Ex-spy breaks cover to summons 'Stakeknife'
A former spy who infiltrated the IRA went to the west Belfast home of the man who denies being British Army agent Stakenife today in a bid to force him into court.
Sam Rosenfeld emerged from hiding to serve a summons on Freddie Scappaticci as he fights Ministry of Defence attempts to silence him.
Legal papers ordering Mr Scappaticci to appear as a witness at the High Court in London were handed to an elderly man who answered a front door which still bore bullet marks from a gun attack a week ago.
The unidentified pensioner angrily refused to accept the document and threw it on the ground.
Even though Mr Scappaticci’s lawyer later claimed the summons was invalid, Mr Rosenfeld insisted he was satisfied.
He said outside the house: “I want explanations about British government collusion in murders in Northern Ireland. Mr Scappaticci may be in a position to provide them.
“If he goes into court he has the opportunity to deny or confirm that he is Stakeknife.”
Mr Rosenfeld, 42, infiltrated the Provisionals during a three-year undercover operation and alleges he has devastating information on security force collaboration with terrorist killers.
Defence chiefs are seeking an injunction to stop him disclosing details about his time with the covert Force Research Unit.
Between 1990 and 1993 he managed to win the trust of republican paramilitaries on both sides of the Irish border.
Today was the first time he had returned to Northern Ireland in a decade as he went into the heart of the staunchly republican Andersonstown district to locate the man alleged to be Stakeknife.
Mr Rosenfeld says British army bosses reneged on an agreement to resettle him after he quit.
Amid claims that MoD chiefs want to jail him for writing to the Queen about his case, he also wants to go to the High Court in Belfast.
He believes Mr Scappaticci, who was named earlier this year as Britain’s top mole working as a security chief inside the IRA, can help him prove agents are under life-long threat.
The building constructor wants him to appear at his case due to be heard in the Royal Courts of Justice in London next Wednesday.
He was accompanied by Willie Frazer from south Armagh-based victims group FAIR which represents the families of dozens murdered by the IRA in the area.
Holding a picture showing the body of an alleged British agent killed and dumped by the Provisionals, Mr Frazer said: “Ninety two of the murders in south Armagh have never been solved.
“We want to know if this man was part of the IRA’s so-called nutting squad down there.”
Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir John Stevens has also been called to appear in court, along with another army agent known as Kevin Fulton and a former military intelligence handler turned whistleblower, Martin Ingram.
Mr Scappaticci’s solicitor, Michael Flanigan, insisted his client would not be attending the private hearing.
“These proceedings in London are nothing to do with him,” he said.
“As I understand it they are before a judge in chambers and if you want to issue a summons you need leave of court.
“The summons isn’t validly issued or served by throwing it at my client’s door.
“The case has nothing to do with us and we will not be there on Wednesday.”
