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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
National
Daniel Boffey Chief reporter

MI5’s posthumous discovery of Stakeknife files alarms inquiry chief

Blurred old photo of Freddie Scappaticci
Freddie Scappaticci died in hiding in April 2023 at the age of 77. Photograph: Rex/Shutterstock

The police chief investigating murders allegedly carried out by Freddie Scappaticci, a British agent in the IRA known as Stakeknife, has expressed alarm that hundreds of pages of files providing “new investigative leads” have been found by MI5 a year after Scappaticci’s death.

Sir Iain Thomas Livingstone, a former head of Police Scotland who leads Operation Kenova, has written to the Northern Ireland secretary of state to highlight the troubling timing and warn that the new intelligence raises questions about MI5’s previous claims of knowledge about Stakeknife.

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