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| A rare photo of Freddie Scappaticci 's troop from the Force Research Unit (FRU). |
Freddie Scappaticci was in uncharted waters after November 1992 and his formal dismissal from the Provisional IRA. He was still on the British Government's payroll but the regular payments could not continue indefinitely if no 'product' was forthcoming. The fact that he had not found himself in a body bag, lying on a border road like many of his victims, may have given him a sense of invincibility because he continued to live quite openly in Republican West Belfast.
In 1993 the woman who had given him the alibi the previous year was working in Connolly House, Andersonstown, for Sinn Fein. On a number of occasions Scappaticci walked in and engaged her in conversations, mostly related to his electioneering work. It seemed that Scappaticci had lost none of his chutzpah. He wasn't going away quietly.
The IRA leadership were in a quandary at this point in time as it may have figured that Scappaticci, their main 'rat catcher', was too big a figure to simply interrogate and then execute, coupled with the potential threat to the morale of their rank and file if it was discovered he had duped the entire leadership for literally year upon year. Therefore, a policy of 'damage limitation' was adopted from 1992 onwards, basically keeping him at arm's length and hoping he would go along with the unwritten rule of plausible deniability. This would go a long way to prevent mass demoralisation within the ranks of the IRA.
However, although he had been ineffective since 1990 as a result of the Sandy Lynch affair, Stakeknife still had the ability to hold grudges against certain people who he felt had undermined or marginalised him. When an opportunity arose in the shape of the 'Cook Report' Scappaticci took his grudge a step further and made contact with three of the journalists from the programme. Within a tight circle of people it became known as 'Revenge at the Culloden', as the incident took place in the car park of the Culloden Hotel outside Belfast in August 1993.
After he climbed into a bugged car Scappaticci met Clive Entwistle and reporter Frank Thorne, along with Sylvia Jones.
Not realising that the vehicle was bugged Scappaticci stupidly began railing at senior IRA figures, spitting out his venom against those in his mind had castrated and disempowered him. Shortly after this debacle at the Culloden, Scappaticci was reprimanded by his military handlers in the Rat Hole, in Lisburn and ordered never to pull that stunt again. His handlers couldn't believe Scappaticci could be so careless and potentially compromise his security over three journalists. He was no longer at the heart of things concerning the IRA and that seemed to agitate him immensely. His position in the world of espionage and treachery seemed to have taken a left turn into the surreal.
In 1993 the woman who had given him the alibi the previous year was working in Connolly House, Andersonstown, for Sinn Fein. On a number of occasions Scappaticci walked in and engaged her in conversations, mostly related to his electioneering work. It seemed that Scappaticci had lost none of his chutzpah. He wasn't going away quietly.
The IRA leadership were in a quandary at this point in time as it may have figured that Scappaticci, their main 'rat catcher', was too big a figure to simply interrogate and then execute, coupled with the potential threat to the morale of their rank and file if it was discovered he had duped the entire leadership for literally year upon year. Therefore, a policy of 'damage limitation' was adopted from 1992 onwards, basically keeping him at arm's length and hoping he would go along with the unwritten rule of plausible deniability. This would go a long way to prevent mass demoralisation within the ranks of the IRA.
However, although he had been ineffective since 1990 as a result of the Sandy Lynch affair, Stakeknife still had the ability to hold grudges against certain people who he felt had undermined or marginalised him. When an opportunity arose in the shape of the 'Cook Report' Scappaticci took his grudge a step further and made contact with three of the journalists from the programme. Within a tight circle of people it became known as 'Revenge at the Culloden', as the incident took place in the car park of the Culloden Hotel outside Belfast in August 1993.
After he climbed into a bugged car Scappaticci met Clive Entwistle and reporter Frank Thorne, along with Sylvia Jones.
Not realising that the vehicle was bugged Scappaticci stupidly began railing at senior IRA figures, spitting out his venom against those in his mind had castrated and disempowered him. Shortly after this debacle at the Culloden, Scappaticci was reprimanded by his military handlers in the Rat Hole, in Lisburn and ordered never to pull that stunt again. His handlers couldn't believe Scappaticci could be so careless and potentially compromise his security over three journalists. He was no longer at the heart of things concerning the IRA and that seemed to agitate him immensely. His position in the world of espionage and treachery seemed to have taken a left turn into the surreal.
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| Seamus Kearney is a former Blanketman and author of No Greater Love - The Memoirs of Seamus Kearney. |
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