(by Greg Harkin, Sunday People)

Britain's most senior spy inside the Provisional IRA has been personally responsible for more than FORTY murders, Sunday People can reveal today.

In devastating revelations set to add to the Government's embarrassment over agent Brian Nelson and his role in the murder of lawyer Pat Finucane, we lift the lid on the role of the Army's informer in the IRA. A former member of the Force Research Unit has spoken to Sunday People for the very first time and reveals how 'Stakeknife' had a role in the arrest and imprisonment of former Sinn Fein spin-doctor Danny Morrison.

But more alarmingly Stakeknife has been allowed to take part and set up more than three dozen killings - many of members of the security forces - in order to stay in the top echelons of the Provisional IRA. And the security forces were prepared to sacrifice the life of fellow informer Sandy Lynch in order to put Morrison behind bars.

"If you think Brian Nelson and the Finucane case is bad, then the role of Stakeknife in state-sponsored murders is ten times worse," said the former FRU officer.

"His victims are men and women, Protestant and Catholic, IRA and RUC, yet he has been given a free rein to take part in murders.

"The FRU knew who many of the victims were beforehand yet they did nothing. Shot

"There is no doubt Stakeknife has saved many lives but is it right that he should decide who lived and who died? That has been his role.

"His was seen as a 'success' because he had many IRA people taken out, whether that was through prison or through being shot by the security forces."

Details passed to the Sunday People would identify Stakeknife to some senior republicans. But there are two incidents which we can report without putting lives at risk.

One is the detention of Danny Morrison ? the other is the murder of west Belfast pensioner Francisco Notorantonio, a story first published by Sunday People. Morrison was detained at a house in Carrigart Avenue, west Belfast in January 1990.

Four other men were also arrested and a sixth, Alexander 'Sandy' Lynch, 'rescued' by police. During the recent Omagh bomb controversy the then Chief Constable Sir Ronnie Flanagan said security forces would never knowingly place anyone at risk to protect an agent.

The former FRU handler has however expressed his 'utter amazement' at this claim.

For Sunday People can exclusively reveal that both the Force Research Unit and the RUC monitored ? without interference ? three days of torture meted out to Lynch by the IRA's 'nutting squad'. In fact they were prepared to sacrifice Lynch.

"They didn't care about Sandy Lynch," said the former FRU man.

"Their only interest was in getting Danny Morrison and they knew that if they waited long enough he would turn up to pronounce the IRA's judgement on him.

"If for any reason Morrison could not have attended the final interrogation they were content to allow the murder of Lynch to take place.

"Lynch was used as human bait.

"In the aftermath of this incident Special Branch and FRU withheld information from investigating officers." Morrison did turn up on the evening of Sunday January 7, 1990, three days after Lynch had been lured to the house to face questioning about a police raid in New Lodge two months earlier.

The Sinn Fein publicity director claimed he was there to organise a press conference exposing Lynch's role as an informer. But he was later given eight years for false imprisonment ? though the judge said he suspected Morrison was there to announce the death penalty.

The Stevens Inquiry is said to be aware of the identity and role of the agent Stakeknife although it is unclear if it will be covered by the upcoming report.

What is clear, according to FRU sources, is that Stakeknife was prepared to sacrifice Lynch.

"It would be crazy to go into detail about this or the many other incidents I know about," said the former Army Intelligence operative.

"But let's make things absolutely clear. Stakeknife was up to his eyes in murder.

"The FRU knew that. His intelligence reports were shown to government ministers so they knew of his existence.

"And everyone knew that Stakeknife could not stay where he was without breaking the law.

"This was the real dirty war. Forget about Bloody Sunday. Forget even about all those other murders where collusion is so blatantly obvious.

"Stakeknife is the big one as far as collusion is concerned."

Twenty months ago Sunday People revealed how the FRU used double agent Brian Nelson to set up the murder of Francisco Notorantonio in west Belfast in October 1987 in order to save the life of Stakeknife.

There have been claims - ironically from Danny Morrison - that this could not have been the case as loyalists could now easily identify Stakeknife. It is again impossible to go into detail without revealing identities and putting more lives at risk, but Stakeknife WAS one of a number of targets for the UFF at the time who were keen to take out a big name republican. Nelson convinced them that Notorantonio - a pensioner with no IRA involvement since the 1940s - was a leading PIRA man.

Stakeknife remains the crown jewel of British Intelligence in Northern Ireland. He is paid between £60,000 and £80,000 a year directly into a Gibraltar bank account. His reports are still read by Government ministers (though they never see his name). And he still has seven people in Army Intelligence working full-time only on his case.

The Army still can't believe their 'luck'.

"He was a walk-in," said one source. "He literally walked into an Army base far from where he lives and offered to work for us.

"He knows he can leave any time. He has a small fortune to spend and he could go anywhere in the world.

"But he's always lured to stay with the promise of more money and the 'excitement' of the deadly game he plays. He seems to really enjoy it. It's almost like an addiction now.

"The problem is that one day he might just be caught and he'll never get to enjoy that fortune."

'Stakeknife' is the agent's correct codename and not Steak Knife as referred to in some reports.

This article appears in the June 23rd edition of the Sunday People.

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