The head of an inquiry that spent more than seven years investigating the activities of a man believed to have been the highest ranking British military agent within the IRA has asked the British government for permission to officially name him.
Freddie Scappaticci, a former Belfast bricklayer, has been widely named as the agent codenamed Stakeknife.
The agent has been linked to 14 murders and 15 abductions while working for the British Army within the IRA.
An interim Operation Kenova report into his activities published in March did not confirm Stakeknife’s identity.
PSNI Chief Constable Jon Boutcher, who commanded the team for most of the investigation,…