That is because the British government adheres to a policy of Neither Confirm Nor Deny (NCND) when it comes to agents and refused the necessary authorisation.<\/p>\n
The Kenova Report found that Stakeknife had worked for army intelligence and MI5, at the heart of the IRA’s internal security unit.<\/p>\n
Its job was to root out informers in the ranks.<\/p>\n
Kenova linked Stakeknife to 14 murders and 15 abductions. It found that his activities had probably cost more lives than his information had saved.<\/p>\n
![\"final](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/002399a9-614.jpg\"\/)
\nThe final Kenova Report was published last December<\/p>\n
In a report published today, the Northern Ireland Affairs Committee said it believed confirming that Stakeknife was Scappaticci would be “strongly in the public interest”.<\/p>\n
The MPs said they believed doing so would help build trust and confidence in agencies of the state.<\/p>\n
The findings of the Northern Ireland Affairs Committee were welcomed by both PSNI Chief Constable Jon Boutcher and Iain Livingstone, the head of Kenova.<\/p>\n
Mr Livingstone said the report provided welcome support for his own calls for Stakeknife to be named.<\/p>\n
“As I made clear in the final Kenova Report, we believe there is a compelling ethical case to reveal Stakeknife’s true identity,” he said.<\/p>\n
Mr Boutcher said it would bring “much needed closure to many victims and families”.<\/p>\n
Mr Boutcher previously said that if Stakeknife had been a police agent, he would have agreed to name him.<\/p>\n
![\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/0023dd60-614.jpg\"\/)
\nKenova chief Iain Livingstone (L) and PSNI Chief Constable Jon Boutcher<\/p>\n
The Northern Ireland Affairs Committee took evidence from Mr Livingstone and Mr Boutcher who had previously run the Kenova investigation.<\/p>\n
Committee Chair Tonia Antoniazzi MP said they had been given reassurances that naming the former agent would not jeopardise current agents or impede the recruitment of future ones.<\/p>\n
“By naming Stakeknife, the government can send a strong signal that agents who cross a line will not receive the protection of anonymity and help to build trust and confidence across all communities in Northern Ireland,” she said.<\/p>\n
In December, Northern Secretary Hilary Benn said the British government would review its decision on the naming of Stakeknife following a decision of the Supreme Court in a legacy case which centred on the right of families to be given the gist of information in intelligence files linked to their cases.<\/p>\n
The Northern Secretary appealed the case to the UK’s highest court because he held that disclosing intelligence documents ran contrary to the NCND policy.<\/p>\n
The Supreme Court upheld his appeal.<\/p>\n