A review of the central claims of my book Agents of Influence, which was published in 2021. It examined British strategy and tactics of intelligence operations against the IRA.
Tag: CHIS
Stones Left Unturned: Op Kenova, Collusion and the IRA Assassination of John Bingham
The publication of the Operation Kenova report into a British spy network inside the IRA has left one trail to run cold: Collusion in the murder of Loyalists It all started with a meeting I held with a source in a flat in Portadown. It was the summer of 2015 and I was in the…
Burying the Truth?
My interview with Matt Cooper on The Last Word, concerning the death of former IRA member and suspected British spy, Freddie Scappaticci, 12 April 2023 Matt Cooper: So as I mentioned there before the break, Freddie Scappaticci, a name that really jumped into the public consciousness about 20 years ago, died recently it was announced…
The Tragic Death of Thatcher’s Spy
One of the best placed British agents inside the Provisional Republican Movement is dead. Willie Carlin died of complications arising from a Covid-19 infection on Monday 6th February. He is survived by his wife and child from a second marriage. I first met Willie in 2018 when I interviewed him for my critically acclaimed book,…
Why I Write About… Northern Ireland
“I had always been interested in the security dimension of the Troubles, which played like a noisy soundtrack to my research and writing.”