Provisional findings from a seven-year investigation into murders linked to the British Army’s most high-profile IRA mole will be released later.

Freddie Scappaticci, codenamed “Stakeknife”, was the leader of the IRA’s “Nut Squad”, a team tasked with identifying informants, but he himself was a spy for British intelligence .

The west Belfast mason, who died last year aged 77, was linked to 18 murders but never stood trial for any of them.

The son of Italian parents, he was a talented footballer who had trials with Manchester City and Nottingham Forest before joining the Provisional IRA.

After being briefly detained without trial in the 1970s, he was recruited by the Army’s research unit, which ran the intelligence line and was its most valuable asset.

One former defense secretary called him the “golden egg” among agents. In many ways he personified the “dirty war” between British intelligence and the IRA.

Described as the “judge, jury and executioner” of the IRA unit, he was responsible for hunting down inside informants – contemptuously known as “touts” – and some estimate he directed as many as 30 murders.

His activities became the focus of Operation Konova, a £40m independent investigation launched in 2016 by former Bedfordshire police chief Jon Boucher.

Boucher was appointed Police Chief Constable of Northern Ireland last year and passed the Kenova baton to former Police Scotland chief Sir Iain Livingstone.

read more:
Man accused of being senior IRA informant ‘Stakeknife’ in British Army dies
Alleged ‘Stakeknife’ informant pleads guilty to extreme pornography charges
Why the Good Friday Agreement remains a transformative moment in history

Operation Kenova submitted 28 documents for consideration, but the prosecution found there was insufficient evidence to prosecute any former IRA member or soldier.

The PPS said 32 people were being considered for prosecution on charges including murder, kidnapping, misconduct in public office and perjury.

Sixteen are former IRA members, 12 are ex-servicemen, two have links to MI5, one is a former police officer and the other is a former prosecutor.