Kevin Winters

The decisions, which concern murders committed between 1981 and 1993, follow the death earlier this year of Freddie Scappaticci, a high-ranking member of the Provisional IRA’s internal security unit (ISU) who is widely believed to be Stakeknife.

An inquiry dubbed ‘Operation Kenova’ and led by former Bedfordshire Police chief constable Jon Boutcher has been investigating Stakeknife’s alleged activities.

Kevin Winters of Belfast-based KRW LAW, who represents a number of families of people killed by the ISU or otherwise linked to Kenova, said the decision “comes as no surprise to them”, but confirmed they would seek an immediate review of the decisions not to prosecute.

In a statement yesterday, the director of public prosecutions, Stephen Herron, said: “I acknowledge that today’s decisions will be a reminder of the painful and harrowing circumstances of how some Operation Kenova families lost a loved one, and we are seeking to minimise any further trauma caused by revisiting these cases publicly.

“I can assure victims, families and the wider public, that all prosecution decisions were taken carefully, impartially and wholly independently.

“The challenges in prosecuting legacy cases are well known. The events with which these decisions are concerned took place several decades ago and the witness and forensic evidence available was limited.

“A significant body of the material that prosecutors considered included intelligence records. For reasons which we have sought to explain in detail in the public statement, it was not possible to use this material in these cases in order to bring prosecutions.

“Such material may, however, allow Operation Kenova to form a view as to what happened in particular cases and in providing answers to the questions that families may have about the circumstances in which they lost their loved one.”

A further 10 files relating to this specific Operation Kenova investigation remain under active consideration. It is anticipated that the decisions on these files will issue in early 2024. The victims and families directly involved will be kept informed on progress by the PPS.

Following the announcement, Mr Winters said: “Today’s decision presents as a lost opportunity to explain why the PPS took over two years in some cases to reach these decisions. Specifically, many people want to know why the decisions could not have been made long before Scappaticci died.

“We have written to the PPS three weeks ago asking for clarification on what they knew about the main suspect’s health condition in the lead-up to his demise. Today was a chance to help dispel myth and rumour on his death and the timing-out of decisions after his passing. The communication today only serves to fuel suspicion on the death of Scappaticci.”

He added: “More generally, today’s announcement upscales pressure on Kenova to deliver answers for families and other victims via its long-awaited public-facing report. The termination of any potential criminal inquisition into the so-called Stakeknife affair only heightens expectations for delivery of truth and justice in pending private family reports.

“After today’s setback, it’s really the very least the next of kin and others can expect.”