a_unique_person
11th May 2003, 10:36 PM
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/northern_ireland/3017531.stm
Top IRA informer named
The agent was a former leading IRA figure
A spy who penetrated the IRA leadership on behalf of the British military has been named as Freddie Scappaticci by security sources.
The agent, codenamed Stakeknife, left Northern Ireland early on Sunday for his own safety, after he was warned on Friday his personal security had been compromised.
He is alleged to have been involved in dozens of murders in Northern Ireland.
Don't know who the papers were that named him. At a guess, tabloids?
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2003/05/12/nife12.xml&sSheet=/portal/2003/05/12/ixportaltop.html
He is believed to be the IRA's number one assassination target, but sources suggested that the terrorists would bide their time before seeking revenge.
As a compromised agent, Stakeknife could be given a new identity by his handlers.
The intelligence services will be keen to protect him, fearing that the loss of a high-profile agent would damage their ability to recruit informers in the new war against Islamic terrorism.
The man, who is in his late fifties, is the son of Italian parents living in Belfast. He is thought to have been in the pay of British intelligence since 1978 and in recent years he received up to £80,000 a year paid into an offshore bank account.
The information he provided is believed to have led to the thwarting of dozens of IRA operations, including the SAS killing of three terrorists in Gibraltar in 1988.
A former IRA member said the republican movement was reeling from the news of Stakeknife's exposure
This will have the IRA turning in on themselves for a while either way.
What a weird life.
Top IRA informer named
The agent was a former leading IRA figure
A spy who penetrated the IRA leadership on behalf of the British military has been named as Freddie Scappaticci by security sources.
The agent, codenamed Stakeknife, left Northern Ireland early on Sunday for his own safety, after he was warned on Friday his personal security had been compromised.
He is alleged to have been involved in dozens of murders in Northern Ireland.
Don't know who the papers were that named him. At a guess, tabloids?
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2003/05/12/nife12.xml&sSheet=/portal/2003/05/12/ixportaltop.html
He is believed to be the IRA's number one assassination target, but sources suggested that the terrorists would bide their time before seeking revenge.
As a compromised agent, Stakeknife could be given a new identity by his handlers.
The intelligence services will be keen to protect him, fearing that the loss of a high-profile agent would damage their ability to recruit informers in the new war against Islamic terrorism.
The man, who is in his late fifties, is the son of Italian parents living in Belfast. He is thought to have been in the pay of British intelligence since 1978 and in recent years he received up to £80,000 a year paid into an offshore bank account.
The information he provided is believed to have led to the thwarting of dozens of IRA operations, including the SAS killing of three terrorists in Gibraltar in 1988.
A former IRA member said the republican movement was reeling from the news of Stakeknife's exposure
This will have the IRA turning in on themselves for a while either way.
What a weird life.