Belfast man alleged to have been British Army’s IRA mole Stakeknife dies

Rebecca Black, PA

A west Belfast man who was alleged to have been the British Army’s top mole in the Provisional IRA has died.

Freddie Scappaticci, who was aged in his 70s, always denied that he was the agent Stakeknife.

He died several days ago and was buried last week.

Stakeknife worked within the IRA’s notorious “nutting squad”, interrogating suspected informers during the Troubles.

The alleged activities of Stakeknife are under investigation in Operation Kenova led by former Bedfordshire chief constable, Jon Boutcher.

The probe is examining crimes such as murder and torture linked to Stakeknife, and the role played by the security services, including MI5.

In a statement on Tuesday, Mr Boutcher said his team were made aware last week of the passing of Mr Scappaticci.

He said his team are working through the implications of the death of Mr Scappaticci in terms of the investigation, and said they will publish an interim report on findings this year,

“We remain committed to providing families with the truth of what happened to their loved ones and continue to actively pursue criminal charges against several individuals,” he said.

“We will publish an interim report on Kenova’s findings this year.

“We also recognise that people may now feel more able to talk to the Kenova team following the death of Mr Scappaticci, who had been long accused by many of being involved in the kidnap, murder and torture of potential PIRA informants during The Troubles.

“I appeal to anyone with information that might help those impacted by the events we are investigating to contact us in confidence to help families understand what happened during these difficult times.”