Latest news with #OperationKenova
Belfast Telegraph
08-05-2025
- Politics
- Belfast Telegraph
Operation Kenova: Families of Stakeknife victims to receive reports following security vetting delays
Reports outlining evidence uncovered by Operation Kenova will be delivered to families of victims in the coming weeks, the Policing Board has been told following months of delays by the UK Government. Operation Kenova focused on the activities of the British Army agent inside the IRA known as Stakeknife, west Belfast man Freddie Scappaticci, who died 2023. Families of some victims were promised that they would be provided with bespoke reports outlining the evidence in the relevant cases that the probe uncovered. Head of Operation Kenova, Sir Iain Livingstone, previously expressed his frustration over delays in security vetting of the documents before their release. Sir Iain told a Policing Board meeting on Thursday that he received a letter from the Cabinet Office on behalf of the Government saying they were 'now satisfied' with the family reports. 'They are now complete and have been subject to security checking and in the next number of weeks families should receive those reports,' he said. 'I should reiterate that members of the team have met personally with families and verbally shared some details.' Sir Iain said 26 family reports will now be delivered to families. News Catch Up - Thursday 8 May They were passed to UK Government between August and October last year to go through security checking which was delayed until after a decision had been made on whether to lift restrictions on naming Stakeknife – a recommendation of the Kenova Interim Report. Operation Kenova investigated more than 50 murders committed during the Troubles and published an interim report in March last year which concluded that Stakeknife probably cost more lives than he saved. Currently Stakeknife's identity is protected by the Government's 'neither confirm nor deny' policy which is applied to protect sensitive information including the identity of agents. Members of the Kenova team previously met with Government to discuss the possibility of proceeding with family reports without revealing Stakeknife's identity.
Irish Times
23-04-2025
- Politics
- Irish Times
Republic must share Omagh bombing information with inquiry, says North's former police ombudsman
The State must initiate a 'determined process' to make its records available to the Omagh Bombing Inquiry, the North's former police ombudsman has said. Baroness Nuala O'Loan said she believed legislation was probably necessary 'to enable the transmission of intelligence and information which the Republic holds' about the 1998 atrocity, in which 31 people, including unborn twins, died. She also said it was her assessment the State would 'need some sort of commission' which would 'at the very least assist the working' of any UK body charged with investigating Troubles-era killings. 'There are very difficult jurisdictional issues to that, there are difficult political issues to that, but we have to be innovative and find new ways,' Ms O'Loan said. READ MORE The peer was among a number of witnesses, including the North's Chief Constable, Jon Boutcher, and the head of investigative body Operation Kenova, Iain Livingstone, who appeared before the Northern Ireland Affairs Committee at Westminster on Wednesday. The group of MPs are currently examining the UK government's approach to dealing with the legacy of the Troubles in Northern Ireland in view of its pledge to repeal the controversial legacy Act introduced by the previous administration. The Irish Government recently signed a memorandum of understanding with the Omagh inquiry – which is investigating whether the UK security services could have prevented the bombing – to allow it to access material held by the State, but some relatives and unionist politicians have said this does not go far enough and an independent, parallel inquiry is needed. Ms O'Loan said she saw the agreement as 'indicative of a will to assist'. [ Omagh bombing inquiry: State reaches deal clearing way for information to be shared Opens in new window ] 'There's an awful lot of the crime which occurred actually occurred in planning terms in the Republic of Ireland, and an awful lot of information is held in the Republic of Ireland, and it's a bit difficult to get that information out. 'I would have expected, and I said that the Republic should have established some sort of independent inquiry on Omagh to run parallel to our own inquiry, because there's clear evidence that that bomb was planned down there. 'But this is repeated across many incidents in the Troubles [and] I think that there needs to be probably legislation in the South to enable to transmission of intelligence and information which the Republic holds,' she said. Asked by the DUP leader, Gavin Robinson, if she believed 'the Irish Government should be doing an awful lot more', particularly in regard to the Omagh bombing, she replied, 'I absolutely do. 'It would have been remiss of An Garda Síochána if they had not been gathering intelligence and information about the activities of terrorists, IRA people, particularly in the jurisdiction, and they were gathering such information, and it would be imperative that such information is shared. 'If we look at Omagh, for example, we know that the bomb which came to Omagh and exploded came up from the South. 'There's been too much of a process by which assurances have been given that all information will be provided ... but then when you go back and ask for the information it's not provided. 'I think there needs to be a really serious look in the Republic of Ireland – and I know how difficult it's going to be, because I know the dynamics, the constructs, the contexts are difficult – but there actually does need to be a determined process through which the records in the Republic of Ireland are made available where necessary so that the Omagh bomb inquiry can do its work,' Ms O'Loan said.
Belfast Telegraph
23-04-2025
- Politics
- Belfast Telegraph
Restriction on naming Stakeknife ‘bizarre', agrees Chief Constable as he calls for greater transparency
Jon Boutcher gave evidence today to the Northern Ireland Affairs Select Committee's hearing on 'The Government's new approach to addressing the legacy of the past in Northern Ireland', where he repeatedly accused authorities of being too reticent to disclose information to legacy inquiries. The top PSNI officer agreed with the DUP leader Gavin Robinson's suggestion that 'it is bizarre that we're having a discussion about naming' the British Army's top agent inside the Provisional IRA during the Troubles, known to be the now-deceased former head of IRA internal security, Freddie Scappaticci. Mr Boutcher also warned that 'the lack of information being provided' on legacy cases 'creates conspiracy theories'. 'It's becoming pantomime and affecting the credibility of us as the security forces,' he said. 'I would hope the Secretary of State will see that. But he will be receiving arguments from lawyers saying: you can't name him, because that will have a chilling effect. I would argue strongly that it will not. 'Sometimes, you lose the right to have that sort of voice when you have failed to manage informants and agents properly, when they have behaved in the way they have behaved, which we set out in the Kenova report. 'There has to be a line around national. But we have prevented even uncontroversial information coming out. 'If [naming Stakeknife] doesn't happen, then I think that is the sounding of a bell to legacy not succeeding moving forward.' Mr Boutcher headed up Operation Kenova, which linked the spy to at least 14 murders and 15 abductions. However, when the interim report was published in March 2014, it did not confirm Stakeknife's identity, which is known to the PSNI chief. 'I cannot make his name public without official authority,' Mr Boutcher said at that time. 'So far, the Government has refused to give such authority.' Baroness Nuala O'Loan, the former Police Ombudsman for Northern Ireland, also gave evidence to the hearing and agreed that it was time to name Stakeknife. The UK peer argued that the state's failure to provide information was having a negative impact on legacy inquest and used the example of murdered GAA club chairman Sean Brown's family, who 'have been back in court something like 58 times trying to get information'. 'That is a scandal,' she said. Baroness O'Loan also called on the Labour Government to find a new approach to legacy issues, saying that the low number of cases brought to the Independent Commission for Reconciliation and Information Recovery (ICRIR) 'is indicative of the fact that people don't trust it'. She said it should set aside a specific budget to deal with legacy issues, 'in particular to ringfence a separate legal legacy budget to cover all aspects of providing a criminal justice system to deal with the past'. 'The reality is our criminal justice system is quite profoundly broken. Rape cases are being listed for 2028 and 2029,' Baroness O'Loan continued. 'For victims, the horror of that situation. For those who are accused and are innocent, unless and until they are found guilty, that is also a terrible situation.'
Belfast Telegraph
23-04-2025
- Politics
- Belfast Telegraph
PSNI chief says ‘millstone' of past is creating ‘green-field site' for lawyers and draining force of £20m a year
Appearing before a parliamentary committee at Westminster on Wednesday, Jon Boutcher described dealing with Northern Ireland's troubled past as a 'millstone' as he admitted 'we are not where we should be because we spend so much time looking back at the past.' 'We have been left with this millstone, this anchor, which holds the PSNI back because families, victims, on all sides of the different victims' profiles, see that lack of action as our fault, our responsibility. 'We are trying to design a plan now to go to the Secretary of State, go to the Executive and try and make sure they don't just think about the ICRIR, they think about moving society in Northern Ireland forward by trying to help the PSNI do what we were never intended to do, dealing with these legacy issues. 'It is a considerable burden on us.' Detective Chief Superintendent Claire McGuigan also gave evidence before the Northern Ireland Affairs select committee hearing on 'The Government's new approach to addressing the legacy of the past in Northern Ireland' alongside former police ombudsman and member of the House of Lords Baroness Nuala O'Loan and Operation Kenova lead officer Sir Iain Livingstone. Police at the scene of ongoing security alert at Cavehill in north Belfast Responding to a question from Gavin Robinson about the economic cost to the PSNI of investigating legacy issues, the PSNI chief said the force is spending around £20m a year dealing with legacy issues which he said 'would be around 400 police officers.' 'To give you some figures, we have a legacy investigation branch that was the successor organisational unit to the historical inquiry team. That unit costs £5.3m a year to fund. 'We also have ongoing civil cases. That's over £3m a year that it costs us to deal with those. 'Frankly, its quite a mess.' Mr Boutcher was critical of the amount of money that was being spent on lawyers and legal costs which is twice as much as what has been paid to victims in civil claims over a six-year period. 'Between 2018 and 2024, the PSNI resolved 30 challenging civil cases,' he said. 'In those cases we paid out to families, claimants, victims, a total of £25m, which we're not funded for. 'Of that £25m, I'm told that £7.3m went to the victims, the claimants themselves. £17.7m went to the lawyers. 'Because we have this attritional approach to legacy by all the security agencies around information disclosure and provision, it creates a greenfield site for lawyers. 'This is public money that the PSNI is not funded for, so it is taking money from contemporary policing. 'Trying to police a post-conflict society, we have to be in schools and communities. We had an incident on Easter Monday with 50 petrol bombs being thrown, children being criminalised. 'We are not where we should be because we spend so much time looking back at the past.' Mr Boutcher said that costs vary year-on-year as he opined the 'millstone' he has been left with. 'We have been left with this millstone, this anchor, which holds the PSNI back because families, victims, on all sides of the different victims' profiles, see that lack of action as our fault, our responsibility. 'We are trying to design a plan now to go to the Secretary of State, go to the Executive and try and make sure they don't just think about the ICRIR, they think about moving society in Northern Ireland forward by trying to help the PSNI do what we were never intended to do, dealing with these legacy issues. 'It is a considerable burden on us.' Under the Legacy Act introduced by the previous UK government, the Independent Commission for Reconciliation and Information Recovery (ICRIR), has taken on the responsibility from the PSNI to carry out investigations into deaths and serious harm related to the Troubles which occurred between January 1 1966 and April 10 1998. However, MPs were told that the Act had not diminished legacy costs for the force, and may actually increase them. Mr Boutcher said when policing powers were devolved to Stormont, there was no agreement over how legacy investigations would be funded within the police. DCS McGuigan, who leads the PSNI's legacy and disclosure added that the PSNI has been placed under strain by having to largely find funding for legacy issues from their own budgets. 'Over the seven years, if you look at the investigations that we have done, if you look at the civil actions in terms of resourcing them and the compensation, it's cost around 126 million in totality. That's quite a significant amount of money.' 'I'm anticipating that the legislative changes are likely to add to that. Not nothing has stopped because of the legacy act. We still have investigations to continue. 'We have over 1100 civil claims to deal with. We don't have anywhere near the resources to actually research and deal with those, nor the money to settle them. 'We're really in a position that is very, very, very difficult, and it doesn't build trust with the community, because it looks like we're stalling. We're taking too long to do these things. And of course, then it's because we don't want to disclose. 'We simply just don't have the resources. To get those resources. I'd have to take even more out of contemporary policing, I'd have to go and ask for people to be moved out of contemporary policing, to come in to deal with legacy. 'Nothing has stopped with the legacy act, but the provisions within it are likely to put statutory obligations onto the PSNI. 'With that, and public inquiries that are legacy related, I think we're looking at another 4-to 5 million on top of that.'
Belfast Telegraph
23-04-2025
- Politics
- Belfast Telegraph
PSNI chief says Northern Ireland's troubled past is a ‘millstone' for force: ‘We spend so much time looking at the past'
Jon Boutcher described dealing with Northern Ireland's troubled past as a 'millstone' as he admitted 'we are not where we should be because we spend so much time looking back at the past.' He made the comments on Wednesday morning as he addressed a Northern Ireland Affairs select committee hearing on 'The Government's new approach to addressing the legacy of the past in Northern Ireland.' Mr Boutcher was joined by PSNI Detective Chief Superintendent Claire McGuigan, former police ombudsman and member of the House of Lords Baroness Nuala O'Loan and Operation Kenova lead officer Sir Iain Livingstone. Police at the scene of ongoing security alert at Cavehill in north Belfast Responding to a question from Gavin Robinson about the economic cost to the PSNI of investigating legacy issues, the PSNI chief said the force is spending around £20m a year dealing with legacy issues which he said 'would be around 400 police officers.' 'To give you some figures, we have a legacy investigation branch that was the successor organisational unit to the historical inquiry team. That unit costs £5.3m a year to fund. 'We also have ongoing civil cases. That's over £3m a year that it costs us to deal with those. 'Frankly, its quite a mess.' Mr Boutcher was critical of the amount of money that was being spent on lawyers and legal costs. 'Between 2018 and 2024, the PSNI resolved 30 challenging civil cases,' he said. 'In those cases we paid out to families, claimants, victims, a total of £25m, which we're not funded for. 'Of that £25m, I'm told that £7.3m went to the victims, the claimants themselves. £17.7m went to the lawyers. 'Because we have this attritional approach to legacy by all the security agencies around information disclosure and provision, it creates a greenfield site for lawyers. 'This is public money that the PSNI is not funded for, so it is taking money from contemporary policing. 'Trying to police a post-conflict society, we have to be in schools and communities. We had an incident on Easter Monday with 50 petrol bombs being thrown, children being criminalised. 'We are not where we should be because we spend so much time looking back at the past.' Mr Boutcher said that costs vary year-on-year as he opined the 'millstone' he has been left with. 'This anchor that holds the PSNI back, because families, victims on all sides of the different victims profiles, see that lack of action as our fault and our responsibility,' he added. DCS McGuigan, who leads the PSNI's legacy and disclosure added that the PSNI has been placed under strain by having to largely find funding for legacy issues from their own budgets. 'Over the seven years, if you look at the investigations that we have done, if you look at the civil actions in terms of resourcing them and the compensation, it's cost around 126 million in totality. That's quite a significant amount of money.' 'I'm anticipating that the legislative changes are likely to add to that. Not nothing has stopped because of the legacy act. We still have investigations to continue. 'We have over 1100 civil claims to deal with. We don't have anywhere near the resources to actually research and deal with those, nor the money to settle them. 'We're really in a position that is very, very, very difficult, and it doesn't build trust with the community, because it looks like we're stalling. We're taking too long to do these things. And of course, then it's because we don't want to disclose. 'We simply just don't have the resources. To get those resources. I'd have to take even more out of contemporary policing, I'd have to go and ask for people to be moved out of contemporary policing, to come in to deal with legacy. 'Nothing has stopped with the legacy act, but the provisions within it are likely to put statutory obligations onto the PSNI. 'With that, and public inquiries that are legacy related, I think we're looking at another 4-to 5 million on top of that.'
