The final report into the British army/MI5 agent known as Stakeknife once again illustrated how during the Troubles the lives of some people were viewed as expendable by representatives of the British state. More people died than were saved by him. Scappaticci was run by the British army’s secretive Force Research Unit (FRU) but this latest Kenova report disclosed that MI5 was involved in “briefing and tasking Stakeknife” via the FRU throughout his “operation as an agent”. He was a spy from the late 1970s until at least the early 1990s. Previously it said its role with Stakeknife was “peripheral”.

Source: The Irish Times December 10, 2025 22:31 UTC