Northern Ireland (merged thread)

[davidbfpo]

The BBC's documentary series 'Panorama' had a powerful programme this week, entitled 'The Spy in the IRA', who was handled or "run" by the Army (using a specialist unit, the Field Research Unit aka the "Fru") not the police and reporting to the Security Service (MI5).

From the programme's website:

Panorama investigates one of Britain's most important spies since the Second World War. In the murky world of British intelligence during the Northern Ireland conflict, one agent's life appears to have mattered more than others. Codenamed Stakeknife, Freddie Scappaticci rose through the ranks of the IRA to run their internal security unit.He was the IRA's chief spy catcher, in charge of rooting out those suspected of collaborating with the British, who were then executed. But all the time he was in fact working for the British intelligence services - Stakeknife was their 'golden egg', the British Army's most important spy during the Troubles.
Panorama reveals that a classified report links Scappatici to at least 18 murders (out of 30). Some of these victims were themselves agents and informers. Scappaticci, the intelligence agencies who tasked him and the IRA to whom he also answered are now the subject of a new £35 million criminal enquiry.
Panorama discloses how he kept his cover by having the blood of other agents on his hands, how the intelligence agencies appeared to tolerate this and why he has been protected for so long.

Link:http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode...spy-in-the-ira

It raises many hard questions: Were UK agents allowed to die to cover Stakeknife? How to navigate the 'moral maze' of the "greater good" coming at a price. Was the Provisional IRA / Sinn Fein 'pushed into peace' by being infiltrated? Were all parties restrained by the knowledge of Stakeknife's activities?

He is incidentally still alive and by implication living in Northern Ireland! There is a remarkably thin wiki:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freddie_Scappaticci

[Azor]

The BBC's documentary series 'Panorama' had a powerful programme this week, entitled 'The Spy in the IRA', who was handled or "run" by the Army (using a specialist unit, the Field Research Unit aka the "Fru") not the police and reporting to the Security Service (MI5).

From the programme's website:Link:http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode...spy-in-the-ira

It raises many hard questions: Were UK agents allowed to die to cover Stakeknife? How to navigate the 'moral maze' of the "greater good" coming at a price. Was the Provisional IRA / Sinn Fein 'pushed into peace' by being infiltrated? Were all parties restrained by the knowledge of Stakeknife's activities?

He is incidentally still alive and by implication living in Northern Ireland! There is a remarkably thin wiki:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freddie_Scappaticci

But how much evidence is there that Scappaticci was a British agent? The PIRA seems to believe his denials and he lives in Northern Ireland. Perhaps the British were using him to cover for another source(s)? If so, was the British government subjecting him to risk of reprisal? Yet he is a murderer...

Murky indeed...

[davidbfpo]

In two parts:

But how much evidence is there that Scappaticci was a British agent? The PIRA seems to believe his denials and he lives in Northern Ireland.

I would say there is evidence that Scappaticci was a British agent; possibly for ten years as the head of PIRA's "nutting" squad and he claims to have become inactive in republicanism in 1990. The key point for the current investigation was his activity protected and others died to do so. Evidence for that is likely to be more difficult. Will those involved in handling him (the Army) and the receivers of the information (MI5) have complete records which are handed over to the investigators?

Is there enough evidence to put him in court for murder for example?

Possibly noteworthy is that the Director of Public Prosecutions has recently been accused of being too ready to prosecute soldiers when paramilitaries are not. In the programme he explains why he has directed the investigation.

By Azor:

Perhaps the British were using him to cover for another source(s)? If so, was the British government subjecting him to risk of reprisal? Yet he is a murderer...

Quite possibly as many have commented PIRA was emasculated by the time of the Good Friday Agreement having been infiltrated at senior levels, although he had been active for many years by then.

PIRA was ruthless at times towards spies and suspected spies, but to acknowledge a central figure, the head of its own counter-intelligence "nutting" squad, was British spy would affect their credibility even today. Few really want to open this murky world.