Ex-British spy within the IRA Peter Keeley to be subpoenaed in shooting case

A former British spy inside the IRA is to be subpoenaed to testify about a punishment shooting he allegedly described in a memoir of his undercover activities.
By The Newsroom
Published 4th Dec 2021, 07:04 BST
Updated 4th Dec 2021, 07:09 BST

Plans to have Peter Keeley give evidence were confirmed yesterday as civil actions by members of the victim’s family were listed for a month-long trial at the High Court.

Peter McCabe, 62, was shot multiple times after masked IRA men entered his home in Newry in 1990.

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His lawyers allege that Keeley was among the gang who subjected him to “an unlawful and brutal punishment-style attack”.

The ex-double agent is now being sued, along with the Ministry of Defence and the Chief Constable, for the trauma of the gun attack.

Mr McCabe and seven of his relatives are all claiming negligence, misfeasance in public office, and the intentional infliction of harm.

Keeley is widely reported to be a one-time British soldier who infiltrated the IRA using the pseudonym Kevin Fulton.

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In his memoir ‘Unsung Hero’ Fulton describes a punishment shooting carried out on an unidentified man. That victim is understood to be Mr McCabe.

Despite a dispute over who wrote the book, the plaintiffs’ legal representatives believe they can connect Keeley to its authorship.

In court yesterday the cases were set down for a four-week trial, with the hearing pushed back to early 2023 due to a Covid-related backlog.

A further review is scheduled for next month, when the intention to call the former spy will be formalised.

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Outside court the McCabe family’s solicitor, Kevin Winters, confirmed: “A number of witnesses will be subpoenaed for this case.”

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