Britain’s Man Inside the IRA: From Spy to Executioner (Ep 3)
4/26/202652 min
What happens when an agent has to commit horrific crimes whilst undercover? What did the British government know about Stakeknife’s crimes? And did the IRA suspect Scappaticci of being a double agent?
Listen as David and Gordon reach the height of Stakeknife’s power and explore the morality of a British agent committing murder undercover.
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First 90 secondsDavid McCloskey· Host0:00
[upbeat music] For exclusive interviews, bonus episodes, ad-free listening, early access to series, first look at live show tickets, a weekly newsletter, and discounted books, join the Declassified Club at therestisclassified.com. [upbeat music] How do you protect an undercover agent inside a group like the IRA? And how do you decide who lives and who dies? Well, welcome to The Rest is Classified. I'm David McCloskey.
Gordon Corera· Host0:38
And I'm Gordon Corera.
David McCloskey· Host0:39
And we are looking at Freddie Scappaticci, the agent known as Steak Knife, who, uh, has been recruited by British Army intelligence, run by a group called the Force Research Unit. He's the number two in the IRA's internal security unit, the counterintelligence team that are interrogating suspected traitors. They decide who lives and who dies inside the IRA during the Troubles. But we left off last time, Gordon, I think, with this massive question, which really I think it's the heart of this, this series, this examination of Steak Knife and his role in this intelligence war during the Troubles of, how do you run a really, really valuable agent who's also doing