Leather purse made by British spy ‘Stakeknife’ goes up for auction

A leather purse made by the British agent inside the IRA known as ‘Stakeknife’ is expected to make several times its estimate in an online auction hosted in Dublin.

Freddie Scappaticci crafted the item for his wife Sheila in 1973 when he was interned in Long Kesh, later known as the Maze Prison, where Bobby Sands and other hunger strikers died in 1981.

Lot 286 is described as a “unique item from the alleged British spy”, and is inscribed: “Long Kesh 1973 To: Sheila, From Freddie”. Scappaticci married Sheila Cunningham in 1966.

The purse was given to the family of the present owner in gratitude for having her to stay at their Dublin home as a respite from the Troubles, and is estimated to fetch between €1,000 and €1,500.

The timed auction at Whyte’s, called The Eclectic Collector, ends on June 7.

Scappaticci was born in Belfast in 1946. His father was an Italian immigrant to Northern Ireland.

A bricklayer by trade, he was radicalised by internment with other republicans. After his release in 1974, it is alleged he became a paid spy for the British army after being beaten up by the IRA following a row with a senior member. By the 1980s he was operating at the heart of the IRA, within its internal security unit, known as the ‘Nutting Squad’. His position gave him access to IRA secrets, and one former member said his unit was also known as ‘Clapham Junction’ because everything went through it. The IRA became suspicious of him and stood his unit down in 1990. It was not until 2003 that Scappaticci was publicly alleged to be ‘Stakeknife’, which he denied.

He then disappeared – and died in England last year, aged 77, his wife having predeceased him.

Operation Kenova, an investigation into his activities, reported this year after costing the UK government £40m (€47m), and linked Scappaticci directly to 18 murders, some of which are marked by claims of state collusion.

Ian Whyte, of the auction house, said he was “not taking sides” and Scappaticci was “part of history”. He said the purse was “of a mysterious character”.

“As far as we are concerned, this is history. Maybe people don’t approve of it, but there are a lot of things that some people don’t approve of,” he said.