{"id":293298,"date":"2026-02-12T01:02:07","date_gmt":"2026-02-12T01:02:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/293298\/"},"modified":"2026-02-12T01:02:07","modified_gmt":"2026-02-12T01:02:07","slug":"taoiseachs-naming-of-stakeknife-puts-pressure-on-british-government-to-do-the-same-the-irish-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/293298\/","title":{"rendered":"Taoiseach\u2019s naming of Stakeknife puts pressure on British government to do the same \u2013 The Irish Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

The dogs in the street, and not just those in West Belfast, know that senior IRA figure Freddie Scappaticci<\/a> was agent Stakeknife. On Wednesday in the D\u00e1il, Taoiseach Miche\u00e1l Martin<\/a> formally identified him.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe identity of Stakeknife is clear to everybody here and I have previously stated that the agent should be officially named by the UK government,\u201d Martin declared during a debate on Operation Kenova, the investigation into his actions.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is widely known that Stakeknife was Freddie Scappaticci. He was recruited by the British army, with whom he worked between the late 1970s and 1990s. He was a prized informant,\u201d Martin told TDs.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe British army dedicated a 24-hour phone line within its intelligence section to his calls. Throughout this time Stakeknife was implicated in what were by any measure \u2018grotesque and serious\u2019 crimes committed for and with the Provisional IRA,\u201d he went on.<\/p>\n

The news wires clattered quickly. \u201cTaoiseach names Stakeknife in Irish parliament,\u201d declared BBC Northern Ireland. \u201cTaoiseach names Freddie Scappaticci as former British agent Stakeknife in D\u00e1il,\u201d said the Belfast Telegraph.<\/p>\n

Martin\u2019s words came shortly after 1.30pm. Two hours before, in the House of Commons, Northern Ireland Secretary of State Hilary Benn<\/a> had, however, yet again fended off calls to identify Stakeknife.<\/p>\n

[\u00a0Taoiseach names Freddie Scappaticci in the D\u00e1il as former British agent StakeknifeOpens in new window<\/a>\u00a0]<\/p>\n

In truth, Martin had not made a huge diplomatic step in a bid to heighten pressure on London. \u201cSimply transparency, no more,\u201d an adviser told The Irish Times.<\/p>\n

Yet, it has had that effect. In Belfast, Martin\u2019s decision was carefully noted, including by solicitor Kevin Winters, who represents families of those killed during the Troubles, including some at Scappaticci\u2019s hands.<\/p>\n

The Taoiseach, speaking in the D\u00e1il, has named Freddie Scappaticci as the former British agent known as Stakeknife. Video: Oireachtas TV <\/p>\n

\u201cThere has been an upward trajectory towards naming him,\u201d he said, noting Police Service of Northern Ireland Chief Constable Jon Boutcher<\/a>\u2019s \u201cvery strong commentary\u201d when the report on Operation Kenova was published in early December.<\/p>\n

On Monday, the House of Commons\u2019 Northern Ireland Affairs Committee acknowledged it \u201cis not normal practice to name agents, but in this one instance it is appropriate, proportionate and strongly in the public interest\u201d.<\/p>\n

Such an action, said MPs, would \u201cbuild trust and confidence\u201d, and send a message to undercover agents today that if they are \u201cguilty of conduct beyond acceptable limits that they will not be protected, or shielded\u201d.<\/p>\n

[\u00a0UK government should formally name Stakeknife, Westminster committee urgesOpens in new window<\/a>\u00a0]<\/p>\n

The consistent refusal of British administrations \u2013 Labour, or Conservative \u2013 to name Scappaticci is based upon the decades-old policy that they will \u201cneither confirm nor deny\u201d agents\u2019 identities.<\/p>\n

In the Commons on Wednesday, the chair of the Northern Ireland Affairs Committee, Welsh MP Tonia Antoniazzi, said her all-party committee had unanimously backed naming Scappaticci.<\/p>\n

However, the Northern Ireland Secretary insisted the United Kingdom\u2019s supreme court judgment published in December in the case of Liam Paul \u201cTopper\u201d Thompson must be properly studied first. Thompson was murdered by the Ulster Defence Association in 1994. His family have long alleged that a British agent was involved. Coroner Louisa Fee sought access to intelligence records, only to be blocked by Benn.<\/p>\n

Lawyers for Benn argued that the British government\u2019s judgment about the national security risk created by identification should take precedence, and that the courts should defer to the executive\u2019s wishes.<\/p>\n

[\u00a0Protecting Stakeknife seemed to \u2018outweigh\u2019 protecting life of a victim, Kenova report findsOpens in new window<\/a>\u00a0]<\/p>\n

Two weeks ago, lawyers for the family of Anthony McKiernan pressed for intelligence files on his killing in January 1988 by the IRA, who dubbed him an informer \u2013 a charge his family have always denied.<\/p>\n

Scappaticci and McKiernan were friends; their children slept in each other\u2019s homes. The relationship did not save McKiernan\u2019s life. In January 1988, Scappaticci sent a young boy to McKiernan\u2019s door asking him to come to his home. Twenty-four hours later, McKiernan\u2019s body was found dumped on Mica Drive, not far from the Falls Road, with his family in West Belfast living under a cloud as McKiernan had been branded a British informer.<\/p>\n

The Thompson case does not lay down in stone that agents can never be identified, Winters argued. \u201cIt\u2019s still a live issue,\u201d he told The Irish Times. \u201cThompson does not mean that \u2018neither confirm nor deny\u2019 is a complete blanket.\u201d<\/p>\n

For Antoniazzi, however, the British government is hiding behind the supreme court, arguing that some senior British officials do not accept that the Thompson case blocks identification.<\/p>\n

The decision by the Taoiseach to formally name Scappaticci is \u201cvery good news\u201d, she told The Irish Times, adding his decision to do so should be noted by No 10 Downing Street.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s a matter of urgency here. It needs to be done on the floor of the Commons. Now that it\u2019s been mentioned in the D\u00e1il, it needs to be done here. There\u2019s no need to kick the can down the road,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

British intelligence agents today can be assured that they will be protected, she said, \u201cbut if you are an agent for the state and you behave in the manner of Scappaticci, you will not be looked after\u201d.<\/p>\n

Such agents are better controlled now, she believed. In general, they should not be named \u201cbut this is a case where a murderous individual, now passed away, there is no harm in naming him. It is a nonsense not to do so.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The dogs in the street, and not just those in West Belfast, know that senior IRA figure Freddie…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":292668,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[121031,42,65,27238,140069,1843,43,40,38,41,39],"class_list":{"0":"post-293298","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-headlines","8":"tag-freddie-scappaticci","9":"tag-headlines","10":"tag-hilary-benn","11":"tag-irish-republican-army","12":"tag-jon-boutcher","13":"tag-micheal-martin","14":"tag-news","15":"tag-top-news","16":"tag-top-stories","17":"tag-topnews","18":"tag-topstories"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/293298","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=293298"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/293298\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/292668"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=293298"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=293298"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=293298"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}