Scappaticci: My life is in danger
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 today.
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.
He said: “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.
Last night he claimed senior IRA figures assured him they knew he was not Stakeknife.
But he said he was forced to get police protection after being told several times by the Police Service of Northern Ireland that it had information from credible sources that people were plotting to kill him.
“There are people out there who are mixing it for me,” he said. “I honestly don’t know who’s behind these threats ... But I’m sure who was behind all this in the first place.”
Commenting 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.”
He agreed that he made a fatal mistake by running away from the story.
“I got advice and I was told that the first 48 hours are crucial,” he said. “But it’s easier said than done. Once a lie gets a head start the truth has a hard time catching up.”
When a reporter called at his door to tell him about the story he said he thought it was so ridiculous it would not be published.
The following morning he saw his photograph in the newspapers and panicked. “I didn’t know how to cope with it,” he said.
He said he decided the best thing to do was to contact Sinn Féin, and spoke to the then Lord Mayor of Belfast, Alex Maskey, who advised him to get a lawyer.
“The people in Sinn Féin pointed out that the first 48 hours are vital. So we decided the next day to issue a statement, pointing out the facts.”
Despite reports that he fled Northern Ireland when the story broke, he said he remained in Belfast.
“If it wasn’t so serious it would be funny,” he said. “I was supposed to be in Dover in a Jacuzzi, in a safe house in Bedfordshire, in an MI5 hideout in London, being interrogated by John Stevens. And I was still in Belfast, shellshocked.”
Scappaticci said senior republicans had told him the Stakeknife affair was “a policy, not a person“, aimed at destabilising the peace process and Sinn Féin in particular.
“It puts them on the back foot and it has directed attention away from the Stevens inquiry into collusion by the security forces in loyalist killings,” he said.
Asked whether he had ever been employed in any way by the British security services he replied: “No. Absolutely not.
“But how can I prove it? It’s just ridiculous. I wouldn’t have the time to do half these things. I’d need to be an Ian Fleming character.”
He described the time he joined the republican movement in 1974 as a “chaotic time of life“.
“I left the movement in 1990,” he said. “It was for family reasons and other reasons. And I just wanted another life.”
He added: “At times I just feel it’s not really happening. I just can’t take it in. These faceless so-called security sources can do what they like. Not so long ago John Reid and Tony Blair were complaining about them, so what chance have I got?
“I’m a life-long republican and my reputation’s destroyed. I’m just taking one day at a time. I couldn’t tell you what I’ll be doing in six months.
“I don’t know what the future will hold. I’m only 57, I’ve another eight years before retirement. I’m just a working class man and now I can’t go out to work.
“My life’s been turned upside down ... I’m not a religious person, but I’ve been in touch with the priests. It’s for spiritual help ... I’m talking now because stories keep appearing every week in the newspapers up here.”
Scappaticci said he would appeal against the court ruling which turned down his application for a categoric statement from the British government, confirming or denying he was Stakeknife.
