POLICE RAID ON HOME OF OMAGH INFORMER
Police raid on home of Omagh informer
By Sharon O'Neill
Chief Reporter
METROPOLITAN Police officers operating under the Official Secrets Act have raided the home of a for mer intelligence agent who threatened to reveal the identity of the IRA mole codenamed Stakeknife.
The south London home of the ex-double agent who uses the pseudonym Kevin Fulton was searched on Saturday but no-one was arrested.
The raid has led to speculation that police were looking for any evidence that Fulton may have leaked the name of the man alleged to be Stakeknife.
Republican Freddie Scappaticci, who lives in west Belfast, has strenuously denied being the IRA mole.
And after a week of intense media speculation over the identity of Stakeknife and the activities of undercover agents, the search of Fulton's home marks the first confirmed intervention by police in the affair.
A spokeswoman for the Metropolitan Police told the Irish News: "At about 7.40am on Saturday officers from the Metropolitan Police Special Branch executed a search warrant under the Official Secrets Act at an address in south London. There were no arrests."
When asked if documents or any other items were seized, she said: "We are not prepared to discuss that."
Fulton had denied leaking the alleged identity of Stakeknife and earlier this year the Irish News revealed that he had been offered compensation from the Northern Ireland Office with the proviso that he dropped threats to name the mole.
The former agent has also lodged a complaint with the Stevens team investigating security force collusion, alleging that he was kidnapped by Freddie Scappaticci in the early 1990s.
Fulton rose to prominence almost three years ago when it emerged he had warned police of a Real IRA attack days before the 1998 Omagh bombing in which 29 people, including a woman pregnant with twins, were killed.
Meanwhile, a new wave of claim and counter-claim over the activities of security force agents last night prompted calls for a "properly structured truth process".
Fresh allegations published yesterday ranged from reports that rogue agents were planning to "expose" 80 IRA moles, to a claim that Stakeknife was only one of five high-ranking informers within the organisation.
Sinn Fein chairman Mitchel McLaughlin said: "Tony Blair needs to get control of his government's secret services and end their dirty war in Ireland. He must also put a stop to attacks on the peace process by these agencies leaking and spinning unverifiable allegations."
Ulster Unionist Michael McGimpsey dismissed the idea of setting up a 'truth process' and said: "It would be naive to expect terrorists of whatever hue to own up to past deeds. Their track record of telling the truth is abysmal."
By Sharon O'Neill
Chief Reporter
METROPOLITAN Police officers operating under the Official Secrets Act have raided the home of a for mer intelligence agent who threatened to reveal the identity of the IRA mole codenamed Stakeknife.
The south London home of the ex-double agent who uses the pseudonym Kevin Fulton was searched on Saturday but no-one was arrested.
The raid has led to speculation that police were looking for any evidence that Fulton may have leaked the name of the man alleged to be Stakeknife.
Republican Freddie Scappaticci, who lives in west Belfast, has strenuously denied being the IRA mole.
And after a week of intense media speculation over the identity of Stakeknife and the activities of undercover agents, the search of Fulton's home marks the first confirmed intervention by police in the affair.
A spokeswoman for the Metropolitan Police told the Irish News: "At about 7.40am on Saturday officers from the Metropolitan Police Special Branch executed a search warrant under the Official Secrets Act at an address in south London. There were no arrests."
When asked if documents or any other items were seized, she said: "We are not prepared to discuss that."
Fulton had denied leaking the alleged identity of Stakeknife and earlier this year the Irish News revealed that he had been offered compensation from the Northern Ireland Office with the proviso that he dropped threats to name the mole.
The former agent has also lodged a complaint with the Stevens team investigating security force collusion, alleging that he was kidnapped by Freddie Scappaticci in the early 1990s.
Fulton rose to prominence almost three years ago when it emerged he had warned police of a Real IRA attack days before the 1998 Omagh bombing in which 29 people, including a woman pregnant with twins, were killed.
Meanwhile, a new wave of claim and counter-claim over the activities of security force agents last night prompted calls for a "properly structured truth process".
Fresh allegations published yesterday ranged from reports that rogue agents were planning to "expose" 80 IRA moles, to a claim that Stakeknife was only one of five high-ranking informers within the organisation.
Sinn Fein chairman Mitchel McLaughlin said: "Tony Blair needs to get control of his government's secret services and end their dirty war in Ireland. He must also put a stop to attacks on the peace process by these agencies leaking and spinning unverifiable allegations."
Ulster Unionist Michael McGimpsey dismissed the idea of setting up a 'truth process' and said: "It would be naive to expect terrorists of whatever hue to own up to past deeds. Their track record of telling the truth is abysmal."
Further Information
Publisher: THE IRISH NEWS
Ref: IN/0593
Published Date: 19-May-03
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