Belfast Telegraph

Thursday 25 December 2014

Agent’s ex-wife bids to sue Freddie Scappaticci

Margaret Keeley says she was interrogated

Freddie Scappaticci
Freddie Scappaticci

A woman who claims she was interrogated by the man alleged to be the most senior British agent in the IRA has suffered a damaged life as a result, she has told the High Court.

Margaret Keeley also said her attempt to sue west Belfast man Freddie Scappaticci was about exposing how innocent victims got caught up in the world of police and informers.

A lawyer for Scappaticci, who denies allegations that he was the military spy codenamed ‘Stakeknife’, accused her of repeatedly lying.

He also rejected claims that she was unaware her ex-husband Peter Keeley, himself a former MI5 agent known as ‘Kevin Fulton’, was involved in IRA business. Mrs Keeley is seeking to have Scappaticci (64) listed as a co-defendant in her damages claim against the Chief Constable.

A judge will decide whether to permit the application based on the passage of time since she became aware of his alleged role as an agent.

Mrs Keeley has issued proceedings against the police for alleged wrongful arrest and false impris

onment. The Newry woman was held at Castlereagh detention centre in 1994 following an IRA attempt to murder RUC detective Derek Martindale in east Belfast.

Mrs Keeley, who was released without charge, believes she was held as a cover for her husband.

She also claims to have been taken with Fulton to a flat in the New Lodge area of Belfast where she was interrogated by the IRA.

She told the court that she heard different voices and that one of the faces she glimpsed during two separate debriefing sessions was Scappaticci.

The hearing resumes next week.

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