16 people – nine civilians, six military, one police – investigated by Kenova ‘Stakeknife’ probe will not be prosecuted

The PPS confirmed on Wednesday it has decided not to prosecute nine civilians, six military personnel and one police officer who were investigated by the wide-ranging probe into Scappaticci who reportedly operated as high-level double agent within the IRA while working for the security services. Scappaticci died in April of this year.

The PPS said that after a thorough and careful consideration of a large volume of material and information submitted to the PPS on five files, it was concluded that there is insufficient evidence to provide a reasonable prospect of conviction for any of those reported.

The decisions were taken in relation to: three civilian suspects in connection with a murder in 1981; two civilian suspects in connection with a murder in 1987; two civilian suspects in connection with a murder in 1993; two civilian suspects in connection with the false imprisonment of, and conspiracy to murder, one victim in January 1990; one police officer and six military personnel in connection with allegations of perverting the course of justice and misconduct in public office.

The cases referenced have been anonymised on the advice of Operation Kenova after consultation with the victims and families involved.

Director of Public Prosecutions Stephen Herron said the decisions were taken independently and impartially by an experienced team of senior prosecutors, assisted by independent counsel.

He said: “I acknowledge that today’s decisions will be a reminder of the painful and harrowing circumstances of how some Operation Kenova families lost a loved one, and we are seeking to minimise any further trauma caused by revisiting these cases publicly.

"I can assure victims, families and the wider public, that all prosecution decisions were taken carefully, impartially and wholly independently.

“The challenges in prosecuting legacy cases are well known. The events with which these decisions are concerned took place several decades ago and the witness and forensic evidence available was limited.

"A significant body of the material that prosecutors considered included intelligence records. For reasons which we have sought to explain in detail in the public statement, it was not possible to use this material in these cases in order to bring prosecutions.

“Such material may, however, allow Operation Kenova to form a view as to what happened in particular cases and in providing answers to the questions that families may have about the circumstances in which they lost their loved one.”

A further ten files remain under active consideration. It is anticipated that the decisions on these files will issue in early 2024. The victims and families directly involved will be kept informed on progress by the PPS.

Operation Kenova commenced its work in 2016. According to the PPS it submitted files in respect of a number of separate incidents that occurred between 1981 and 1990 in February and June of 2020.

“Additional files were submitted between May and November 2021 and again in February 2022. These extended the date range of incidents under consideration to between 1979 and 1994. The investigations were extensive and complex, and it is estimated that the files submitted to the PPS comprised over 60,000 pages,” said the PPS.

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