Stakeknife cover art

Stakeknife

Britain's Secret Agents in Ireland

 Preview

Get 30 days of Premium Plus free

£8.99/month after 30-day free trial. Cancel monthly.
Try for £0.00
More purchase options
Buy Now for £13.99

Buy Now for £13.99

About this listen

An explosive exposé of how British military intelligence really works – from the inside.

The stories of two undercover agents: the man known as Stakeknife, Force Research Unit (FRU) agent and deputy head of the IRA’s infamous ‘Nutting Squad’, the internal security force which tortured and killed suspected informers; and Brian Nelson, who worked for the FRU, aiding loyalist terrorists and murderers in their bloody work.

The inside story on: – How the British Secret Service uses informers – The recruitment, briefing and handling of spies – Murders and set-ups in Northern Ireland.

Written by Martin Ingram, the whistleblowing former British intelligence officer and FRU handler, and Greg Harkin, winner of The Scoop of the Year Award for breaking the Stakeknife story.

©2004 Martin Ingram and Greg Harkin (P)2024 Bolinda Publishing Espionage Europe Freedom & Security Military Politics & Government True Crime Crime Murder

Critic reviews

'A sequence worthy of Catch-22 has the same agency employing agents on both sides, knocking off each other, so that one is left wondering who was really running the war, and for whose benefit. But then, Catch-22 was farce – this is serious business, and murder.' (Irish Independent)
'Sensational. [A] Remarkable and disturbing story about the British army’s dirty war in Northern Ireland.' (The Guardian)
'An enthralling account of the double standards employed by the competing intelligence agencies in Northern Ireland.' (Clare County Express)
All stars
Most relevant
excellent book on the dirty war in Northern Ireland and well researched .
would highly recommend this book

truth

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
The things we weren't supposed to know about the War in Ireland. Enlightening though hard to accept.

Dirty dealings of the 'Toubles' in Ireland

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Well researched and factual book well narrated and and the author did officially identify steakknife. I really enjoyed it this book

I know off the main character

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I came to this book from the BBC podcast ‘Cover’ which detailed the Stakeknife case. Many of the topics and cases covered in the podcast are fleshed out in this book. Good narration. Thanks to the authors for what they’ve done and continue to do.

Brilliant account

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I really enjoyed this book, I'd spent the first 11 yrs of my childhood living through the troubles in Belfast during the 70's and 80's . I'd witnessed my fair share of incidents in that short period of time but this book is an eye opener into the workings of the paramilitaries and the awful and hideous involvement of the British army.

Wow ! What an eye opener !

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
See more reviews