Operation Kenova: British spy in IRA ‘cost more lives than it saved’, Stakeknife report finds

A British spy infiltrating the IRA during the Northern Ireland Troubles probably cost more lives than the operation saved, a major independent investigation has found. The interim findings of Operation Kenova were published on Friday following an examination of 101 murders and abductions linked to the Provisional IRA’s so-called “nutting squad”, which was responsible for interrogating, torturing and murdering people suspected of passing information to the security forces. The report, which follows a seven-year investigation, found that the agent, known as Stakeknife, saved “between high single figures and low double figures” of lives but “nowhere near hundreds [as] sometimes claimed”. Watch more on Independent TV: Click here to subscribe to The Independent: About The Independent: Making Change Happen. The Independent is the world’s most free-thinking newsbrand, providing global news, co