Neither Confirm Nor Deny: British Intelligence, Lawless Agent Running and the Suppression of Truth

John Ware

Neither Confirm Nor Deny: British Intelligence, Lawless Agent Running and the Suppression of Truth

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The true story of the origins and consequences of MI5’s 1980 intelligence-led strategy in Northern Ireland and its impact on policing, law, and the peace process

‘The State is assassinating people.’

These were the chilling words said to have been sent to Tony Blair in 1999 in a damning note bluntly summarising one of the consequences of Britain’s decades-long intelligence war in Northern Ireland. State forces had crossed a line, guided by a secret review from 1980 that quietly rewired Britain’s war, placing intelligence gathering above the law.

What followed was the creation of a vast, covert agent-running machine that penetrated loyalist and republican organisations to unprecedented depths. Supporters claim the policy saved lives, helping pave the way for the Good Friday Agreement. Critics argue it also licensed murder, subverted justice and corrupted policing beyond repair.

Full of new and important revelations, this meticulously researched book is the inside story of the decades-long struggle to expose that truth – an attritional battle between detectives and lawyers on one side, and a powerful ‘securocracy’ on the other that was determined to protect its secrets. Focusing on two of the most notorious agents, Brian Nelson and Freddie Scappaticci, it reveals how the State has doggedly fought to control the narrative, silence scrutiny and preserve its legacy.

Contents
Preface
1. Bitten by a Bug
2. Playing God
3. The Rule is: ‘Don’t Get Caught’
4. Stevens 1
5. Closing in on Agent 6137
6. The Golden Egg
7. ‘6137 is in Such a Tight Corner’
8. Agent 6137 Talks
9. Reactivating Agent 6126
10. Stevens 2
11. Investigating Agent 6126
12. A Legal Charade
13. Perjury? Nothing to See Here…
14. 32 Boxes
15. Ticking Time Bombs
16. Operation Kenova
17. The Future

About the Author
John Ware is an award-winning investigative journalist with over four decades’ experience reporting on security, intelligence, and public accountability. A former BBC Panorama correspondent, he has led major investigations into policing, national security, and state power, including extensive reporting on Northern Ireland.