Stakeknife £40m probe 'won't lead to prosecutions'

By Suzanne Breen, Belfast Telegraph, 7/12/2023

A leading criminal lawyer has indicated he doesn't believe the investigation into a senior Army agent in the IRA will lead to any prosecutions.

Kevin Winters was speaking after the Public Prosecution Service (PPS) announced there would be no charges after it considered five files on 16 individuals forwarded by Operation Kenova.

Kenova has carried out a £40m investigation into the activities of the agent Stakeknife — the head of the IRA's internal security unit, Freddie Scappaticci, who was also working for the British, and was involved in dozens of murders.

The PPS said on Wednesday that there was “insufficient evidence” to prosecute in relation to three murders of informers in 1981, 1987, and 1993.

A decision will be made early next year on another 10 files relating to 21 individuals, but Mr Winters, who represents many of the victims, holds out little hope that anybody will ever be charged in connection with Stakeknife's activities.

He described the PPS's latest decision as deeply disappointing but not surprising, and said he would be seeking a review.

The solicitor also rounded on prosecutors for failing to name Scappaticci, who died earlier this year, in their statement as “insulting” to his victims.

“We are instructed to request an immediate review of the decisions not to prosecute. As part of that request we will raise a number of issues,” he said.

“We do not agree with the PPS declining to identify Fred Scappaticci as the deceased suspect. Sir John Stevens in his reports was able to identify the military agent Brian Nelson in his reports into loyalist-state collusion.

“We know of no good reason why there is a departure here. Refusing to name him is nothing short of insulting to the next of kin and ought to be remedied immediately.

“The refusal to identify him is consistent with residual suspicion of a 'cover-up' when it comes to investigations into allegations of republican-state collusion. We call on the PPS to reverse this decision immediately.

“There are 10 other cases due for consideration. Expectations that decision-making will be any different for those cases are understandably very low.” Operation Kenova's report has yet to be published, with the latest predicted date early next year.

Mr Winters added: “Today's announcement upscales pressure on Kenova to deliver answers for families and other victims via its long-awaited public facing report.

“The termination of any potential criminal inquisition into the so-called Stakeknife affair only heightens expectations for delivery of truth and justice in pending private family reports .

“After today's setback it's really the very least the next of kin and others can expect.”

The latest files examined by the PPS related to nine former IRA members: three in connection with a 1981 murder, two in connection with a 1987 murder, two in connection with a 1993 murder, and two in connection with false imprisonment and conspiracy to murder in 1990.

The files also centred on six ex-British military personnel including an army lawyer and one former police officer in connection with allegations of perverting the course of justice and misconduct in public office.

The PPS said victims and families directly related to its decisions had received a detailed written explanation of the reasons, along with an offer to meet to discuss the information provided.

Director of Public Prosecutions Stephen Herron said the decisions were taken independently and impartially by an experienced team of senior prosecutors, assisted by independent counsel.

“I acknowledge that today's decisions will be a reminder of the painful and harrowing circumstances of how some Operation Kenova families lost a loved one, and we are seeking to minimise any further trauma caused by revisiting these cases publicly,” he said.

“I can assure victims, families and the wider public that all prosecution decisions were taken carefully, impartially and wholly independently.

“The challenges in prosecuting legacy cases are well known. The events with which these decisions are concerned took place several decades ago and the witness and forensic evidence available was limited.

“A significant body of the material that prosecutors considered included intelligence records. For reasons which we have sought to explain in detail in the public statement, it was not possible to use this material in these cases in order to bring prosecutions.

“Such material may, however, allow Operation Kenova to form a view as to what happened in particular cases and in providing answers to the questions that families may have about the circumstances in which they lost their loved one.”

In total, the PPS has received 26 files from Operation Kenova. In October 2020, it said a decision had been taken not to prosecute four individuals reported, and earlier this year it announced a formal no decision outcome in relation to 10 of the files as they contained just one suspect who died in 2023.

Analysis: If We Can’t Give Families Justice We Should At Least Give Them The Truth

A £40m inquiry into a senior British agent in the IRA with the blood of dozens on his hands hasn't led to a single prosecution seven years after it was set up.

So far, it's not looking great for Operation Kenova. Yesterday, the Public Prosecution Service (PPS) announced that no charges would be brought against 16 individuals named in files forwarded by the inquiry.

It's the latest in a series of acts relating to Freddie Scappaticci and his nefarious deeds which has led to the high hopes raised when the inquiry was set up dwindling bit by bit.

Those at the highest level of the British state who, by acts of commission or omission, allowed the man described as their “golden egg” to murder and maim can sleep easily in their beds.

They will never stand in the dock of a court, being forced to answer questions and give an account of their actions. Nobody is coming to get them.

The PPS is examining 10 more files relating to 21 individuals. A decision on those cases is due early next year but, as lawyer Kevin Winters points out, expectations are exceedingly low.

No wonder many people are suspicious that Freddie Scappaticci actually did die earlier this year. Winters notes his death is viewed as “timely and convenient” because it helped block any meaningful criminal inquiry into state-republican collusion.

The solicitor is also asking why it took the PPS over two years in some cases to reach its decisions.

“Many people want to know why they couldn't have been made long before Scappaticci died,” he says.

“We wrote to the PPS three weeks ago, asking for clarification on what they knew about the main suspect's health condition in the lead up to his demise.”

The establishment of Operation Kenova in 2016 was met with a wave of optimism among victims' families.

In the hierarchy of the Troubles dead, informers have long ranked as the lowest of low.

At last, the relatives of those who were abducted, stripped, shot and dumped on lonely border roads had the hope of securing justice for their loved ones.

Frank Mulhern, whose 23-year-old son Joseph was found face down with his hands tied behind his back on a remote hillside in Castlederg in 1993, described Kenova's launch as “a ray of light at the end of a very dark tunnel”.

Caroline Moreland was taken from west Belfast in the boot of a car to Fermanagh, where she was held for 15 days.

Her family insist that the authorities had ample opportunity to step in and save her life but chose to let her die.

She was shot three times in the back of her head as she knelt blindfolded.

The 34-year-old's body was found on an isolated Fermanagh road in July 1994 by a woman out walking her dog.

When the inquiry was set up, Caroline's daughter Shanua said she was delighted that “we finally seem to be getting somewhere”

Kenova's report is expected early next year. Justice for Stakeknife's victims now seems impossible.

Let's hope that, at the very least, they are given the truth.