Will of alleged IRA spy ‘Stakeknife' to be kept secret

Telegraph

5 days ago

Sir Julian said that there was 'the need to protect [Mr Johnson] and those named in the will from the real risk of serious physical harm or even death because they might be thought to be guilty by association' with Scappaticci.
He said: 'The real risk to his life and wellbeing which the deceased faced in his lifetime is amply demonstrated. Publication of the will would be both undesirable and inappropriate.'
The judge concluded that holding the hearing in public would have 'defeated the whole object' of the bid to have the will sealed.
Sir Julian said in his 18-page ruling that Scappaticci was alleged to have been a leading member of the Provisional IRA, and was part of the 'Nutting Squad' from around 1980 until the mid-1990s, which interrogated suspected informers during the Troubles.
In 2003, media reports claimed that Scappaticci had spied on the IRA for the British government, and that while working for both organisations 'was responsible for the torture and murder of dozens of alleged IRA informers'.
Scappaticci always denied the claim but failed in a legal bid to force the British government to publicly state that he was not Stakeknife, forcing him to move to England in 2003.
Sir Julian said: 'He could not have remained in Northern Ireland, as he could have been killed by one side or the other. Even after he moved to England and changed his name, he continued to receive death threats. Such was their nature that he had to relocate at short notice several times over the years.'
Operation Kenova
Operation Kenova was then launched to investigate the activities of Stakeknife within the Provisional IRA and crimes such as murder and torture, as well as the role played by the security services.
The investigation, which was undertaken by Bedfordshire Police and cost tens of millions of pounds, reported its interim findings last year after Scappaticci's death. While it stopped short of naming him as Stakeknife, it found that more lives were probably lost than saved by the agent's actions.
Jon Boutcher, the former chief constable of Bedfordshire Police and author of the interim report, said the identity of Stakeknife 'will have to be confirmed at some point' but that he would 'have to leave this to my final report'.
He said: 'For now, it suffices to say that Mr Scappaticci was and still is inextricably bound up with and a critical person of interest at the heart of Operation Kenova.
'I believe that we found strong evidence of very serious criminality on the part of Mr Scappaticci and his prosecution would have been in the interests of victims, families and justice.'
Prosecutors said at the time the interim report was published that the examination of files containing evidence of serious criminality by Scappaticci was at an advanced stage at the time of his death.