The British government has provisionally agreed to pay £10 million to the families of those abducted, murdered or interrogated by its double agents in the IRA.
Principal among them was west Belfast man Freddie Scappaticci, known as Stakeknife, who operated in the IRA’s internal security unit, hunting suspected informers.
At the same time, he was passing information to British Army intelligence and other branches of the security forces.
A Belfast law firm KRW Law acts for 19 families whose loved ones were murdered by the IRA.
It said it had been in “advanced negotiations” with the British government over a settlement of their cases for damages.
Between them the families have taken 34 legal actions, with some cases involving separate litigation by different relatives in respect of the same incident.
Nine of the families are receiving payments in respect of the actions of an agent who was not Scappaticci.
It is suggested that this points to a greater number of security force agents in the ranks of the IRA’s internal security unit than had been previously thought.
Kevin Winters of the KRW Law said a “consensus” had been reached with government officials over a settlement.
It is now subject to approval by the Northern Ireland Policing Board.
“Given the possible time lag for board approval triggering extensive media speculation, we want to put these matters on record now,” Mr Winters said.
“In doing so we are mindful of the sensitivities engaged with all the Plaintiffs and want to commend them for their patience.
“The agreed collective figure across all the litigation amounts to around £10 million,” he added.
Mr Winters said the ending of the litigation provided “additional leverage” to the PSNI Chief Constable’s call for an apology to the families.
There has been no admission of liability by the British State.
Scappaticci passed information to the security forces from the late seventies until the 1990s.
He died in 2023 in England where he had been relocated after being unmasked in Belfast.
Last year a long-running inquiry linked Scappaticci to 14 murders and 15 abductions during the Troubles in Northern Ireland.
The Kenova investigation lasted nine years and cost almost £50m.
It found that while army intelligence had been principally responsible for running Stakeknife, the security service MI5 was also closely involved in his handling.
The report found protecting Stakeknife’s identity was more important than protecting people who could and should have been saved.
It said he had probably taken more lives than he had saved.
The government has so far refused to confirm Scappaticci’s role as a spy, sticking to its policy of ‘Neither Confirm nor Deny’ when it comes to agents.