Spy claims put my life in danger, says Scappaticci

THE man accused of being the British Army’s most prized spy at the heart of the IRA had been repeatedly warned by police in Belfast that his life is in danger, he claimed yesterday.

Freddie Scappaticci, a 57-year-old builder from West Belfast, described as “ridiculous” allegations that he was the agent codenamed Stakeknife who operated for British military intelligence within the IRA’s top structures.

He blamed faceless military sources for the avalanche of stories which have identified him as Stakeknife since May. “I have received numerous warnings from the police, saying my life is in danger, and eventually you have to take them seriously.

“The couple of times I have gone out, I’ve found people staring at me in the shops. People are looking at me because my picture’s been everywhere. I mean they’re calling me a mass murderer. My family has been under enormous pressure.”

He told the Sunday Business Post that he has become a recluse after having his windows broken five times and a pipe bomb planted in his garden.

Mr Scappaticci has lost two High Court bids to force the Northern Ireland Security Minister Jane Kennedy to clear his name and has vigorously denied being Stakeknife. Sinn Féin leaders have claimed the allegations against him are the result of mischievous press briefings by faceless intelligence chiefs.

He claims senior IRA figures assured him they knew he was not Stakeknife. However, he said he was forced to get police protection after being told several times by the PSNI that it had information from credible sources people were plotting to kill him. On the manner in which the story broke, he said: “It was like JFK was killed. It was co-ordinated. There’s something smelly about it ... It’s the Brits. MI5, MI6, the British Army, take your pick. It had to be co-ordinated.”