“Yesterday, as west Belfast reeled from the news that Scappaticci and the British army agent known as Stakeknife were one and the same, an IRA source said: “He was the bogeyman of the IRA: judge, jury and executioner. He didn’t have to attend brigade meetings. He didn’t get involved in the politics or talking. But whenever something went wrong, Freddy Scappaticci was sent for.””
“But this man, entrusted by the IRA army council with a crucial role, was in fact the British army’s most precious asset at the heart of the republican movement for a quarter of a century.”
“Stakeknife, paid £80,000 a year by the government, might be connected to 40 murders of loyalists, republicans, police officers and civilians. Many of those killed had nothing to do with terrorism, and dozens may have died to keep him alive.”
“The extent to which some members of the security forces went to allow terrorist spies like Stakeknife to operate unimpeded could prove the most chilling revelation to date to plumb the murky depths and moral ambiguities of the “dirty war” in Northern Ireland.”
“”The Brits were basically playing God, deciding who Scap could get rid of and who could be killed to save him,” said one security source. “If there was an IRA man they needed to get rid of, or another agent past his sell-by date, Scap did the dirty work.””
“The Force Research Unit (FRU), the army’s shadowy spy wing, […] had engineered Scappaticci’s “promotion” to a senior role in the Nutting Squad, where he not only interrogated, tortured and killed suspected informers but vetted hundreds of would-be recruits to decide if they were suitable IRA material.”
“Army sources insisted that Stakeknife saved lives and foiled IRA atrocities, and his legend has grown such that he is credited with involvement in nearly every big security operation in the past 25 years.”
“Things started to get hot for Scappaticci when Sir John Stevens, the Metropolitan police commissioner who has been probing security force collusion with terrorists for more than 14 years, revealed that he knew of his existence, and just a few weeks ago, confirmed for the first time that he intended to question him. Sir John’s inquiry could prove devastating, not only for Scappaticci but for his army handlers.”
Read more: He did the IRA’s dirty work for 25 years – and was paid £80,000 a year by the government
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