The Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, MP, has responded to
the Operation Kenova Final Report into the activities of an
alleged agent known as ‘STEAK KNIFE', which has been published by
the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI).
The Secretary of State said:
I want to begin by commending the Kenova team, led by Sir Iain
Livingstone and Jon Boutcher, for the exemplary way they carried
out their work, built trust with families, put victims first and
provided many answers about what happened to their loved ones.
Operation Turma, which was part of Kenova, resulted in the
prosecution of an individual, now extradited from Ireland and
awaiting trial, for the murder of three RUC officers in 1982.
Kenova has set a standard for future legacy investigations, and
we have drawn on a number of those lessons in drafting the
Troubles Bill.
I wish to express my heartfelt condolences to all the families
who lost loved ones in the appalling circumstances described in
this sobering report.
Operation Kenova was asked to establish whether there was
evidence of criminal offences by the alleged agent known as STEAK
KNIFE, or their alleged handlers.
The behaviour described of the alleged agent, and their role in
the Provisional IRA, is deeply disturbing. It should not have
happened, and in recent decades, there have been significant
reforms to agent handling practice, including through
legislation. The use of agents is nowadays subject to strict
regulation, overseen by the Investigatory Powers Commissioner and
the Investigatory Powers Tribunal.
On Operation Kenova's request to the Government to name STEAK
KNIFE, I told Sir Iain Livingstone in August that: “Due to
ongoing litigation relevant to the Neither Confirm Nor Deny
[NCND] policy, namely the Thompson Supreme Court appeal, a
substantive and final response to your request will be provided
after judgment has issued in that case.
The Government's first duty is of course to protect national
security, and identifying agents risks jeopardising this.
Today's Report also makes public the high-level findings of
Operation Denton, which looked at killings carried out by the UVF
Glennane Gang. The behaviour reported on, including collusion by
individual members of the security forces, is shocking. The
Government will respond to the full Denton Report when it is
published, bearing in mind that there are related legal
proceedings ongoing in this case and in the case of STEAK KNIFE.
Note to Editors:
- The Government responded in full to the recommendations in
the interim report in a letter to Sir Iain Livingstone on 13
August 2025, which is available in the library of the Houses of
Parliament.
