[A-List] UK state: Northern Ireland

["Michael Keaney" <michael.keaney@xxxxxx>]

This man says he isn't Stakeknife, and has never left Ulster. Just what is
going on?

Rosie Cowan, Stuart Millar and Richard Norton-Taylor
Thursday May 15, 2003
The Guardian

The Stakeknife story took another extraordinary twist yesterday when Freddie
Scappaticci, the man claimed to be the top army spy at the heart of the IRA,
reappeared in west Belfast and denied the allegations.

Northern Irish security sources still insist that Stakeknife moved from his
west Belfast home on Sunday morning. Whitehall sources told the Guardian on
Tuesday he was in a safe house in mainland Britain being protected by the
security services.

But he was never in police or army custody or care and was free to leave at
any time. British security and intelligence sources refused to discuss his
movements any further yesterday except to say the case was "extremely
sensitive".

Yesterday afternoon, however, Mr Scappaticci denied he had ever left
Northern Ireland or that he was the double agent known as Stakeknife, who
security sources continue to insist was a top IRA man passing intelligence
on the Provisionals to the military's shadowy Force Research Unit for years.

Mr Scappaticci, a 59-year-old builder, spoke to the BBC and another radio
reporter at the offices of his solicitor, Michael Flanigan, on the Falls
Road in west Belfast.

He said: "I am telling you I am not guilty of any of these allegations, I
have not left Northern Ireland since I was challenged by reporters on
Saturday night. Nobody had the decency to ask me if any of these allegations
were true and why the police had not come to question me about these
allegations."

However, several security sources were still adamant last night that the
agent known as Stakeknife is the man called Freddie Scappaticci.

"Freddie Scappaticci is Stakeknife, I am 110% certain of that," said one.
"He is in a position where he will do anything to stop being labelled a
tout."

"It's him and he's brazening it out," said another. "Attack is the best form
of defence."

At his solicitor's office, asked why he thought he had been linked to
Stakeknife, Mr Scappaticci said: "I don't know." Questioned about whether he
had ever been involved in the IRA or republican movement, he hesitated
before replying: "I was involved in the republican movement 13 years ago but
I have had no involvement in this past 13 years." His solicitor then
terminated the interview.

Earlier, Mr Flanigan read a statement to the two reporters present. It said:
"Mr Scappaticci appears here today to give the lie to the continuing media
speculation as to his whereabouts. He has not been in England and in the
course of the past few days has not left Northern Ireland.

"My client refuses to engage in challenging every statement made by an
unnamed and apparently unnameable security source. He is not and never has
been in any sort of military, security or police custody. He has never been
involved in any criminal activity and has a clear record."

The statement also said that Mr Scappaticci left his home on Sunday morning,
not because of the police, army or a paramilitary group, but because of the
media.

Mr Flanigan said the media coverage had been "reckless and extremely
damaging" to Mr Scappaticci and he was considering issuing proceedings for
defamation. "The past three days have been very traumatic for Mr Scappaticci
who now intends to resume his private life," said Mr Flanigan.

Mr Scappaticci was back home with his family last night where he told a
Guardian reporter to "get off my property before I throw you off".

There was no visible sign of a police or army presence outside Mr
Scappaticci's home last night, even though fears have been expressed that he
and his family could be in danger.

Sinn Fein appeared to accept his statement yesterday and Gerry Kelly, the
party's policing spokesman, said the Scappaticci family were victims of
"nameless, faceless people" and called on the government to explain what was
going on. "The files must be opened up and there must be full disclosure,"
he said.

Sir John Stevens, the Metropolitan police commissioner probing security
force collusion with terrorists in Northern Ireland, wants to question
Stakeknife about allegations that he killed dozens of people and that his
handlers let others, including fellow agents and totally uninvolved
civilians, die to protect his identity.

Despite pressure from fellow Labour MPs and others, Jane Kennedy, Northern
Ireland's security minister, told the Commons that she could not comment on
the Stakeknife affair.