THE IRA ordered that a senior member who later emerged as a suspected informer be shot for running a brothel with loyalists in the 1970s, a new book claims.
Former British soldier John Joe Magee went on to be a leading figure in the IRA's internal security unit, known as the 'nutting squad'.
Its role was to root out and interrogate informers and agents - many of whom were later shot dead.
Magee, who is believed to have died in 1994 aged 65, worked closely with the agent known as Stakeknife.
He has been named as Belfast man Freddie Scappaticci, although he denies the claim.
The activities of Stakeknife are currently being investigated as part of Operation Kenova, which is headed by former English police chief Jon Boutcher.
A new book, Agents of Influence: Britain's Secret Intelligence War Against the IRA, states that it is believed veteran IRA man Billy McKee ordered Magee to be shot in 1977.
McKee died in 2019.
It is claimed that Magee was "seriously mistrusted" in the 1970s and was suspected of running a brothel on the Falls Road along with two loyalists.
All three were to be targeted, while two female sex workers were to be shot in the leg.
Author Dr Aaron Edwards is a senior lecturer in defence and international affairs at the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst, and an Honorary Research Fellow in the Department of Politics and International Relations at the University of Leicester.
He has spoken to a range of sources including former republicans, British intelligence operatives and state agents.
It is claimed that former Belfast republican Brendan 'The Dark' Hughes also had serious reservations about Magee and believed his flat at Distillery Street was bugged.
Agents of Influence: Britain's Secret Intelligence War Against the IRA is published by Merrion Press and on sale now.
