Stakeknife announcement delay due to UVF massacre findings

PSNI chief constable George Hamilton had been due on Thursday to unveil the officer tasked with re-examining the murders allegedly linked to the notorious British spy who operated within the IRA’s ranks.

West Belfast man Freddie Scappaticci has always strongly denied being the man behind the codename.

Mr Hamilton was expected to set out the remit of the investigation and announce Bedfordshire chief constable Jon Boutcher as the lead officer at a meeting of the NI Policing Board.

However, Thursday is also the publication day of a long-awaited report by a police watchdog into the loyalist murders at Loughinisland, Co Down, in 1994, when six Catholic men were killed in a pub.

Police Ombudsman Dr Michael Maguire will publish his findings after examining allegations of police collusion with the UVF gunmen.

A lawyer representing the victims’ families had called on the Policing Board to postpone the Stakeknife briefing to allow public attention to focus on the Ombudsman’s report.

Mr Hamilton will now brief members of the Policing Board in a behind-closed-doors meeting on Thursday.

It is understood the chief constable will make a public announcement about the Stakeknife probe at a later juncture.