State papers: Concerns over possibility of Stakeknife suicide raised in 2003

There were concerns that Stakeknife, the British Army's top spy in the IRA's internal security unit during the Troubles, was 'a danger to himself' in 2003, according to Irish Government documents. File photo: Alan Lewis

There were concerns that Stakeknife - the British army's top spy in the IRA's internal security unit during the Troubles — was "a danger to himself" in 2003, according to Irish Government documents.

The agent has been described as one of the British army's most prized assets, bringing them information from within the heart of the Provisional IRA at the height of the Troubles.

The publication of the final Operation Kenova report earlier this month revealed the cultivation and recruitment of the spy, widely reported to have been the now deceased west Belfast man Freddie Scappaticci, started in the late 1970s.

Stakeknife operated as an agent into the early 1990s, and his motivation was described as being "linked to a risk he was facing criminal prosecution" or a "desire for financial gain".

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An earlier report from Kenova found that more lives were probably lost than saved through the operation of Stakeknife, an agent who "committed grotesque, serious crime" including torture and murder.

As part of the annual release of previously confidential Government files from the National Archives of Ireland, it has been revealed that there were concerns over a "risk of suicide" around Stakeknife.

That handwritten note was added to a typed report on a phone call between an investigator at the Stevens Inquiry, which examined security forces collusion, and an Irish Department of Foreign Affairs official on May 21, 2003.

The document, stamped "seen by Taoiseach", came days after Mr Scapaiticci was named in several media outlets — with the inquiry official seemingly corroborating the reports.

When asked if the inquiry planned to interview him, the senior Department of Foreign Affairs figure records the response from the Stevens Inquiry investigator that it was "way too early for that".

Further asked if there were "health and safety concerns" for Stakeknife, the inspector said it was "not our concern" and that "MI5 and the PSNI are presumably looking after him". However, it is noted that the agent may have opted not to avail of protection.

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The reference to "health and safety concerns" is marked in pen with an asterisk — directing to a handwritten note from a different Department official on the bottom of the page, dated May 22, which states "there are concerns that Stakeknife might now also be a danger to himself (risk of suicide)".

After the publication of the final Kenova report, PSNI chief constable Jon Boutcher said Mr Scappaticci remained a critical person of interest at the heart of the investigation, and strong evidence was found implicating him in serious criminality.

Mr Scappaticci was arrested, interviewed under caution, and files on him were submitted to the director of public prosecutions for Northern Ireland. In 2018, he was convicted in England for possession of extreme pornography. In March 2023, before any prosecution decisions were announced, he died aged 77.

He was never charged with or convicted of any Troubles-related offences, and always denied any wrongdoing or involvement with the security forces. UK authorities have declined to officially identify Stakeknife, a position described by Mr Boutcher as "untenable and bordering on farce".