That said, it’s anticipated that the report will imply the identity of Scappaticci — allegedly implicated in 18 murders and widely considered a double agent.
Despite Scappaticci’s repeated denials of being Stakeknife, he was exposed by media in 2003 as the top British army agent within the IRA amid the Troubles. He maintained his stance until passing away last year, aged 77.
The Kenova probe is likely to spark calls for a re-evaluation of the NCND policy much to the relief of the affected families. However, the lack of legal action resulting from this report remains unanswered, a fact that continues to hang over the findings. This sense of frustration is echoed by Iain Livingstone, the head of Operation Kenova, who aired his grievances that no one will face trial in a court of law. He responded directly to the Public Prosecution Service (PPS) announcement that there was an “insufficient evidence” to pursue charges, despite having discovered “a considerable quantity of new material and substantial forensic breakthroughs”.
The extensive inquiry involved scrutinising 32 people, including alleged IRA members, MI5 members, retired British army soldiers, and a former RUC officer. They were investigated for an assortment of crimes such as murder, abduction, and perjury. This report’s release remains highly anticipated.”/
Families could finally unlock information previously out of reach regarding their relatives’ fate, due to a groundbreaking breakthrough that puts the criminal element on hold. This new evidence opens the door for attorneys to investigate further potential liability of security forces for alleged corporate crime connected to the management of Stakeknife-related intelligence.
The key question for the families involved in Kenova, and for the British government, is whether the protection of Stakeknife resulted in the unnecessary sacrifice of other agents. It has come to light that at least one family now understands that their loved one’s death could have been avoided.
The forthcoming report is predicted to conclude that, in a majority of cases, state could have intervened but failed to. The inquiry will also likely determine that other informers and lower-ranking agents were sacrificed to keep Stakeknife’s identity—a vital asset to British military intelligence during the Troubles—a secret. As the head of the IRA’s internal security, Stakeknife had the task of pinpointing, abducting, and torturing informants, often referred to as “touts,” in the 1980s.
It remains to be seen how deeply the inquiry will probe into the degree of infiltration by informants within the IRA due to its limit in scope; it notably does not include the IRA’s internal security unit, known as the ‘nutting squad’. However, speculation points to several double agents within the IRA’s Belfast brigade. Belfast lawyer Kevin Winters, representing many of the families involved in the inquiry, asserts the existence of other high-ranking agents alongside Scappaticci.
Operation Kenova has focused on the degree of coordination among security services in the case of the British state’s involvement in multiple murders tied to Stakeknife. Force Research Unit, the British army’s controversial intelligence unit responsible for recruiting informants during the Troubles, has been under scrutiny. Families are keen to uncover the extent of collaboration between this unit, MI5, RUC special branch, and other intelligence and security agencies – and crucially, what information Stakeknife provided that could have prevented deaths.
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