Former Sinn Féin publicity director Danny Morrison has been described as
nothing more than a 'pen pusher' on an secret tape allegedly recorded by a
British Army undercover Intelligence Unit.
A unit of the British Army's Force Research Unit apparently made the
recording of top FRU agent and IRA nutting squad deputy boss Stakeknife
Freddie Scappaticci in 1993.
It is understood FRU operatives bugged a meeting between the IRA agent and
two investigative journalists, which took place in the car park of the
Culloden Hotel on the outskirts of east Belfast.
But there appears to be nothing new on the tapes, transcripts of which were
broadcast by the BBC's Panorama programme last year.
What is new is Scappaticc's voice and he can be heard saying: "Danny
Morrison had nothing to do with it, nothing to do with it.
"He was Director of Publicity. But he was also on the IRA Army Council, but
he had no balls and that's basically it. He was a pen pusher if you want to
put it that way."
Scappaticci goes on to reveal the IRA's top man in the Belfast at that time
was from the Beechmount area.
It is alleged he was Adjutant of the IRA's Northern Command in 1993 and
shared responsibility for IRA operations in the area with Martin
McGuinness.
The tape claims the two met in Belfast on a weekly basis to discuss and
plan all IRA operations within the Northern Command area.
The former IRA agent Stakeknife Scappaticci goes on to describe how the IRA
interrogated suspected informants and touts at a number of safe houses in
the border areas in Armagh, Donegal and Louth.
However, he rejected allegations that the IRA used physical force to
extract confession from the suspects before it executed them.
In a chilling account of what he described as standard IRA interrogation
procedures Scappaticci, number two in the IRA's internal security unit,
says: "See when they have anyone the standard procedure is to strip them
and de-bug them. "Right - just to see if they are wired up or whatever.
Then they usually put a boiler suit on them. They out them in chair facing
the wall, right, and go from there.
"See when people say now they (the IRA) use a lot of violence, they don't
really. Physical violence they don't use now. They use mental violence
obviously, you know.
"It's a psychological thing you. They get you into a room. They blindfold
you - strip you. They have you sitting there, right.
"Maybe the room's cold. They make you all sorts of promises, right and
everybody being what they are, everybody has a breaking point you know. And
they think there are going to go home, but they don't!"
Scappaticci was in a position to know - he was the man responsible for
interrogating suspected Provo touts he though he was one himself.
When asked by the journalists how he knew this information to be true
Stakeknife replied that he had been 'at the heart of things' for a long
time!
When asked about his relationship with McGuinness, Stakeknife confirms he
had got to know him very well over a period of some 20 years.
He also claims McGuinness had overall command of the IRA's Northern Command
which covered all of Northern Ireland plus a number of counties in the
Irish Republic.
"He controls all of that. He's also on the IRA Army Council. There's a five
man (sic) Army Council. He's one of them. Nothing happens in the Northern
Command that he doesn't okay, and I mean nothing."
The IRA double agent goes on to describe him as a very cold person. He says
the former Sinn Féin Education Minister doesn't have friends within the IRA
- he has colleagues.
He also says McGuinness was a very moralistic person and frowned on
activities such as drinking and womanising.
The tape also reveals details of the 1986 murder of Derry man Frank Hegarty
who had been spying on the IRA for the security forces.
Hegarty, fled to Britain after the IRA in Derry accused him of being an
informant following the discovery of a Libyan weapons cache in the
Republic.
However, he returned home after receiving assurances that his life was not
in danger.
Scappaticci continues: "There was weapons found in Co Donegal. Hegarty was
the one who gave the information. He was then taken out and brought to
England and he missed his common law wife, right.
"So he kept phoning back. So McGuinness got on the phone and says, to him
look you'll be okay, blah, blah. Convinced him that heíd be okay and
convinced the mother."
Within days of returning to Derry, the IRA abducted Frank Hegarty and shot
him. His body was later found on a country road near Castlederg, Co Tyrone.
On the tape Stakeknife denies that he was any part of the IRA team, which
decided to lure Frank Hegarty back from England and murder him. He also
denies being a member of the IRA Army Council.
When asked how he knew this information to be correct Stakeknife replies:
"Well, if we want to be straight here, I was at the heart of things, right,
but I haven't been at the heart of things fro two or three years. But, I
know what I am talking about. I was on the same thing that he (McGuinness)
was...Northern Command."
Another section of the tape deals with IRA operations in Britain
The Stakeknife tape also confirms responsibility for IRA operations in
England came under the control of its south Armagh commander.
Explaining how the IRA operated Stakeknife says: "I'll explain the
situation. What happens is the IRA Army Council will meet and say this is
what our strategy for the next year. You do this, blah, blah, blah.
"We think there should be a bombing campaign in England. Things should be
concentrated in England or whatever. That then filters down to the people
who control that who as I have told you is X and a fella called Y, who is
living in Carlingford at the minute.
"They are the ones who actually controls things like that - operations in
England."
Last night (Saturday) the content of the Stakeknife tape was posted on the US based
internet site Cryptome.
The source - identified by the Newsletter newspaper as a former 14th
Intelligence Company operative - claimed copies of the tape have been sent
to a host of MPs, the United Nations, Tony Blair, the Queen and Bertie
Ahern.
It is claimed that another hour of material is to be posted next week on
the same site..
