Operation Kenova Stakeknife report calls for Government and republican leadership to apologise

A major report into the Army’s top agent in Northern Ireland during the troubles has called for the UK Government and the republican leadership to apologise “for failing to prevent torture and murder of suspected informants”.

Operation Kenova looked into the actions of the undercover spy known as Stakeknife who infiltrated the IRA.

It said claims Stakeknife saved 'hundreds of lives' were unjustified. And the agent carried out countless attacks and killings. It said lives saved would have been in low figures.

It found intelligence agencies' billing of Stakeknife as the "goose that laid the golden egg" was based in "fairytales and fables" and the number of lives his actions may have saved were in "low single figures" and it was more than likely he cost more lives.

The report found those responsible for killings were allowed to remain free to continue with their terrorist activities.

Stakeknife was exposed as being Belfast man Freddie Scappaticci, which he always denied and Sinn Féin described as 'British misinformation'. The report stops short of naming him but calls on the government to allow the identity of the agent to be revealed.

Report author and now PSNI Chief Constable Jon Boutcher said the report was a "key milestone" for legacy in Northern Ireland.

The Kenova interim report makes 10 recommendations.

1. Establish, on a statutory basis and with express statutory powers and duties, an independent framework and apparatus for investigating Northern Ireland legacy cases.

2. Subject all public authorities to an unqualified and enforceable legal obligation to cooperate with and disclose information and records to those charged with conducting Northern Ireland legacy investigations under a new structure.

3. Enact legislation to provide procedural time limits enforced by judicial case management to handle cases passing from a new legacy structure to the criminal justice system.

4. Review and reform the resourcing and operating practices of the Public Prosecution Service for Northern Ireland (PPSNI) in connection with Northern Ireland legacy cases.

5. The longest day of the year, 21 June, should be designated as a day when we remember those lost, injured or harmed as a result of the Troubles.

6. Review, codify and define the proper limits of the Neither Confirm Nor Deny policy as it relates to the identification of agents and its application in the context of Northern Ireland legacy cases pre-dating the Good Friday Agreement.

7. Review the security classification of previous Northern Ireland legacy reports in order that their contents and (at the very least) their principle conclusions and recommendations can be declassified and made public.

8. PPSNI should pay due regard to the views, interests and well-being of victims and families when considering the public interest factors relevant to prosecution decisions in Northern Ireland legacy cases.

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