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72-573: The Force Research Unit ( FRU ) was a covert military intelligence unit of the British Army 's Intelligence Corps . It was established in 1982 during the Troubles to obtain intelligence from terrorist organisations in Northern Ireland by recruiting and running agents and informants. From 1987 to 1991, it was commanded by Gordon Kerr . It worked alongside existing intelligence agencies including

144-588: A Mercedes . Scappaticci's first involvement with British intelligence is alleged to have been in 1978, two years before the Force Research Unit (FRU) was formed in 1980. The role of the unit was to centralise Army Intelligence under the Intelligence Corps . He was said to have worked as an agent for the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) Special Branch ; he had previously been interviewed by

216-502: A double agent who was involved in the IRA's torture and murder of suspected informers while in the employ of the FRU. The British government launched Operation Kenova to investigate claims that the Royal Ulster Constabulary had failed to investigate up to 18 murders, to protect Stakeknife's identity from exposure. In January 2018, Scappaticci was arrested amid accusations that he was Stakeknife,

288-459: A need-to-know basis in order to protect the sources and methods from foreign traffic analysis. Analysis consists of assessment of an adversary's capabilities and vulnerabilities. In a real sense, these are threats and opportunities. Analysts generally look for the least defended or most fragile resource that is necessary for important military capabilities. These are then flagged as critical vulnerabilities. For example, in modern mechanized warfare,

360-515: A claim widely acknowledged to be accurate. Scappaticci always publicly denied he was Stakeknife. "Stakeknife" had his own dedicated handlers and agents, and it was suggested that he was important enough that MI5 set up an office dedicated solely to him. Rumours suggested that he was being paid at least £80,000 a year and had a bank account in Gibraltar . It has been alleged that Stakeknife's intelligence handlers allowed up to 40 people to be killed by

432-403: A continuously-updated list of typical vulnerabilities. Critical vulnerabilities are then indexed in a way that makes them easily available to advisors and line intelligence personnel who package this information for policy-makers and war-fighters. Vulnerabilities are usually indexed by the nation and military unit with a list of possible attack methods. Critical threats are usually maintained in

504-652: A country. Photointerpreters generally maintain catalogs of munitions factories, military bases and crate designs in order to interpret munition shipments and inventories. Most intelligence services maintain or support groups whose only purpose is to keep maps. Since maps also have valuable civilian uses, these agencies are often publicly associated or identified as other parts of the government. Some historic counterintelligence services, especially in Russia and China, have intentionally banned or placed disinformation in public maps; good intelligence can identify this disinformation. It

576-404: A high-grade intelligence source came to his attention in 1982, after Scappaticci was detained for a drunk driving offence. Ingram paints Scappaticci at this time as "the crown jewels", the best agent handled by the FRU, and the asset was said to have been paid £80,000 a year. He cites a number of allegations against Scappaticci. His accusations centre on various individuals who died as a result of

648-486: A letter expressing his concerns to Secretary of State for Northern Ireland Hilary Benn , former head of Operation Kenova Jon Boucher, the Director of Public Prosecutions for Northern Ireland and the head of MI5. There are several hundreds of pages of undisclosed file and the search is ongoing. Some may identify new leads and cast doubt on evidence obtained by Operation Kenova. Based on an initial assessment he claimed that

720-441: A member of Kenova's steering committee said MI5 had behaved "appallingly". She also said that the new material may alter what families had been told previously. She added that "MI5 should never have put the families in this position" and "This could be retraumatising... I think it is absolutely disgraceful." Originally the final Kenova report was to have been published before Christmas 2024 but it has been delayed to 2025 to assess

792-487: A nation may be unavailable from outside the country. This is why most intelligence services attach members to foreign service offices. Some industrialized nations also eavesdrop continuously on the entire radio spectrum, interpreting it in real time. This includes not only broadcasts of national and local radio and television, but also local military traffic, radar emissions and even microwaved telephone and telegraph traffic, including satellite traffic. The U.S. in particular

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864-475: A prioritized file, with important enemy capabilities analyzed on a schedule set by an estimate of the enemy's preparation time. For example, nuclear threats between the USSR and the U.S. were analyzed in real time by continuously on-duty staffs. In contrast, analysis of tank or army deployments are usually triggered by accumulations of fuel and munitions, which are monitored every few days. In some cases, automated analysis

936-520: A unit tasked with counter-intelligence and the investigation of leaks within the IRA and the exposure of moles or informers , known as "touts". Via the ISU, Scappaticci played a key role in investigating suspected informers, conducting inquiries into operations suspected of being compromised, debriefing IRA volunteers released from Royal Ulster Constabulary and British Army questioning, and vetting potential IRA recruits. The ISU has also been referred to as

1008-618: Is commonplace for the intelligence services of large countries to read every published journal of the nations in which it is interested, and the main newspapers and journals of every nation. This is a basic source of intelligence. It is also common for diplomatic and journalistic personnel to have a secondary goal of collecting military intelligence. For western democracies, it is extremely rare for journalists to be paid by an official intelligence service, but they may still patriotically pass on tidbits of information they gather as they carry on their legitimate business. Also, much public information in

1080-704: Is focused on support or denial of intelligence at operational tiers. The operational tier is below the strategic level of leadership and refers to the design of practical manifestation. Formally defined as "Intelligence that is required for planning and conducting campaigns and major operations to accomplish strategic objectives within theaters or operational areas." It aligns with the Operational Level of Warfare, defined as "The level of warfare at which campaigns and major operations are planned, conducted, and sustained to achieve strategic objectives within theaters or other operational areas." The term operation intelligence

1152-464: Is focused on support to operations at the tactical level and would be attached to the battlegroup. At the tactical level, briefings are delivered to patrols on current threats and collection priorities. These patrols are then debriefed to elicit information for analysis and communication through the reporting chain. Tactical Intelligence is formally defined as "intelligence required for the planning and conduct of tactical operations", and corresponds with

1224-592: Is known to maintain satellites that can intercept cell-phone and pager traffic, usually referred to as the ECHELON system. Analysis of bulk traffic is normally performed by complex computer programs that parse natural language and phone numbers looking for threatening conversations and correspondents. In some extraordinary cases, undersea or land-based cables have been tapped as well. More exotic secret information, such as encryption keys, diplomatic message traffic, policy and orders of battle are usually restricted to analysts on

1296-465: Is performed in real time on automated data traffic. Packaging threats and vulnerabilities for decision-makers is a crucial part of military intelligence. A good intelligence officer will stay very close to the policy-maker or war fighter to anticipate their information requirements and tailor the information needed. A good intelligence officer will also ask a fairly large number of questions in order to help anticipate needs. For an important policy-maker,

1368-502: Is used within law enforcement to refer to intelligence that supports long-term investigations into multiple, similar targets. Operational intelligence, in the discipline of law enforcement intelligence, is concerned primarily with identifying, targeting, detecting and intervening in criminal activity. The use within law enforcement and law enforcement intelligence is not scaled to its use in general intelligence or military/naval intelligence, being more narrowed in scope. Tactical intelligence

1440-533: The IRA's Northern Command , indicated some of his previous involvement in the organisation and alleged, among other things, that Martin McGuinness was involved in the death of Frank Hegarty – an IRA volunteer who had been killed as an informer by the IRA in 1986. It has since been alleged that Scappaticci knew the intimate details of Hegarty's killing because, as part of his duties in the ISU, he had reportedly been involved in

1512-704: The Special Branch of the Royal Ulster Constabulary and MI5 . In 1988, the All-Source Intelligence Cell was formed to improve the sharing of intelligence between the FRU, Special Branch and MI5. The FRU was renamed to the Joint Support Group (JSG) following the Stevens Inquiries into allegations of collusion between the security forces and Protestant paramilitary groups. The FRU was found to have colluded with loyalist paramilitaries by

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1584-632: The Stevens Inquiry in 2005. A former British Intelligence agent who worked in the FRU known as " Martin Ingram " has written a book titled Stakeknife since the original allegations came to light in which it says Scappaticci was the agent in question. In 1993 Scappaticci approached the ITV programme The Cook Report and agreed to an interview on his activities in the IRA and the alleged role of Martin McGuinness in

1656-534: The intelligence cycle . Freddie Scappaticci Freddie Scappaticci (12 January 1946 – April 2023) was an Irish IRA member named in the Kenova report as a British Intelligence mole with the codename Stakeknife . Scappaticci was a member of the IRA’s Internal Security Unit . In 2003, it was reported that Scappaticci had been working for British intelligence, their highest-ranking agent in

1728-512: The "Nutting Squad", in reference to the fact that many of the informers uncovered were shot in the back of the head (the "nut"). 18 killings as a result of ISU activities have been directly attributed to Scappaticci, including the murders of two senior policemen and a suspected informer named Joe Fenton. After the original allegations broke in 2003, Scappaticci, by now living in the Riverdale area of West Belfast , claimed that his involvement with

1800-491: The 1940s. The killing of Notarantonio was claimed by the UFF at the time. Following the killing of Notarantonio, unaware of the involvement of the FRU, the IRA assassinated two UDA leaders in reprisal attacks. It has also been alleged that the FRU secretly passed details of the two UDA leaders to the IRA via "Stakeknife" in an effort to distract attention from him as a possible informer. Former FRU operative Martin Ingram asserted that

1872-494: The British army, he was also the ISU's [IRA's, Internal Security Unit] chief interrogator, in which role he is believed to have been involved in 17 murders. " BBC documentary, Our Dirty War: The British State and the IRA; had been prevented from publishing the video footage of the British agent, for twenty-years, until now, Scappaticci is seen threatening and saying "I'll do you" if the photographer continues to film. In March 2024,

1944-526: The FRU helped the UDA to target people for assassination. In 2003, the BBC reported that FRU commanders aimed to make the UDA "more professional" by helping it to target and kill republican activists and prevent it from killing uninvolved Catholic civilians. If someone was under threat, agents like Nelson were to inform the FRU who were then to alert the police. Gordon Kerr , who ran the FRU from 1987 to 1991, claimed Nelson and

2016-447: The FRU including IRA units who planted bombs and assassinated. Attacks are said to have taken place involving FRU-controlled agents highly placed within the IRA. It is suspected that the FRU sought to influence the IRA primarily through an agent codenamed " Stakeknife ", thought to have been a member of the IRA's Internal Security Unit (a unit responsible for counter-intelligence , interrogation and court martial of informers within

2088-522: The FRU killed individuals who might have exposed Scappaticci as an informer. " Stakeknife " was the code name of a high-level spy , now widely identified as Scappaticci, who successfully infiltrated the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) while working for the Force Research Unit (FRU), a British military intelligence unit. Stakeknife allegedly worked as an FRU informant for 25 years. Stakeknife has been accused of being

2160-434: The FRU saved over 200 lives in this way. However, the Stevens Inquiries found evidence that only two lives were saved and said many loyalist attacks could have been prevented but were allowed to go ahead. The Stevens team believes that Nelson was responsible for at least 30 murders and many other attacks, including most prominently solicitor Pat Finucane , and that many of the victims were uninvolved civilians. Although Nelson

2232-575: The IRA had ended in 1990 due to his wife's illness. He denied that he had ever been linked to any facet of the British intelligence services, including the Force Research Unit . He then left Northern Ireland and began living under witness protection . He is known to have lived in Cheshire and Manchester , where his brother had settled, and later moved to a gated community in London , where he appeared before and

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2304-550: The IRA's Internal Security Unit to protect his cover. In 1987, Sam McCrory , an Ulster Defence Association /"Ulster Freedom Fighters" member, killed 66-year-old Francisco Notarantonio at his home in Ballymurphy in West Belfast. The UDA/UFF had decided to murder the republican sympathiser who unknowingly had been targeted by the Force Research Unit (FRU) to divert attention away from Scappaticci. It has been alleged that it

2376-447: The IRA). There is a debate as to whether this agent was IRA member Freddie Scappaticci or another, as of yet unidentified, IRA member. It is believed that "Stakeknife" was used by the FRU to influence the outcome of investigations conducted by the IRA's Internal Security Unit into the activities of IRA volunteers. It is alleged that, in 1987, the UDA came into possession of details relating to

2448-485: The IRA, and was known by the codename "Stakeknife". Both the IRA and Scappaticci himself publicly denied involvement with British intelligence . Scappaticci was born on 12 January 1946 to Mary Murray and Danny Scappaticci and grew up in the Markets area of Belfast . His father had been an Italian immigrant to the city in the 1920s. The Irish Times reported that his birth name was Frederico, but he has said that "Freddie"

2520-482: The RUC’s fraud squad in connection with a construction industry tax scam. Fearful of returning to prison, he offered to become a low-level informer. The former FRU agent turned whistleblower using the pseudonym " Martin Ingram " said in his 2004 book Stakeknife that Scappaticci eventually developed into valuable Agent 6126 , handled by British Army Intelligence via the FRU. Ingram says that Scappaticci's activities as

2592-722: The Stevens Inquiries. This has been confirmed by some former members of the unit. In the mid 1980s, the FRU recruited Brian Nelson as a double agent inside the Ulster Defence Association (UDA), and helped him to become the UDA's chief intelligence officer. Until it was proscribed in 1992, the UDA was a legal Ulster loyalist paramilitary group that had been involved in hundreds of attacks on Catholic and nationalist civilians as well as against republican paramilitaries. In 1988, weapons were shipped to loyalists from South Africa under Nelson's supervision. Through Nelson,

2664-645: The Tactical Level of Warfare, itself defined as "the level of warfare at which battles and engagements are planned and executed to achieve military objectives assigned to tactical units or task forces". Intelligence should respond to the needs of leadership , based on the military objective and operational plans. The military objective provides a focus for the estimate process, from which a number of information requirements are derived. Information requirements may be related to terrain and impact on vehicle or personnel movement, disposition of hostile forces, sentiments of

2736-517: The Troubles. On 29 October 2020, the Public Prosecution Service for Northern Ireland decided that there was insufficient evidence to put him on trial on charges of perjury. Stephen Herron, the PPS director in the area, also ruled out prosecutions of former members of the security services who are understood to have been his handlers as well as a former member of the PPS. This meant that there

2808-480: The Troubles. General Wilsey's opinion is that Stakeknife saved “hundreds and hundreds of lives”. He was also suspected of tipping off British security chiefs about the IRA operation in Gibraltar in 1988, in which three IRA members were killed . On 5 March 2024, journalist Peter Taylor was permitted to publish a video of Scappaticci wearing a dressing gown outside his former home, in 2004. " In addition to spying for

2880-439: The U.S. military, Joint Publication 2-0 (JP 2-0) states: "The six categories of intelligence operations are: planning and direction; collection; processing and exploitation; analysis and production; dissemination and integration; and evaluation and feedback." Many of the most important facts are well known or may be gathered from public sources. This form of information collection is known as open-source intelligence . For example,

2952-451: The activities of the ISU between 1980 and 1990. Ingram also alleges that Scappaticci disclosed information to British intelligence on IRA operations during the time period, involving: Aside from providing intelligence to the FRU, Scappaticci is alleged to have worked closely with his FRU handlers throughout the 1980s and 1990s to protect and promote his position within the IRA. The controversy that has arisen centres on Ingram's allegation that

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3024-790: The alleged activities of Stakeknife and possible crimes by IRA members and members of the British security services. Scappaticci was arrested in connection with Operation Kenova in January 2018. In January 2018, Scappaticci was arrested by police regarding offenses including murder and abduction, but was released on bail. On 5 December 2018, the Westminster Magistrates' Court sentenced Scappaticci to 3 months imprisonment, suspended for 1 year, after he pleaded guilty to possessing "extreme pornographic images", including those which featured animals . The pornographic materials were uncovered during an investigation into serious crimes committed during

3096-531: The announcement of the former as a "tout" was a stunt by the British government to undermine Sinn Féin and republican movement in Northern Ireland. In October 2015, it was announced that Scappaticci was to be investigated by the Police Service of Northern Ireland over at least 24 murders. In June 2016, it was announced that this investigation would be carried out by Bedfordshire Police and would examine

3168-665: The area in question, such as geography , demographics and industrial capacities. Strategic Intelligence is formally defined as "intelligence required for the formation of policy and military plans at national and international levels", and corresponds to the Strategic Level of Warfare, which is formally defined as "the level of warfare at which a nation, often as a member of a group of nations, determines national or multinational (alliance or coalition) strategic security objectives and guidance, then develops and uses national resources to achieve those objectives." Operational intelligence

3240-488: The arson attack which destroyed the offices of the Stevens Inquiry was carried out by the FRU to destroy evidence on operational activities collected by Stevens' team. Military intelligence Areas of study may include the operational environment, hostile, friendly and neutral forces, the civilian population in an area of combat operations, and other broader areas of interest. Intelligence activities are conducted at all levels, from tactical to strategic, in peacetime,

3312-550: The claims and launched an unsuccessful legal action to force the British government, to publicly state that he was not their agent. A report in a February 2007 edition of the Belfast News Letter reported that a cassette recording allegedly of Scappaticci talking about the number of murders he was involved in via the "Nutting Squad", as well as his work as an Army agent, had been lodged with the PSNI in 2004 and subsequently passed to

3384-500: The detailed act and carry it out. Once hostilities begin, target selection often moves into the upper end of the military chain of command. Once ready stocks of weapons and fuel are depleted, logistic concerns are often exported to civilian policy-makers. The processed intelligence information is disseminated through database systems, intel bulletins and briefings to the different decision-makers. The bulletins may also include consequently resulting information requirements and thus conclude

3456-487: The files related to Stakeknife and not to other Kenova investigations, including Denton. Sinn Féin MP John Finucane said it was "disgraceful and unsurprising" that British security services had withheld information from the inquiry. He also said that "As the British government's shameful Legacy Act was enacted to close down families’ access to the civil and criminal courts, British intelligence services have delayed

3528-404: The hierarchy of political and military activity. Strategic intelligence is concerned with broad issues such as economics, political assessments, military capabilities and intentions of foreign nations (and, increasingly, non-state actors ). Such intelligence may be scientific, technical, tactical, diplomatic or sociological , but these changes are analyzed in combination with known facts about

3600-476: The identity of the FRU-controlled IRA volunteer codenamed "Stakeknife" and that, unaware of this IRA volunteer's value to the FRU, they planned to assassinate him. Allegedly, after the FRU discovered "Stakeknife" was in danger from UDA assassination, they used Brian Nelson to persuade the UDA to assassinate Francisco Notarantonio instead, a Belfast pensioner who had been interned as an Irish republican in

3672-405: The intelligence officer will have a staff to which research projects can be assigned. Developing a plan of attack is not the responsibility of intelligence, though it helps an analyst to know the capabilities of common types of military units. Generally, policy-makers are presented with a list of threats and opportunities. They approve some basic action, and then professional military personnel plan

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3744-406: The interim Kenova report, said more lives were lost than saved through agent Stakeknife activities. On 11 April 2023, it was announced that Scappaticci had died the previous week at age 77. The Guardian reported that his health had deteriorated due to a series of strokes . Because he was still living under witness protection , little information about his death was publicly revealed, and it

3816-573: The interrogation and execution of Hegarty regarding a large Libyan arms cache, which the Gardaí found. Martin Ingram stated that Hegarty was an FRU agent whom other FRU members had encouraged to rise through the organisation and gain the confidence of key IRA members. Things deteriorated for Scappaticci when Sir John Stevens , the Metropolitan police commissioner, who was investigating collusion between British security forces and loyalist paramilitaries in

3888-414: The killing of Protestant student Brian Adam Lambert in 1987 and the killing of solicitor Pat Finucane in 1989, revealed that he knew of his existence. In April 2004, Stevens signaled that he intended to question Scappaticci as part of the third Stevens inquiry . A report in a February 2007 edition of the Belfast News Letter reported that a cassette recording allegedly of Scappaticci talking about

3960-438: The local population and capabilities of the hostile order of battle . In response to the information requirements, analysts examine existing information, identifying gaps in the available knowledge. Where gaps in knowledge exist, the staff may be able to task collection assets to target the requirement. Analysis reports draw on all available sources of information, whether drawn from existing material or collected in response to

4032-403: The logistics chain for a military unit's fuel supply is often the most vulnerable part of a nation's order of battle. Human intelligence, gathered by spies, is usually carefully tested against unrelated sources. It is notoriously prone to inaccuracy. In some cases, sources will just make up imaginative stories for pay, or they may try to settle grudges by identifying personal enemies as enemies of

4104-642: The number of murders he was involved in via the "Nutting Squad", as well as his work as an Army agent, had been lodged with the PSNI in 2004 and subsequently passed to the Stevens Inquiry in 2005. It is unclear whether this audio is a recording made via the Cook Report investigation. There were several inconsistencies with the various media reports alleging that Scappaticci was Stakeknife . The Provisional IRA reportedly assured Scappaticci of their belief in his denials and has issued public statements suggesting that

4176-515: The organization. The first interview took place on 26 August 1993 in the car park of the Culloden Hotel in Cultra , County Down . This interview was, unknown to Scappaticci, recorded and eventually found its way into an edition of the programme. The interview was posted online as the 2003 allegations against Scappaticci surfaced. Scappaticci appeared to give intimate details of the modus operandi of

4248-559: The overall intelligence value after careful analysis. The tonnage and basic weaponry of most capital ships and aircraft are also public, and their speeds and ranges can often be reasonably estimated by experts, often just from photographs. Ordinary facts like the lunar phase on particular days or the ballistic range of common military weapons are also very valuable to planning, and are habitually collected in an intelligence library. A great deal of useful intelligence can be gathered from photointerpretation of detailed high-altitude pictures of

4320-566: The period of transition to war, and during a war itself. Most governments maintain a military intelligence capability to provide analytical and information collection personnel in both specialist units and from other arms and services. The military and civilian intelligence capabilities collaborate to inform the spectrum of political and military activities. Personnel performing intelligence duties may be selected for their analytical abilities and personal intelligence before receiving formal training. Intelligence operations are carried out throughout

4392-537: The population, ethnic make-up and main industries of a region are extremely important to military commanders, and this information is usually public. It is however imperative that the collector of information understands that what is collected is "information", and does not become intelligence until after an analyst has evaluated and verified this information. Collection of read materials, composition of units or elements, disposition of strength, training, tactics, personalities (leaders) of these units and elements contribute to

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4464-522: The release of information to families who have waited for the truth for decades," and "The discovery that MI5 did not disclose vital information to the Kenova Inquiry may now further delay the publication of the full report into the investigation. This revelation will add to the trauma and the anguish of families of the victims, and I am calling on the investigation to process the new information as thoroughly and as quickly as possible". Baroness O'Loan ,

4536-511: The requirement. The analysis reports are used to inform the remaining planning staff, influencing planning and seeking to predict adversary intent. This process is described as Collection Co-ordination and Intelligence Requirement Management (CCIRM). The process of intelligence has four phases: collection, analysis, processing and dissemination. In the United Kingdom these are known as direction, collection, processing and dissemination. In

4608-550: The state that is paying for the intelligence. However, human intelligence is often the only form of intelligence that provides information about an opponent's intentions and rationales, and it is therefore often uniquely valuable to successful negotiation of diplomatic solutions. In some intelligence organizations, analysis follows a procedure. First, general media and sources are screened to locate items or groups of interest, and then their location, capabilities, inputs and environment are systematically assessed for vulnerabilities using

4680-745: Was FRU agent Brian Nelson who gave Notarantonio's name to the UDA/UFF to protect the identity of Stakeknife. On 11 May 2003, Scappaticci was named as Stakeknife, the British spy who had operated at the very highest levels of the IRA for more than 20 years in Northern Ireland, by the Glasgow-based Sunday Herald , the Irish edition of the People, and by the Irish newspapers Sunday Tribune and Sunday World . Scappaticci, born in Belfast to Italian parents, denied

4752-585: Was a low-level member of the Provisional IRA in the 1970s. On his release, he found work on a building site, where he was later questioned by the police over a tax scam he was accused of participating in. Scappaticci married Sheila Cunningham, and they had six children. By 1980, Scappaticci was a lead member in the Internal Security Unit (ISU) for the IRA Northern Command . The ISU was

4824-435: Was carried out at a weekly Tasking and Co-ordination Group which included representatives of the Royal Ulster Constabulary , MI5 and the British Army . It is claimed the FRU asked for restriction orders to be placed on areas where they knew loyalist paramilitaries were going to attack. FRU are also alleged to have handled agents within republican paramilitary groups. A number of agents are suspected to have been handled by

4896-477: Was discharged by Westminster Court for alleged sex offences. He briefly returned to Belfast in 2017 to attend his 99-year-old father's funeral. His wife had remained in Belfast, and he lived apart from her from 2004 onwards, though they occasionally holidayed together and were said to have kept in contact until her death in 2019. Around this time, he was said to be living in a detached house in Guildford and driving

4968-525: Was imprisoned in 1992, FRU intelligence continued to help the UDA and other loyalist groups. From 1992 to 1994, loyalists were responsible for more deaths than republicans for the first time since the 1960s. Allegations exist that the FRU sought restriction orders , a de-confliction agreement to restrict patrolling or surveillance in an area over a specified period, in advance of a number of loyalist paramilitary attacks in order to facilitate easy access to and escape from their target. This de-confliction activity

5040-483: Was little chance of him appearing in a criminal trial during the final years of his life, despite a multimillion pound investigation into his role as a state agent inside the IRA. Scappaticci died in April 2023 without being charged. The general officer, Sir John Wilsey who commanded the British army in Northern Ireland between 1983-1990, described agent Stakeknife as “the golden egg” of military intelligence’s agents during

5112-513: Was only announced after his burial had taken place. In August 2024, Iain Livingstone , former head of Operation Kenova, announced that MI5 had not disclosed all material it had on Stakeknife before Operation Kenova published a report earlier in 2024. He said that he and Jon Boutcher , the former head of Kenova, had previously stated that they believed that they had been given access to all files that MI5 had in relation to Stakeknife. He wrote

5184-490: Was the name on his birth certificate. He took up work as a bricklayer . Scappaticci was fined for riotous assembly in 1970 after being caught up in the Troubles and, a year later, was interned without trial in Long Kesh at the age of 25 as part of Operation Demetrius . Among those interned with him were figures later to become prominent in the republican movement, such as Ivor Bell , Gerry Adams , and Alex Maskey . He

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