Statement by Minister McEntee on the publication of the final Kenova Report

I welcome the publication today of the final Kenova Report. It follows on from the Kenova Interim Report, published in March of last year, and brings together the high-level findings across the full Kenova family of cases, namely, Operation Kenova, which was an investigation in to potential criminal offences committed by the British agent known as Stakeknife, Operation Denton, which was a review of the activities of the so-called ‘Glennane Gang’, Operation Turma, an investigation in to the killing of three RUC Officers in 1982, and Operation Mizzenmast, an investigation in to the killing of Jean Smyth-Campbell in 1972.

I want to thank the Kenova team for their service, initially under the leadership of Jon Boutcher and, subsequently, Sir Iain Livingstone.

They have gone about this invaluable, complex and sensitive work with care. It is clear they have placed victims at the heart of their endeavours.

Operation Denton was tasked, among other things, with setting out the extent of any British state collusion in the activities of the Glennane gang. What today’s report sets out is deeply shocking: collusion involved “vicious and serious criminal activity”, including bombings and murder, and “paramilitary groups were regularly supplied with intelligence by members of the security forces”.

The Kenova investigative team has also been unsparing in its criticism of the Provisional IRA, referencing in their interim report “the wanton use of torture and murder against people from their community” and was “an organisation based on intimidation and violence towards society in general, the security forces especially, and indeed often the very people it claimed to represent and protect”. Building on the interim report, today’s report details the investigation of a number of murders by the Provisional IRA.

The crimes examined in this series of cases pre-date the Good Friday Agreement, many of them by decades. Nevertheless, anyone involved in criminal activity of this kind, whether terrorists or individual members of the security forces, should face consequences for their actions.

With the Joint Framework on legacy, the Irish and UK governments have agreed the tools to do that, including proper criminal investigations. The Framework also provides for fact finding investigations, in cases where criminal prosecutions are no longer possible, but where families nevertheless deserve the full truth of what happened to their loved ones.

Reciprocal cooperation is at the heart of the Joint Framework. Effective cross-border cooperation is essential to progress in many legacy cases.

This year saw the extradition from Ireland to Northern Ireland of a suspect in the murder of three RUC officers, which is the subject of Operation Turma covered in this report. The pieces of legislation we are preparing to bring forward on cooperation with the Omagh Inquiry, and to implement our commitments in the Joint Framework, will further enable cooperation with legacy cases in Northern Ireland.

The Joint Framework also facilitates cooperation from north to south. I welcome the commitment by the UK authorities in the Framework to provide reciprocal cooperation to Ireland for investigations, inquiries and inquests carried out in this jurisdiction.

As Minister for Justice, I took the specific legislative steps required to facilitate Garda cooperation with Operation Denton. I look forward to examining the comprehensive Operation Denton report when it is available.

It looks at a number of attacks in this jurisdiction, including the deadliest attack of the Troubles, the Dublin and Monaghan bombings.

I hope that the publication of the full report of Operation Denton next year will give renewed impetus to our work on Troubles related cases in this jurisdiction. Families have waited more than fifty years for answers.

ENDS

Press Office

09 December 2025