Overview

• The High Court ordered Scappaticci’s will to be sealed for 70 years after a private hearing on July 21, marking the first non-royal will to receive such protection.
• Sir Julian Flaux ruled the seal was necessary to protect the applicant and those named from the real risk of serious physical harm or death.
• Scappaticci was accused of running the IRA’s enforcement unit while secretly serving as Britain’s top agent codenamed Stakeknife and died in hiding in April 2023 at age 77.
• More than 30 bereaved families, represented by solicitor Kevin Winters, intend to apply in the Belfast High Court to unseal the will and pursue civil claims against his estate.
• The legal challenge follows Operation Kenova’s interim report, which concluded that Stakeknife’s actions caused more deaths than lives saved and renewed calls for accountability over Troubles-era informant handling.