Stakeknife: Who was Army's top IRA spy Freddie Scappaticci?

Freddie Scappaticci erstwhile told 1 of his captives that if helium had his mode helium would beryllium hung upside down successful a cowshed and no-one would perceive him squeal arsenic helium was skinned alive.

The would-be victim, Sandy Lynch, was rescued from IRA execution by the information forces.

The twelvemonth was 1990 and Mr Scappaticci's double-life arsenic an cause wrong the IRA was approaching an end.

But it would beryllium a further 13 years earlier helium was unmasked arsenic Stakeknife.

Mr Scappaticci, who died past week aged 77, was, for a agelong period, the British Army's "golden egg" wrong the IRA.

Scap was calved to an Italian household which came to Belfast successful the 1940s.

A bricklayer by trade, helium was interned without proceedings betwixt 1971 and 1974.

A fewer years aboriginal helium became a paid spy for the Army, reportedly crossing implicit aft being beaten up by the IRA pursuing a enactment with a elder member.

By the 1980s, helium was operating astatine the bosom of the IRA, wrong its interior information unit.

It was known arsenic the nutting squad due to the fact that the informers it uncovered were changeable successful the caput - the seed - and their bodies dumped aft interrogations involving torture.

He has been linked to astatine slightest 18 murders, each portion helium was connected the authorities payroll, and immoderate of the victims were chap agents.

His presumption gave him entree to IRA secrets - his portion was known arsenic the Clapham Junction of the organisation, according to 1 erstwhile IRA member, due to the fact that everything went done it.

His beingness arsenic an cause - and engagement with the IRA - ended erstwhile its suspicions grew pursuing the incidental involving Sandy Lynch.

But it was not until 2003 that Mr Scappaticci was outed by the media arsenic the cause codenamed Stakeknife.

He denied it and near Northern Ireland a twelvemonth aboriginal erstwhile a signaling surfaced of him talking to journalists astir elder republicans, including Martin McGuinness.

His death, astir 2 decades later, has robbed victims' families of the imaginable "of immoderate semblance of justice", according to Kevin Winters, the solicitor representing galore of them.

All eyes are present focused connected the work of a study into Stakeknife's activities.

It is successful the process of being compiled by Jon Boutcher, the erstwhile main constable of Bedfordshire Police, whose Operation Kenova probe has outgo £37m.

Operation Kenova has investigated humanities crimes successful Northern Ireland, covering execution and torture, and the relation of the state, including MI5.

Mr Boutcher has said the study into Stakeknife's activities volition beryllium released sometime this twelvemonth - and not earlier the Cabinet Office checks whether its contents volition beryllium "contrary to the nationalist involvement oregon prejudicial to nationalist security".

Will it spill immoderate secrets which went to the sedate with Mr Scappaticci?