Northern Ireland

Last words of Stakeknife victims may hold key to prosecutions

West Belfast man Freddie Scappaticci has denied being the IRA agent 'Stakeknife'
West Belfast man Freddie Scappaticci has denied being the IRA agent 'Stakeknife' West Belfast man Freddie Scappaticci has denied being the IRA agent 'Stakeknife'

FORCED confessions made by victims of the IRA agent Stakeknife and given to their grieving families may hold the DNA evidence needed to bring their killers to justice.

Taped recordings and letters from people abducted, tortured and murdered by the IRA’s ‘internal security’ unit have been gathered by the Operation Kenova team and tested using modern forensic methods.

This has produced partial fingerprint and DNA profiles that lead investigator Jon Boutcher will present to prosecutors early next year.

He said recordings and letters containing the last words of victims had been in the possession of some relatives for many years and “because they’ve never engaged before they’ve never revealed that they have those items”.

“We have fingermarks, we have DNA and we’re taking DNA off suspects,” he said.

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“It’s hard to investigate things that happened so many years ago and it is a real challenge. You can’t do that harvesting of forensic evidence, that golden hour, witnesses that may be there at the time. You’ve lost all of that.

“But a lot of those families were at the heart of what happened. They were living that story and they have direct evidence about the people who took their loved ones and they’ve never told anybody – until now, that is.”

Dozens of detectives are investigating more than 40 murders. Members of the security forces, MI5 and the IRA, including senior members of Sinn Féin, have already been brought in for questioning.

In 2003 Stakeknife was widely named as being west Belfast man Freddie Scappaticci. He has always denied the allegation but Mr Boutcher confirmed yesterday that he is also investigating allegations of perjury from 2003 when Scappaticci denied he was an agent.

“I can present a wealth of new information, of evidence to the director of public prosecutions,” he said.