Britain’s Man Inside the IRA: How to Run a Killer (Ep 2)
4/22/202648 min
How did the British security forces recruit agents during The Troubles? And how did the IRA try and hunt down those who had become informers?
In the second part of their series on the infamous Stakeknife, David and Gordon explore the murky underworld of informers and agents during The Troubles in Northern Ireland.
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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 did the British security forces recruit agents during the troubles? And how did the IRA try and hunt down those who had become informers? Well, welcome to The Rest is Classified. I'm David McCloskey.
Gordon Corera· Host0:38
And I'm Gordon Corera.
David McCloskey· Host0:40
And last time, we left off with Freddie Scappaticci, number two in the IRA's internal security unit, its counterintelligence function. It's the late 1970s. He is in charge of some pretty dirty work, interrogating, and in some cases, executing suspected informants who are working for the British state. But we left off last time with the revelation that Scappaticci himself had become an agent for the British state, and that angle to this story is what we'll be looking at in this episode. Now, bit of context. Last time, we briefly looked at different parts of the British security establishment who are operating