MI5’s involvement in managing the British Army’s most high-level IRA agent was far greater than previously acknowledged, according to the long-awaited Operation Kenova report.
The £40m investigation, led by former Police Scotland chief constable Sir Iain Livingstone, concludes that MI5 was “closely involved” in directing and receiving intelligence from the agent known as Stakeknife, long believed to be west Belfast man Freddie Scappaticci, who died in 2023.
This stands in stark contrast to MI5’s earlier insistence that its role had been “peripheral”.
MI5’s Knowledge of Murder and Torture
The 160-page report reveals that MI5 had “automatic sight” of Stakeknife’s intelligence and was aware he was implicated in serious criminality. Stakeknife has been linked to at least 14 murders and 15 abductions while operating deep within the IRA’s notorious internal security unit, the so-called “nutting squad”, through the 1980s.
Sir Ken McCallum, MI5’s director general, issued sympathies to victims and their families, while apologising for the service’s late disclosure of hundreds of documents uncovered in April 2024.
An independent review found no evidence that MI5 deliberately withheld information, though Sir Iain described the late discovery as “a serious organisational failure”.
Claims of Lost Opportunities
Operation Kenova investigators say the newly uncovered MI5 material could have opened fresh lines of inquiry and challenged key witnesses, labelling its previous unavailability “deeply regrettable”.
The report criticises several incidents that “could be negatively construed” as attempts to limit the investigation or “run down the clock”.
Documents show Stakeknife’s Army handlers twice flew him out of Northern Ireland for a holiday, using military aircraft and identification, while he was wanted by police for conspiracy to murder and false imprisonment. MI5 was aware at the time.
Should Stakeknife Be Named?
Despite widespread public knowledge that Stakeknife was Scappaticci, the report itself does not name him, following the government’s NCND (Neither Confirm Nor Deny) policy.
Sir Iain argues that naming the agent is in the public interest. But Northern Ireland Secretary Hilary Benn said ongoing litigation prevents the government from doing so.
Former Kenova head and now PSNI Chief Constable, Jon Boutcher, dismissed the government’s stance as “untenable” and “bordering on farce”, insisting naming Stakeknife would not endanger national security.
Victims’ families and their legal representatives condemned the continued anonymity, calling it “insulting” and a barrier to truth.
Financial Rewards and the Army’s ‘Rat Hole’ Unit
Investigators discovered 3,517 intelligence reports submitted by Stakeknife, but found they were repeatedly not acted upon, with the protection of the agent appearing to outweigh saving lives that “could and should have been saved”.
The report details extensive financial rewards offered to the agent, including sums equivalent to average annual salaries and lump payments in the tens of thousands, some to assist property purchases.
A special Army unit, nicknamed the “Rat Hole”, was established solely to manage him.
Re-examination of 1972 Killing
The report also reassessed the killing of Jean Smyth-Campbell, shot dead in west Belfast in 1972. New ballistic analysis concludes she was “most likely” killed by an unidentified IRA member, findings rejected by her family, who believe the evidence points instead to a British Army shooter.
Irish Government Reaction
Taoiseach Micheál Martin described the report as detailing a “very sordid story” of the British state’s use of an agent responsible for multiple deaths, saying Stakeknife should be publicly named.
“The agent should be named,” he said. “Everybody knows who the agent is.”
