149. Britain’s Man Inside the IRA: The Truth Behind Stakeknife (Ep 1)

The Rest Is Classified

Goalhanger

History

4.4 • 2K Ratings

🗓️ 19 April 2026

⏱️ 43 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Who was the real man behind the infamous codename, “Stakeknife”? Why did he join the ranks of the IRA? And how did he become a spy for the British? Listen as David and Gordon begin a four-part series delving into the true story behind the British state’s most valuable IRA mole during The Troubles. ------------------- THE REST IS CLASSIFIED LIVE 2026 at The Rest Is Fest: Buy your tickets ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ to see David and Gordon live on stage at London’s Southbank Centre on 4 September: ⁠⁠https://www.southbankcentre.co.uk/whats-on/the-rest-is-classified-live/⁠⁠ ------------------- Sign-up for our free newsletter where producer Becki takes you behind the scenes of the show: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://mailchi.mp/goalhanger.com/tric-free-newsletter-sign⁠-up⁠⁠⁠⁠ ------------------- Join the Declassified Club to go deeper into the world of espionage with exclusive Q&As, interviews with top intelligence insiders, regular livestreams, ad-free listening, early access to episodes and live show tickets, and weekly deep dives into original spy stories. Members also get curated reading lists, special book discounts, prize draws, and access to our private chat community. Just go to ⁠⁠therestisclassified.com⁠ or join on Apple Podcasts. ------------------- Get a 10% discount on business PCs, printers and accessories using the code TRIC10. Visit ⁠⁠https://HP.com/CLASSIFIED⁠⁠ for more information. T&C's apply. ------------------- Email: ⁠⁠therestisclassified@goalhanger.com⁠ Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@restisclassified⁠ Video Editor: Bruno di Castri Social Producer: Emma Jackson Assistant Producer: Alfie Rowe Producer: Becki Hills Head of History: Dom Johnson Exec Producer: Tony Pastor Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	For exclusive interviews, bonus episodes, ad-free listening, early access to series,
0:09.0	first look at live show tickets, a weekly newsletter, and discounted books,
0:13.1	join the Declassified Club at the Rest is Classified.com.
0:17.3	How do you run an undercover agent inside an organization like the IRA?
0:22.6	And do you let your agent commit murder?
0:25.9	This is a story that neither the IRA nor the British state have wanted to be told.
0:41.0	Well, welcome to the Rest is Classified.
0:41.9	I'm David McCloskey.
0:43.2	And I'm Gordon Carrera.
0:53.0	And today we are starting a series looking at maybe one of the most controversial agents ever in British intelligence history. A man with the code name steak knife, a British spy at the
0:57.8	heart of the Irish Republican Army, the IRA. And we do a lot of stories, obviously on this podcast,
1:04.7	about agents inside groups. CIA agents or assets inside the KGB, assets inside MI6, Russian assets inside MI6.
1:15.7	We look at their motivation for doing what they do, how they're handled, what happens with the intelligence they provide, and the difference it makes.
1:24.3	And this story is similar in many respects. It's about an agent that's being run inside the
1:31.3	heart of the IRA, but it has a twist that is, I think, much darker and much more complicated
1:39.6	than many of the agent running stories that we've told so far.
1:45.0	Yeah, that's right, David.
1:50.0	I mean, State Knife was described by a British general as the golden goose for the army,
1:53.7	their best source over a quarter of a century of conflict.
1:57.5	And he was at the heart of an organisation that the British state was fighting.
2:01.5	And as such, he provided kind of amazing, remarkable access into its operation. And there are claims, and we'll get to the accuracy of these claims later, that
2:06.1	his intelligence even saved many lives. But this is also a story, I think, of the ethical
	...

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