UK report slams MI5 for protecting IRA double agent Freddie Scappaticci amid murders

LONDON: Britain’s domestic intelligence agency MI5 allowed IRA double agent Freddie Scappaticci, believed to be the operative codenamed “Stakeknife,” to commit murders during three decades of sectarian violence in Northern Ireland and then evade justice, a damning report has found.

The findings were released on Tuesday following a nine-year inquiry, “Operation Kenova,” which examined the activities of Scappaticci, who headed the IRA’s internal security unit responsible for interrogating and torturing suspected informants during The Troubles.

The report sharply criticised MI5 for a “perverse” loyalty to Scappaticci, noting that safeguards designed to control and monitor the agent were ignored, allowing him to continue serious criminal offences without facing prosecution. Scappaticci has been linked to at least 14 murders and 15 abductions.

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Investigators found that MI5 handlers had twice taken Scappaticci out of Northern Ireland for “holidays” even while he was wanted by police for conspiracy to murder and false imprisonment. Although Scappaticci fled Northern Ireland in 2003 after the allegations became public, he denied working for British intelligence, admitting only his IRA membership. He died in 2023.

Operation Kenova, which cost over £40 million ($53 million), reviewed 101 murders and abductions associated with Scappaticci’s IRA unit and uncovered more than 3,500 intelligence reports produced by him. The inquiry found that these reports were often ignored, apparently prioritising the protection of Scappaticci over saving potential victims.

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“The actions of the agent probably led to more lives being lost than saved,” the report concluded. It also criticised MI5 for the delayed handover of documents last year, suggesting attempts to restrict the investigation and avoid prosecutions relating to Scappaticci.

MI5 Director General Ken McCallum offered his sympathies to victims and families and apologised for the late disclosure of documents. The report further recommended that it was in the public interest to formally identify Scappaticci and urged the UK government to apologise to bereaved families and survivors.

During The Troubles, roughly 3,500 people were killed, highlighting the scale of the violence in which Scappaticci operated under MI5’s watch.