Freddie Scappaticci: Who was 'Stakeknife' and what did the Army’s IRA spy do?

A long-awaited report into the activities of Stakeknife has been published - so who was the Army’s top mole in Northern Ireland and what did he do during the Troubles?

Freddie Scappaticci - although he always denied it - is widely assumed to be Stakeknife, the Army's top spy in the IRA.

The Belfast man was part of the Provisional IRA’s notorious counter-intelligence unit, known as the “nutting squad”, which interrogated suspected informers during the Troubles.

He has been implicated in scores of Troubles murders and died at the age of 77 in April 2023.

Since 2016 Operation Kenova interviewed a wide range of people to examine the activities of Stakeknife and the authorities into his handling. It has cost around £40million and was compiled by the now PSNI Chief Constable Jon Boutcher.

What did Stakeknife do?

During the Troubles, Stakeknife, who was a leading member of the interrogation unit, used torture methods to force admissions from suspected informers within the IRA.

Stakeknife was alleged to be Scappaticci, who, recruited by the Army, became one of the UK's top spies during the Troubles. He was referred to as the "crown jewel" in the intelligence fight against the IRA.

Why he turned informer is not known. Some suggest he became an informant in 1978 after receiving a vicious beating from the IRA following a row with another member.

He is accused of becoming a double agent and was suspected of direct involvement in 18 murders during the Troubles.

This would mean that while operating as a paid agent of the state he was allowed to commit serious crimes.

Operation Kenova was launched to investigate claims of state involvement in the kidnap, torture and murder of more than 50 individuals.

Who was Freddie Scappaticci?

Scappaticci, from the Markets area of Belfast, is alleged to have been the agent.

He died in April 2023 aged 77, having lived under state protection for 20 years in England. He always denied that he was the high-ranking military mole.

Scappaticci was the son of an Italian immigrant and he grew up in the Markets area of south Belfast.

He was a talented footballer and boxer and was also known to have a fierce temper.

And it wasn't long before he joined the Provisional IRA. After being interned without trial in the 70s, Scap, as he was known, quickly moved up the ranks becoming head of the Belfast brigade of the terror group, to then second in command of the much-feared internal security unit which flushed out informers. He later ran the unit.

What happened to him?

Scappaticci was unmasked in 2003 when his name was published in multiple newspapers. And, in an extraordinary move, he held a press conference in his solicitor's office to reject the claims. Sinn Féin said the reports were "British misinformation".

He was then spirited out of Northern Ireland for a new life with a new identity in England.

An injunction prevented the media from revealing anything about Scappaticci.

In 2018, he admitted two counts of possessing extreme pornography and was sentenced to three months in custody, suspended for 12 months.

The court heard the charges related to at least 329 images, including those involving animals. There were no images involving children.

Scappaticci died in 2023 before the PPS made a decision on whether he should face charges over his alleged involvement in several murders during the Troubles.

Who were Stakeknife's alleged victims?

Operation Kenova looked into more than 50 murders including that of Caroline Moreland, a Catholic mother of three who was abducted and murdered by the IRA.

Her body was found near Rosslea, Co Fermanagh, in July 1994, just before the ceasefire.

She came under the suspicion of the IRA, was kidnapped and shot dead, and was reportedly interrogated by Stakeknife.

Shauna Moreland was 10 years old at the time of her mother’s death.

She said: “If these cases had been properly investigated at the time there could have been prosecutions.

“We have been failed by the system since 1994 and it was only when our cases were moved outside Northern Ireland that we got a process we could believe in.

“Right from the start, Jon Boutcher told us that Kenova would be a victims-first approach and that’s what he gave us.”

She added: “There was nothing until Kenova gave what my mother deserved.

“They showed that my mum mattered and she was not just a statistic.”

Joseph Mulhern was just 23 years old when he was abducted and shot by the IRA in 1993. They alleged he was a police informer.

His body was found on the border between counties Tyrone and Donegal.

Was there any action?

Operation Kenova, which probed the activities of the agent Stakeknife within the Provisional IRA, was launched in 2016.

Kenova examined crimes such as murder and torture and the role played by the security services, including MI5.

The investigation was under the command of then Bedfordshire Chief Constable Jon Boutcher, who now holds the most-senior rank in the Police Service of Northern Ireland.

Prosecutors considered files on 32 individuals. They were security service personal, former police officers and IRA men.

Last week, the Public Prosecution Service announced that no prosecutions would be pursued after consideration of the last batch of files from the investigation.

Some 32 people, including former police, former military personnel and people linked with the IRA, were considered for prosecution on a range of charges from murder and abduction to misconduct in public office and perjury.

However, the PPS found there was insufficient evidence to pursue cases.

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