MI5 Protected 'Stakeknife' Undercover Spy in IRA During 'The Troubles', Report Says

A final report on the actions of the agent 'Stakeknife' described British security services protecting an undercover spy embedded in the Irish Republican Army during 'The Troubles' even after they knew he was wanted by police for murder.

The Los Angeles Times said the spy was considered the IRA's top British spy and that it was widely believed to be Freddie Scappaticci, who died at 77 in 2023 without ever having been charged or convicted of any crime during the conflict.

Breizh-info

The report also said MI5 provided new material as recently as last year, showing that Stakeknife's handlers took him out of Northern Ireland twice for 'holidays' when they knew he was wanted for conspiracy to commit murder and false imprisonment.

Jon Boutcher, Chief Constable of the Police Service of Northern Ireland, said the late disclosure of the files was a 'grave organizational failure' by MI5 that undermined the trust of the victims and their families.

The Le Monde report said the Kenova inquiry, begun in 2016 by British police, documented Stakeknife's path and tried to understand why the British Army had protected him, even authorizing him to kill other informants or innocents.

In the RTVE.es account of the Stakeknife case, the investigation concluded that the infiltrator was protected by MI5 and that the official inquiry found that "probablemente" more people died than were saved.

RTVE.es said the investigation, which it described as lasting nine years and costing 47,5 millones de libras esterlinas, did not identify the agent, even though the press unmasked him in 2003 as Frederico "Freddie" Scappaticci.

Breizh-info

The Los Angeles Times reported that Boutcher said the government's refusal to formally name the agent 'is unsustainable and verges on the absurd,' while Ken McCallum, MI5's Director General, expressed regret over the late discoveries but argued that files were not deliberately withheld.

RTVE.es quoted Boutcher criticizing MI5 and the government for continuing to refuse to identify the agent, saying "identificar a Stakeknife no pondría en riesgo a nadie".

Le Monde said the Kenova investigators documented why the British Army protected Stakeknife, reopening wounds nearly twenty-eight years after the Good Friday Agreement ended the Troubles.

Separate from the Stakeknife disclosures, the Fédération internationale pour les droits humains report said the Supreme Court considered an appeal over whether the Coroner could communicate a 'summary' of 'sensitive' information to families, and held that the Secretary of State's view should prevail for national security.

That report said the Secretary of State's appeal invoked the policy of Neither Confirm Nor Deny (NCND) and described Home Office directives revealed during the hearing as showing a political position that involvement of a State agent should not be publicly disclosed in old cases under any circumstances.

It added that three official United Nations experts expressed concerns that a veto power could lead to concealing the involvement of State agents in extrajudicial killings, torture and other violations, which it said is incompatible with international norms and those of the ECHR.

In a different Northern Ireland thread, Breizh-info reported that the dissident group calling itself the New IRA officially claimed responsibility for a car bombing in front of the PSNI station in Dunmurry on April 25–26, 2026 and announced its intention to target the homes of Northern Irish police officers.

Breizh-info said a 66-year-old man was arrested on Tuesday, April 28, in the Dunmurry area, and that the PSNI launched a large, highly visible policing operation across Belfast.