151. Britain’s Man Inside the IRA: From Spy to Executioner (Ep 3)

The Rest Is Classified

Goalhanger

History

4.4 • 2K Ratings

🗓️ 26 April 2026

⏱️ 50 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

What happens when an agent has to commit horrific crimes whilst undercover? What did the British government know about Stakeknife’s crimes? And did the IRA suspect Scappaticci of being a double agent? Listen as David and Gordon reach the height of Stakeknife’s power and explore the morality of a British agent committing murder undercover. ------------------- 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: Adam Thornton 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. How do you protect an undercover agent inside a group like the IRA?
0:31.2	And how do you decide who lives and who dies?
0:35.5	Well, welcome to the rest is classified.
0:37.2	I'm David McCloskey.
0:38.5	And I'm Gordon Carrera.
0:39.8	And we are looking at Freddie Scapatici, the agent known as Steakknife, who has been recruited by
0:49.8	British Army Intelligence, run by a group called the Force Research Unit.
0:56.1	He's the number two in the IRA's internal security unit, the counterintelligence team
1:02.2	that are interrogating suspected traders.
1:05.3	They decide who lives and who dies inside the IRA during the troubles.
1:11.7	But we left off last time, Gordon, I think with this massive question, which really I think
1:16.6	it's the heart of this series, this examination of Steakknife and his role in this
1:21.2	intelligence war during the troubles of how do you run a really, really valuable agent who's also doing absolutely despicable things?
1:31.7	And at this case, interrogating, torturing, and in some cases, murdering citizens of the United Kingdom.
1:38.7	And so we have this kind of question, I think, at the heart of things.
1:42.0	And steak knife, when we left off last time, is being run by the army in the middle of the troubles.
1:54.1	This episode is brought to you by HP.
1:57.5	In intelligence work, it's rarely the obvious problem that causes failure. It's the overlooked
2:02.5	detail or the flaw nobody quite solved. The kind of vulnerability, intelligence services,
2:08.2	look for. And running a business is the same, especially when you're building or growing a team.
	...

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