Stakeknife - British Secret Agents in Ireland

Sceala Clann T.D. Location: Derry roots

Just finished the book Stakeknife, it was a compulsive but shocking read. What can I say in summary. If the central allegations made against Britain are true, the British state has no humane core values, no moral base. As one of the British secret agents states in reflection - Britain in effect ran “Colombian-style” death squads in Northern Ireland.
Stakeknife: Britain's Secret Agents in Ireland

Stakeknife: Britain's Secret Agents in Ireland
Review of Stakeknife — britain’s secret agents in ireland
Martin Ingram and Greg Harkin,
Since the Belfast Agreement, fragments of truth about the political situation in the North have surfaced.
These fragments have evolved into whole revelations of fact, which in turn have formed part of a profoundly disturbing historical jigsaw puzzle.

As pieces of this puzzle continue to come together, the picture becomes more discernible and its horror more shocking.

Stakeknife —- written by former British Army intelligence officer, Martin Ingram (pseudonym) and journalist Greg Harkin — adds significantly to this picture. It outlines the operational activities of military intelligence in Ireland.

In doing so, it focuses on the roles played by Britain’s two most important alleged agents: Alfredo Scappiticci and the Loyalist, Brian Nelson. Nelson’s role in arming Loyalists and directing Loyalist gangs is discussed in detail. Ingram says that Britain in effect ran “Colombian-style” death squads.

The authors claim that Scappiticci was used for the same purpose — to defeat the IRA.

Harkin’s chapter on how Scappiticci was allegedly used to entrap Sinn Féin’s Danny Morrison in 1990 is most telling. The inference is that Scappiticci was employed to remove key Republicans at crucial stages during the conflict.

This is an important book and should be studied by anyone interested in understanding the political trajectory of the past 35 years of Anglo-Irish conflict.
Michael Hall

Review of stakeknife
I wish I could give this book 6 or 7 stars, it's simply explosive, even revelatory.

Stakeknife is coauthored by Martin Ingram, the pseudonym of a former case officer from an ultra-secret British military intelligence unit referred to as "FRU," for "Force Research Unit," who describes how Britain in it's decades long dirty war with the IRA gave it's agents literally a license to kill.

Many spy novelists make too much use of the spying as chess analogy, however in the case of FRU's most prized agent Fred "Scap" Scappaticci this notion is most apt. He was the executive officer (XO) of the IRA's counter-intelligence unit or "knutting squad," as it was responsible for "knutting" or putting bullets into the heads of suspected informants. And it was in this position that his case officer's at FRU allowed him to abduct, brutally torture, interrogate, and execute upwards of 50 other informants of lessor importance than himself, to build his credentials and keep him in place. In addition, to using Scap as the head witch hunter in divisive mole hunts that helped demoralize the organization by feeding paranoia to the paranoid, his other duties included vetting all new recruits to the IRA which meant that the IRA ceased to be a secret organization.

Stakeknife is also the story of FRU agent Brian Nelson, who as the head of intelligence for a Protestant terror group at war with the IRA was given intelligence dossier's by his FRU handlers that he used to brief hit teams who then assassinated IRA member's. This "collusion," a type of state sponsored terrorism, previously unheard of in a western democracy demonstrates that the British government was not above using tactics previously thought to be the lone preserve of totalitarian dictatorships and central American death squads.

Although British military intelligence broke the law by giving criminals like Fred Scappaticci and Brian Nelson literally a license to kill, FRU's actions certainly weakened the IRA militarily, and dissuaded it from it's stated goal of a united Ireland through force of arms, and thus brought about the Good Friday agreement and a cessation of hostilities.

Background of Martin Ingram
Credibility and motivation of the author of Stakeknife
It is worth mentioning as a preliminary caveat that there is a great deal of suspicion of Martin Ingram and his allegations. This suspicion is particularly acute amongst republicans, and even more so amongst republicans supportive of Sinn Féin. This is because Ingram is frequently critical of the leadership Sinn Féin has given the republican movement. This criticism has become more vocal since the killing of British agent Denis Donaldson as a result of "Stormontgate". Republicans are also critical because Ingram's claims about the British Government involving themselves in the activities of Loyalist paramilitaries i.e., Collusion, have been quite common for many years, and something which the republican movement has sought to have investigated. The suspicion is that Ingram may be engaged in black propaganda, (sometimes called "Dirty Tricks"), self promotion, or some other form of conspiracy aimed at damaging Sinn Féin and the wider republican movement.

Some of the allegations Ingram makes in his 2004 book "Stakeknife" have been aired before. Allegations previously made during "the Troubles" are quoted at length, notably those in Eamon Collins book, Killing Rage, and those aired in the British TV programme "The Cook Report". This has led to accusations that he is recycling second or third hand knowledge heard from higher placed colleagues in the FRU. Ingram has protested his innocence in the face of all these allegations. He maintains that he has to protect his own life, that he still retains contacts within the republican movement, and says that his experiences operating in Ireland, operating alongside Loyalists, and his marriage into a strongly republican County Donegal family have convinced him that that the partition of Ireland is wrong. He claims to be a republican although some commentators have expressed surprise at this "Road to Damascus" conversion after more than ten years working as a British agent. This has led one skeptic to ask:

"Does nobody remember when a Sunday paper was carrying the story that Gerry Kelly was conducting an affair with George Mitchell's aide Martha Pope? The truth was they'd never met. That story turned out to have originated with British Intelligence too. I find it hard to believe that people would be so credulous to believe a story with such a dodgy source, but I suppose some people just have a problem with Sinn Féin, and so will clutch at any straw. What next? Gerry Adams Ate My Hamster?"

There is also surprise at Ingram's claims that he "would have no problem with 99% of FRU's activities". This could indicate that he still wishes to/or does retain a connection to the British military. Due to the sensitivity of his allegations he is eligible for prosecution under the Official Secrets Act but so far he has not been successfully prosecuted by the British military authorities for making his allegations. It is also worth noting that disinformation and the use of one FRU controlled IRA agent to smear another is a tactic which Ingram acknowledged. He has described this process as: "using your own agents to sow those seeds and from small acorns grow."

However, Ingram made his allegations after he was discharged from the British Army. Following this he was arrested under the Official Secrets Act, his house was burgled and he was injuncted against making any further allegations drawing on his military service.
Whistleblowing & Dirty Tricks
A number of intelligence operations in Northern Ireland have involved the spreading of disinformation and black propaganda, most infamous being "Clockwork Orange"- an operation involving both MI6 & MI5 agents. There have also been whistleblowers before. In the case of "Clockwork Orange" the operation was unmasked after revelations by Colin Wallace in the 1970s. There also existed an MI6 honeypot for active pedophiles at Kincora boy's home during the 1970s. The Kincora home was used to blackmail and subvert prominent establishment figures in Northern Ireland via surveillance. Allegations of dirty tricks also surfaced with MI6 agent Fred Holroyd in the 1970s and 1980s who alleged that the truce talks with the IRA around the mid 1970s had been derailed deliberately by the British Intelligence services via a campaign Loyalist assassinations which they sponsored and controlled. With this track record in mind, it has been argued that Ingram is practicing disinformation. On the other hand the fact that he was arrested and injuncted and his case was taken up by human rights groups after his original Sunday Times allegations argues against this. He also gave evidence against the British army version of events and in favour of Martin McGuinness at the Bloody Sunday Tribunal.

Allegations
Brian Nelson
Ingram alleges in his book "Stakeknife" that the UDA chief of Intelligence in the 1990s, Brian Nelson, was given sensitive information by his FRU handler (alleged to be Captain Margaret Walshaw), which allowed him to wilfully target individuals the FRU wanted killed and to generate his own targeting data for the assassination of Catholic civilians. Ingram is clear however that to his mind Nelson was a method of leverage within the UDA, which actually prevented random sectarian assassinations. Instead, Ingram says, Nelson was used by British Intelligence via the FRU to aid the loyalist paramilitaries in targeting republicans rather than civilian Roman Catholics. Ingram has said:

"The strategy of using him [Nelson] as a conduit, through and using the UFF Ulster Freedom Fighters as an extension of the operational capability of the British Army. And by that I mean refining their targeting, increasing their operational deficiency [efficiency?] by re-arming them and using them to target known subversives which fitted the criteria and other type of person that the FRU wanted eliminating.

Ingram claims that Nelson was used by his handlers to assassinate Pat Finucane, a human rights lawyer in Belfast who had been active in defending republican defendants in court. He also alleges that Nelson was used by the FRU to import weapons into the north of Ireland for use by loyalist paramilitaries, weapons subsequently split between the Ulster Defence Association (UDA), Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF), and Ulster Resistance (a group initially backed by Ian Paisley).

In Finucane's murder he also implicates a Special Branch informer in the UDA, Tommy "Tucker" Lyttle, who was the Commander of the organisation in West Belfast. However, while Ingram makes the allegation that the FRU targeted Finucane via Nelson, he says it was up to the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) to act on this information and prevent his murder.

Stakeknife
Specifically, Ingram also alleges that Nelson was used to protect an FRU asset known as "Stakeknife" alleged to be Alfredo "Freddie" Scappaticci (of the IRA's Internal Security Unit (ISU)). A claim denied by Scappaticci. This was done via the assassination of World War II era internee Francisco Notarantonio. Freddie Scappaticci is said to have volunteered his services as a spy in the late 1970s and that he eventually become the "crown jewels" (the best) in the hierarchy of British Intelligence IRA assets.

At least some of these killings being carried out with the prior knowledge, and possible complicity of his FRU handlers. Ingram also alleges that Scappaticci was complicit with his FRU handlers in the deaths of other FRU agents within the IRA.
Failed assassination of Gerry Adams
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