Sir Iain Livingstone, the Officer in Overall Command of Operation Kenova, has written to the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, Rt Hon Hilary Benn, to raise concerns after previously undisclosed material was recently discovered and made available to the investigation by MI5.
Operation Kenova was informed of the initial find on 8 April 2024, with further files subsequently being discovered. The most recent notification was made on 19 July.
Kenova has carried out an initial review of the material and consulted with the Director of Public Prosecutions Northern Ireland Stephen Herron. Sir Iain also met Mr Benn last week.
In his letter, Sir Iain said: "It is of great concern that further material continues to be given to Operation Kenova by MI5 nearly eight years after Operation Kenova commenced; after all the DPPNI determinations in the prosecution reports have been made; following the publication of the Operation Kenova Interim report; and a matter of weeks before the introduction of the Northern Ireland Troubles (Legacy and Reconciliation) Act 2023.
"I have directed that the new information be analysed and checked for evidence and information that could have assisted both Operation Kenova and the DPPNI in their work, as well as for any implications for the accuracy of the Kenova Interim Report. This work continues.
"From the due diligence carried out, our initial assessment is that the files contain significant new material which appears to point to new investigative leads not previously known. Importantly the material does not indicate further murders of individuals that involved the agent Stakeknife and as such no further deaths would fall into the Operation Kenova Terms of Reference based on the now disclosed material.
"However, the material does appear to cast doubt on some of the documents and witness evidence obtained by Kenova and some statements made in the Interim Report. This includes information provided by the security service around the dates when they became aware of the agent Stakeknife."
For clarity, from the initial assessment it appears that all the newly disclosed material relates solely to the activities of Stakeknife and therefore Kenova is currently not aware of any information or intelligence relating its other investigations, including Operation Denton.