Agents of Influence: Britain’s Secret Intelligence War Against the IRA

Review
"Edwards, in this seminal work, has done much to shine a light into this clandestine and often unsavoury world of conflicted loyalties...Edwards is also careful to guide the reader through the often-convoluted evolution and development of the British Intelligence effort and highlights how one of the biggest impediments in this 'War in the Shadows' was interservice rivalry that took years de-conflict and hone into an integrated and coordinated system that critically was key to the containment of PIRA." —An Cosantóir
Recruited by British Intelligence to infiltrate the IRA and Sinn Féin during the height of the Northern Ireland Troubles, they were ‘agents of influence’. With codenames like INFLICTION, STAKEKNIFE, 3007 and CAROL, these spies played a pivotal role in the fight against Irish republicanism. Now, for the first time, some of these agents have emerged from the shadows to tell their compelling stories. Agents of Influence takes you behind the scenes of the secret intelligence war which helped bring the IRA’s armed struggle to an end. Historian Aaron Edwards, the critically acclaimed author of UVF: Behind the Mask, explains how the IRA was penetrated by British agents, with explosive new revelations about the hidden agendas of prominent republicans like Martin McGuinness and Freddie Scappaticci and lesser-known ones like Joe Haughey and John Joe Magee. Bringing to light recently declassified TOP SECRET documents and the first-hand testimonies of agents and their handlers, Edwards reveals how British Intelligence gained extraordinary access to the IRA’s inner circle and manipulated them into engaging with the peace process. With new insights into the spy masters behind the scenes, their strategies and tactics, and operations in Europe, the United States and beyond, Agents of Influence offers a rare and shocking glimpse into betrayal at the heart of Irish republicanism during the vicious decades of the Troubles.