British safety companies allowed a high spy within the IRA to proceed committing severe crimes, police report finds.
Printed On 9 Dec 2025
The UK’s home intelligence company MI5 protected an IRA double agent who dedicated murders throughout Northern Eire’s Troubles and later prevented prosecution, a significant investigation has discovered.
The findings are from Operation Kenova, a virtually decade-long police probe into “Stakeknife” – the codename for a senior IRA determine who additionally labored as an informant for British safety companies.
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He operated throughout The Troubles, the battle in Northern Eire between Irish republicans searching for a united Eire and British forces and unionist paramilitaries who wished to stay within the UK.
About 3,500 individuals had been killed within the violence earlier than it ended with the 1998 Good Friday Settlement.
Stakeknife led the IRA’s inner safety unit, which kidnapped, interrogated and killed individuals suspected of informing – whereas secretly passing intelligence to the British.
Investigators stated MI5 allowed the agent to proceed committing severe crimes, blaming a “perverse sense of loyalty” that meant he was by no means held to account.
The report stated MI5 even twice eliminated the agent from Northern Eire on “holidays” regardless of realizing he was wished by police for conspiracy to homicide and false imprisonment.
Stakeknife has by no means been formally recognized, however he’s extensively believed to have been Belfast man Freddie Scappaticci.
He has been linked to 14 murders and 15 abductions. Scappaticci died in 2023. He admitted being within the IRA however denied working for British intelligence.
Operation Kenova additionally criticised MI5 for delaying the discharge of key paperwork, saying a number of incidents may very well be seen as makes an attempt to “limit the investigation, run down the clock, keep away from any prosecutions … and conceal the reality”.
MI5 Director Normal Ken McCallum apologised for the late disclosure and provided sympathies to victims and their households.
The report stated there’s a “compelling moral case” to publicly identify Stakeknife and referred to as on the UK authorities to apologise to bereaved households and survivors.
The 40-million-pound ($53m) investigation examined 101 murders and abductions linked to the unit.
It recognized greater than 3,500 intelligence studies from Stakeknife that weren’t acted on. Investigators stated this was proof that lives “may and will have been saved”.
