‘Stakeknife’ repercussions become public

Posted by Jim on February 6, 2016

A row has broken out among republicans in Belfast over the impact of
infiltration by informers in the aftermath of the apparent exposure of
another highly-placed double agent within the Provisional IRA.

The row began when former Sinn Fein director of publicity Danny Morrison
unexpectedly claimed that double agent Freddie Scappaticci was stood
down from the organisation in 1990 under suspicion that he was an
informer, long before many of the killings which he has been accused of
being involved in.

In a blog post, he sought to play down the damage done to the IRA by the
agent known as ‘Stakeknife’. He said that while the directing of
informers at a high level by the British government had been “immoral”
and had caused “ordinary suffering and long-lasting grief”, it had
“never deflected the course of Irish history”

He said he did not believe allegations about Scappaticci’s activities in
the 1990s and his alleged involvement in the arrest and interrogations
of suspected informers, or telling relatives about the killings of their
loved ones.

“I do not believe this to be true,” he wrote. “The IRA told me that
Scappaticci was redundant after 7th January 1990.”

The new claims by the former Sinn Fein spokesman contrast sharply with
the previous statements of party figures, including Morrison himself,
who expressed doubt about the allegations against Scappaticci when they
surfaced in 2003. They came just days after the PSNI said they plans to
bring an outside police force in to investigate the activities of
‘Stakeknife’.

But a former IRA prisoner, once jailed alongside Morrison, has disputed
the claims.

Gerard Hodgins said the first he knew Scappaticci was a British agent
was when he was outed in the media in 2003.

Mr Hodgins said; “There was never any word sent in to the prison that
Scap had been stood down and never any suggestion he’d been the informer
in our case.

“When the news about Scap did eventually break I read it in the paper
like everyone else, it was a bit of a relief to finally know because I’d
always been sure that there was at least one informer involved.

“I’ve no idea why these claims are only surfacing now, but you can be
sure someone, somewhere has decided it would be politically advantageous
to claim Scap was out of the loop by 1990,” he added.

Amid claims that up to twenty IRA figures were exposed as agents by the
papers taken from Castlereagh, Sinn Fein has come under pressure to
reveal what the party knows about the level of penetration of the
republican movement by informers.

Scappaticci is reported to be living in England under a false identity.
Although the PSNI have said he is to be investigated for his alleged
role in more than two dozen killings, he has never been arrested. Last
Friday a court heard claims by the authorities that there was no money
to fund the investigation.

Kevin Winters who represents a number of families, including that of
Caroline Moreland, allegedly killed by Scappaticci in 1994 amid
accusations she was an informer, said the families are frustrated by the
delays and excuses.

“We will be back in the High Court in February as part of the challenge
taken by the family of Caroline Moreland at which time we expect details
of what steps have been taken to resource a fully independent
investigation”, Mr Winters said.