If the IRA burgled Castlereagh in the hopes of uncovering Stakeknife’s identity, they failed; Scappaticci’s name was presumably so sensitive that it was not kept in the files there. In fact, when Scappaticci was outed by the press, the shock in republican circles was so intense that a number of Sinn Féin leaders cast doubt on the idea that Scap really was Stakeknife at all, cautioning people to be sceptical of the ‘unsubstantiated allegations’ against him.
