Alfredo ("Freddie" or "Frederick") Scappaticci was exposed in the Irish & British media on 11 May 2003, as being a high-level double agent in the Provisional IRA (PIRA), known by the codename Stakeknife. May 11 is the 131st day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (132nd in leap years). ... 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... A double agent pretends to spy on a target organization on behalf of a controlling organization, but in fact is loyal to the target organization. ... The Provisional Irish Republican Army (PIRA) is a paramilitary group which aimed, through the use of violence, to achieve three goals: (i) British withdrawal from Ireland, (ii) the political unification of Ireland through the merger of Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland , and (iii) the creation of an all... Steakknife (sometimes written as Steak knife or incorrectly as Stakeknife[1]) is the code name of a spy who infiltrated the Provisional IRA, at a high level, as a double agent working for the top secret British Force Research Unit. ...

Early life

Scappaticci was born in 1946. He grew up in the Markets area of Belfast, the son of Daniel Scappaticci, an Italian immigrant to the city in the 1920s. In 1962 at the age of 16 he was encouraged to sign for the soccer club Nottingham Forest although his father is said to have resisted the idea. He took up work as a bricklayer. He was fined for riotous assembly in 1970 after being caught up in "the troubles" and one year later was interned without trial at the age of 25 as part of Operation Demetrius. Among those interned with him were figures later to become prominent in the Republican movement; Ivor Bell, Gerry Adams, and Alex Maskey. He was released from detention in 1974 and was by this time a member of the PIRA.^[1] 1946 (MCMXLVI) was a common year starting on Tuesday. ... WGS-84 (GPS) Coordinates: 54. ... 1962 (MCMLXII) was a common year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1962 calendar). ... History Nottingham Forest F.C. are an English football club, based at the City Ground, which is just outside the official boundary of Nottingham on the south side of the River Trent. ... 1970 (MCMLXX) was a common year starting on Thursday (the link is to a full 1970 calendar). ... The Troubles is a generic and euphemistic term used to describe a period of sporadic communal violence involving paramilitary organisations, the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC), the British Army and others in Northern Ireland from the late 1960s until the mid-1990s with the Good Friday Agreement on April 10, 1998. ... Long Kesh Internment Camp was the main location for Operation Demetrius internees. ... Gerry Adams Gerry Adams MP, MLA, (Irish: Gearóid Mac Ádhaimh; born 6 October 1948) is an Irish Republican politician and abstentionist Westminster Member of Parliament for West Belfast. ... Alex Maskey (born January 8, 1951) is a Northern Irish politician who was the first member of Sinn Féin to serve as Belfasts Lord Mayor. ... 1974 (MCMLXXIV) was a common year starting on Tuesday. ...

Activities within PIRA

By 1980 Scappaticci is said to have been a lead member in the PIRA's Internal Security Unit (ISU) for the PIRA's Northern Command. The ISU being a unit tasked with counter intelligence and the investigation of leaks within the PIRA along with the exposure of moles/informers (also known as "touts"). Via the ISU, Scappaticci was said to have played a key role in investigated suspected informers, conducting inquiries into operations suspected of being compromised, debriefing of PIRA volunteers released from police and British Army questioning, and vetting of potential PIRA recruits. The ISU has also been referred to as the "Nutting Squad". Various killings as a result of ISU activities have been attributed to the role of Scappaticci. The Internal Security Unit (ISU) is the name given to a counter intelligence and interrogation unit that operated/operates within the paramilitary organisation the Provisional Irish Republican Army (PIRA). ... A mole is a spy who works for an enemy nation and works within his nations government. ... Espionage is the practice of obtaining secrets (spying) from rivals or enemies for military, political, or economic advantage. ... Tout is a semi-colloquial, mainly British term for a person who earns money by reselling tickets to popular events. ... The Internal Security Unit (ISU) is the name given to a counter intelligence and interrogation unit that operated/operates within the paramilitary organisation the Provisional Irish Republican Army (PIRA). ...

After the original allegations broke in 2003, Scappaticci, by now living on the Falls Road in Belfast, claimed that his involvement with the PIRA ended in 1990 due to his wife's illness. He also denied that he had ever been linked to any facet of the British Intelligence services including the Force Research Unit. The Falls Road (Bóthar na bhFál in Irish, meaning road of the hedgerows) is the main road through West Belfast in Northern Ireland; from Divis Street and Castle Place in Belfast City Centre to Andersonstown in the suburbs. ... The Force Research Unit is alleged to be a covert military intelligence organization established by the United Kingdom Ministry of Defence under the British Armys Special Intelligence Wing (SIW). ...

Involvement with British Intelligence

Scappaticci's first involvement with British Intelligence is alleged to have been in 1978, two years before the Force Research Unit (FRU) was formed in 1980. He is said to have worked as an agent for the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) Special Branch.^[2] The role of the FRU was to centralise Army Intelligence under the Intelligence Corps. The former FRU agent turned whistleblower using the pseudonym "Martin Ingram" has said in his 2004 book "Stakeknife" that Scappaticci eventually developed into an agent handled by British Army Intelligence via the FRU. Ingram says that Scapaticci's activities as a high grade intelligence source came to his attention in 1982 after Scappaticci was detained for a drink driving offence.^[3] In 2003 Scappaticci was alleged to have volunteered himself as an informer in 1978 after being assulted during an argument with a fellow PIRA member.^[4] Ingram paints Scappaticci at this time as "the crown jewels" (the best) agent in the portfolio of informers handled by the FRU. He cites a number of allegations against Scappaticci. His accusations center on the deaths of various individuals who died as a result of the activities of the ISU during the 1980-1990 time period. Ingram also alleges that Scappaticci disclosed information to British intelligence on PIRA operations during the time period including: 1978 (MCMLXXVIII) was a common year starting on Sunday (the link is to a full 1978 calendar). ... The Force Research Unit is alleged to be a covert military intelligence organization established by the United Kingdom Ministry of Defence under the British Armys Special Intelligence Wing (SIW). ... 1980 (MCMLXXX) was a leap year starting on Tuesday. ... Special Branch is the arm of the British, Irish and many Commonwealth police forces that deals with national security matters. ... Intelligence Corps camp flag The Intelligence Corps (often called Int Corps) is one of the corps of the British Army, responsible for gathering, analysing and disseminating military intelligence and also for counter-intelligence and security. ... A whistleblower is an employee, former employee, or member of an organization who reports misconduct to people or entities that have the power to take corrective action. ... Martin Ingram is the pseudonym of an ex-British Army soldier who served in the Intelligence Corp and Force Research Unit. ... 1982 (MCMLXXXII) was a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

• Details of PIRA members involved in the kidnapping of supermarket magnate Ben Dunne Jnr. in 1981. Ingram alleges that Scappaticci was influential in expsosing his kidnappers to the authorities.
• Details of the attempted kidnapping of Galen Weston, a Canadian born business tycoon in 1983. Weston kept a manor outside Dublin where the kidnapping was to take place.
• Details of the kidnapping of supermarket boss Don Tidey from his home in Rathfarnham in Dublin. Ingram alleges that Scappaticci tipped off the FRU on the details of the kidnapping which eventually results in the killings of trainee Garda Siochana Gary Sheehan and one Irish Army soldier.

Other than providing intelligence to the FRU, Scappaticci is alleged to have worked closely with his FRU handlers throughout the 1980's and 1990's to protect and promote his position within the PIRA. The controversy that has arisen centres on the allegation by Ingram that Scappaticci's role as an informer was protected by the FRU through the deaths of those who might have been in a posititon to expose him as a supposed British agent. This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Willard Gordon Galen Weston, OC, OOnt, (born October 29, 1940) is a Canadian businessman and descendant of George Weston of the George Weston Bakeries Limited. ... WGS-84 (GPS) Coordinates: 53. ... Rathfarnham (Irish: Ráth Fearnáin, meaning Fearnains Ringfort), is a residential suburb on Dublins Southside. ... A member of the motorcycle unit of the Garda Síochána. ... The Irish Army is the main branch of the Irish Defence Forces of the Republic of Ireland. ...

The PIRA executed 63 people as informers during its last campaign.^{[citation needed]} Ingram, writing in "Stakeknife" alleges that the ISU and in some cases Scappaticci himself was involved in the killings of:

Paul Valente, Maurice Gilvarry, Patrick Gerard Trainor, Vincent Robinson,

Anthony Braniff, John Torbett, Seamus Morgan, James Young, Brian McNally,

John Corcoran, Kevin Coyle, Catherine Mahon, Gerard Mahon, Damien McCrory,

Frank Hegarty, Patrick Murray, David McVeigh, Charles McIlmurray, Thomas Wilson,

Eamonn Maguire, Anthony McKiernan, John McAnulty, Paddy Flood, Ruairi Finnis,

John Dignam, Gregory Burns, Aidan Starrs, Robin Hill, Gerard Holmes, James,

Gerard Kelly, John Mulhern, Michael Brown, and Caroline Moreland.

Of these killings those of John Dignam, Gregory Burns, and Aidan Starrs are said to have taken place because Dignam was a FRU agent that was about to be exposed. Ingram also alleges that the killing of Frank Hegarty took place because it was to protect a higher placed agent for British Intelligence namely, Martin McGuinness, who he alleges is a paid agent that remains in place. Martin McGuinness, MP, MLA James Martin Pacelli McGuinness (born 23 May 1950) is an Irish republican politician and Member of Parliament. ...

It should be noted that the agent's real code name was not "Stakeknife" but "Steaknife", a fact acknowledged by the Ministry of Defence in London which had ultimate responsibility for running him. The codename "Stakeknife" (readers will note there is no such implement in existence) was coined by Martin Ingram so as to avoid the terms of a court injunction forbidding him from publicising anything about the agent "Steaknife". It was a device that enabled him and the media to continue writing about the agent. ^{[citation needed]}

Involvement with the Cook Report

In 1993 Scappaticci approached the ITV programme "The Cook Report" and agreed to do an interview on his activities in the PIRA and the alleged role of Martin McGuinness in the organisation. The first interview took place on 26 August 1993 at the Culloden Hotel in Cultra, County Down. This interview was, unknown to Scappaticci, recorded and eventually found its way into an edition of the programme. Since then a copy of the interview was posted on the world wide web as the 2003 allegations against Scappaticci surfaced. 1993 (MCMXCIII) was a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar and marked the Beginning of the International Decade to Combat Racism and Racial Discrimination (1993-2003). ... ITV (Independent Television) is the name given to the original network of British commercial television broadcasters, set up under the Independent Television Authority (ITA) to provide competition to the BBC. In England, Wales and southern Scotland, the channel has been rebranded to ITV1 by ITV plc, the owners of the... Martin McGuinness, MP, MLA James Martin Pacelli McGuinness (born 23 May 1950) is an Irish republican politician and Member of Parliament. ... August 26 is the 238th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (239th in leap years). ... Cultra is a small village near Holywood, County Down, Northern Ireland. ... Statistics Province: Ulster County Town: Downpatrick Area: 2,448 km² Population (est. ...

Scappaticci appears to give intimate details of the modus operandi of the PIRA's Northern Command, indicated some of his previous involvement in the organisation and alleges, amongst other things, that Martin McGuinness was involved in the death of Frank Hegarty- a PIRA volunteer who had been killed as an informer by the PIRA in 1986. It has since been alleged that Scappaticci knew the intimate details of Hegarty's killing because as part of his duties in the ISU he had actually been involved in his interrogation and execution over the matter of a large Libyan arms find which the Gardai made. Ingram states that Hegarty was a FRU agent which he and other FRU members had encouraged to rise through the organisation and to gain the confidence of key PIRA members. His allegations indicate that to the handlers of the FRU it was more important to keep Stakeknife in place rather than save the life of Hegarty. Modus operandi (often used in the abbreviated form MO) is a Latin phrase, approximately translated as mode of operation. ... Martin McGuinness, MP, MLA James Martin Pacelli McGuinness (born 23 May 1950) is an Irish republican politician and Member of Parliament. ...

Involvement with the Stevens Report

Things deteriorated for Scappaticci when Sir John Stevens, the Metropolitan police commissioner who has been probing RUC and British Army collusion with loyalist paramilitaries in the murder of Brian Adam Lambert in 1987 & the murder of Pat Finucane in 1989, revealed that he knew of his existence, and in April 2004 signalled that he intended to question him as part of the third Steven's inquiry. Sir John Stevens (born October 21, 1942) was Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police from 2000 until 2005. ... Patrick Finucane (born 1949)[1] was a Belfast solicitor murdered by loyalist paramilitaries on February 12, 1989, for defending members of the IRA in court (Finucane had also defended suspected loyalists in his career). ...

References

1. ^ By Scappaticci's own admission he joined the PIRA in 1969, see interview with Cook Report in External Links.
2. ^ During the time period the relationship between British Army Intelligence and the RUC Special Branch was said to be fractious, with the RUC Special Branch keen to retain control of the prime agents in the PIRA.
3. ^ It is still unclear what Ingrams intentions are in making public allegations against various figures in Sinn Fein and the PIRA. Some Republicans have pointed out that he could be part of a British dirty tricks campaign.
4. ^ See Guardian report 12 May 2003 available here.

May 12 is the 132nd day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (133rd in leap years). ... 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

External links

• Audio tape recording of Scappaticci speaking to the Cook Report.
• Transcript of Scappaticci speaking to the Cook Report.
• Rebuttal to "Stakeknife" allegations dated 19 May 2003. Anderstown News"
• Denials of Scappaticci in the August 31, 2003 edition of the Sunday Business Post.
• Transcript of Ulster Television UTV Insight programme where Scappaticci was interviewed about his Cook Report allegations in 1993.
• Article by agent "Martin Ingram" on the abandonment of Operation Taurus and the killing of Frank Hegarty.