It's widely accepted that the late republican Freddie Scappaticci was the agent, codenamed "Stakeknife".

He headed the IRA's so-called "nutting squad", a notorious internal security unit tasked with hunting and executing informants, but was himself operating as a mole for British intelligence.

The final report of a seven-year investigation named Operation Kenova has found that "there is a compelling ethical case" to reveal the agent's identity.

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Head of Kenova Sir Iain Livingstone said that "it is in the public interest that Stakeknife is named". He urged the government to depart from its "neither confirm nor deny" (NCND) policy on the grounds of public interest.

It's understood that the government believes Stakeknife cannot be officially named at this time due to some outstanding legal issues. Sky News has approached No 10 Downing Street for comment.

Freddie Scappaticci died two years ago denying that he was the agent, but all sides in Northern Ireland accept his denial was false.

The report also found a "significant failure" by MI5 in its late provision of materials to the investigation. "The further material revealed MI5 had earlier and greater knowledge of the agent than previously stated," the report says.

Sir Ian Livingstone added that "further investigative opportunities were undoubtedly lost", and that the confidence of the communities in Northern Ireland was undermined. Sky News has approached the security agency for comment.

Stakeknife produced a "vast" amount of intelligence. 3,517 reports from the agent were discovered, including 377 from one 18-month period. But the report found the intelligence was not shared with those who could have used it to save lives.

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Last year, Operation Kenova's interim report found the security forces were frequently aware of imminent abductions and murders but failed to protect those at risk.

Today's report found his army handlers even took Stakeknife out of Northern Ireland for two holidays, at a time when he was sought by police for murder and kidnapping. He was flown on military aircraft and given military ID.

As a result, preventable deaths occurred with the security forces' knowledge and those responsible were not brought to justice and were instead left free to reoffend.

'Wholly unjustified criminality'

The 2024 report also concluded that Stakeknife was involved in "very serious and wholly unjustifiable criminality", including murder, and claims his intelligence saved "countless" or "hundreds" of lives were exaggerated. It found that the number of lives saved by his spying ranged from the high single figures to low double figures.

This contradicted claims that Scappaticci had saved hundreds of lives during the years he was active, with a former defence chief describing him as "the goose that laid the golden eggs". The interim report found that claim to be "inherently implausible" and "a comparison rooted in fables and fairy tales".

The 2024 report also called on the UK government to apologise to bereaved families, given that many murders were avoidable.

'Each evil act being the epitome of cowardice'

There was also a call for an apology from republican leaders for "the most shameful and evil" actions of the Provisional IRA (PIRA). "It was PIRA that committed the brutal acts of torture and murder, each evil act being the epitome of cowardice," the report stated.

No prosecutions connected with Stakeknife will take place, prosecutors in Northern Ireland have already decided.

Families of IRA victims associated with Stakeknife will give their response to the Kenova report in a news conference later today.

They want Scappaticci to be officially named, and many are seeking an apology from the British government.

An investigation into NHS maternity services is under way after a series of shocking scandals.

The National Maternity and Neonatal Investigation (NMNI) is being led by Baroness Amos, who said "nothing prepared her" for the amount of "unacceptable care" families currently receive.

A report has been released documenting her initial reflections and impressions after meeting families and visiting hospitals.

She will investigate 12 NHS trusts in total, including Oxford University Hospitals (OUH), which runs the world-renowned John Radcliffe Hospital.

'I was left in my own blood'

Rebecca Matthews formed a campaign for families failed by OUH after her own traumatic births.

Asked to discuss the care she received, she said she "could only describe it as callous".

"There wasn't any kindness there. I was left in my own blood," she added.

Ms Matthews recently took part in evidence-gathering sessions held by Baroness Amos.

But when she read her interim report, she said it was "disappointing", as it appeared to be "a bullet point list of failings that actually we've seen time and time again in independent reviews".

"The reflections don't mention accountability at all," she said.

Readers' stories of birth trauma - share yours here

'Why are we struggling to provide?'

Based on her initial inquiries, Baroness Amos found common themes, including women not being listened to and being "disregarded" when they raised concerns.

Many weren't given the right information to make informed choices about their care.

She was told of discrimination against women of colour, working-class mothers, or parents who were younger.

A "staggering" 748 recommendations have been made about NHS maternity services in recent years, Baroness Amos revealed - and she does "not understand why change has been so slow".

She asked: "Why are we in England still struggling to provide safe, reliable maternity and neonatal care everywhere in the country?"

Baroness Amos told Sky News' Mornings with Ridge and Frost: "I have been shocked…I've been shocked because there have been so many reviews before."

She said she had been asked to come up with "clear national recommendations that will stop this and will make a difference".

"It just cannot continue, there's too much harm, too much distress, too much trauma," Baroness Amos said, describing the long-term consequences for families as "almost unbearable".

Asked if there was "systematic racism in the NHS", she said there was "clearly discrimination".

"When a woman tells you that she is making choices that she knows may be detrimental to her because of her previous experience of healthcare, because of the racism that she has experienced, there is something additive here in terms of race," she said.

"Inequalities is a key strand of the work that we're doing."

The most recent health watchdog findings paint a depressing picture of maternity services.

Almost two-thirds of acute hospital maternity services were judged either inadequate or required improvement for safety.

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This investigation is not due to report back fully until the spring.

But some campaigners are already worried it won't bring meaningful change to maternity services.

Ms Matthews said it "seems as though it's heading the same way that other reviews have gone in the past, leading to some recommendations but no teeth".

"We need some mechanisms that are going to hold people and systems to account," she said.

'More to do'

OUH chief nurse Yvonne Christley said in a statement that "feedback received from patients using our maternity service over the last year is positive overall".

"However, we know we have more to do to improve our maternity services," she added.

"Our present focus is on listening to the experiences of women and families, which is helping us to identify opportunities for improvement."

Anyone feeling emotionally distressed or suicidal can call Samaritans for help on 116 123 or email jo@samaritans.org in the UK. In the US, call the Samaritans branch in your area or 1 (800) 273-TALK.

You can also get help at support@birthtraumaassociation.org.uk

The bodies of a man, 35, a woman, 55, and another person, about whom no information was given, were recovered after a major rescue operation using jet skis and helicopters on Sunday.

A woman, the fourth victim, died on Monday, a day after she had been revived at the scene and airlifted to hospital.

The victims have not yet been named.

The pool is located at Isla Cangrejo, on Tenerife's Los Gigantes coast, and is popular with foreign holidaymakers.

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It is bordered by volcanic rock on one side and cemented off from the sea on the other.

But it can be very dangerous during rough seas when large waves can easily overcome the cement barrier.

'We ask people to pay attention'

A weather advisory for rough seas was in effect at the time the swimmers were swept away, local media reports.

One outlet had reported that the pool had been closed to swimmers since 3 December.

Emilio Navarro, the mayor of Santiago Del Tiede, said: "We ask people to pay attention to the signage put up by the authorities. It's to take care of and protect everyone."

Last month, three people were killed and 15 injured in Tenerife after a tidal surge during treacherous weather.

At the end of the 45-minute interview with Politico, EU leaders might be forgiven for thinking, with friends like these, who needs enemies?

"Europe doesn't know what to do," Trump said, "They want to be politically correct, and it makes them weak."

On the contrary, I would imagine some choice words were being uttered in European capitals as they waded through the string of insults.

First up, the US president criticised European leaders for failing to end the war between Russia and Ukraine.

"They talk but they don't produce. And the war just keeps going on and on," he said.

The fact that the Russians have shown no real commitment to stopping the invasion they started is not mentioned.

Instead, the blame is laid squarely at the feet of Ukraine and its allies in Europe.

"I think if I weren't president, we would have had World War III," Trump suggested, while concluding that Moscow is in the stronger position.

Critics claim that the White House has emboldened the Kremlin and brought Putin in from the cold with a summit and photo opportunities.

Trump highlights the fact that his return to office forced many European NATO members to increase defence spending drastically.

On this, he is correct - the growing insecurity around how long America can be relied on has brought security into sharp focus.

The release of the new US national security strategy has only added to the feelings of unease.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz on Tuesday claimed some of its contents were unacceptable from a European point of view.

"I see no need for America to want to save democracy in Europe. If it was necessary to save it, we would manage it on our own," he told a news conference in Rhineland-Palatinate, the German state where Trump's paternal grandfather was born.

The leader of the EU's biggest power also said that the new US strategy was not a surprise and largely chimed with the vice president's speech at the Munich Security Conference in February.

For this reason, Merz reiterated that Europe and Germany must become more independent from America for their security policies.

However, he noted, "I say in my discussions with the Americans, 'America first' is fine, but America alone cannot be in your interests."

For his part, while Trump said he liked most of Europe's current leaders, he warned they were "destroying" their countries with their migration policies.

He said: "Europe is a different place, and if it keeps going the way it's going, Europe will not be…in my opinion, many of those countries will not be viable countries any longer. Their immigration policy is a disaster".

He added: "Most European nations... they're decaying."

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Again, the comments echoed his security strategy, which warned immigration risked "civilisation erasure" in Europe.

There's no doubt immigration is a major concern for many of the continent's leaders and voters.

However, irregular crossings into the EU fell 22% in the first 10 months of 2025 according to Frontex, a fact which seems to have passed the president and his team by.

"Within a few decades at the latest, certain Nato members will become majority non-European", his security document warned.

It also suggested "cultivating resistance" in Europe "to restore former greatness" leading to speculation about how America might intervene in European politics.

Trump appeared to add further clarification on Tuesday, saying while he did not "want to run Europe", he would consider "endorsing" his preferred candidates in future elections.

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This comment will also ruffle feathers on the continent where the European Council President has already warned Trump's administration against interfering in Europe's affairs.

"Allies do not threaten to interfere in the domestic political choices of their allies," Antonio Costa said on Monday.

"The US cannot replace Europe in what its vision is of free expression… Europe must be sovereign."

So, what will happen now, and how will Europe's leaders respond?

If you are hoping for a showdown, you will likely be disappointed.

Like him or loathe him, Europe's leaders need Trump.

They need the might of America and want to try to secure continued support for Ukraine.

While the next few days will be filled with politely scripted statements or rejections of the president's comments, most of his allies know on this occasion they are probably best to grin and bear it.

Espen Barth Eide explained this could mean security challenges for generations, with the continent's whole future "on the line".

It was why Ukraine, its European allies and the US should seek to agree a common position when trying to secure a settlement with Vladimir Putin, the top Norwegian diplomat told Sky News in an interview during a visit to London on Tuesday.

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"I very much hope that we will have peace in Ukraine and nobody wants that more than the Ukrainians themselves," Mr Eide said.

"But I am worried that we might push this to what in quotation marks is a 'cheap ceasefire', which will lead to a very expensive peace."

Explaining what he meant, Mr Eide said a post-war era follows every conflict - big or small.

How that plays out typically depends upon the conditions under which the fighting stopped.

"If you are not careful, you will lock in certain things that it will be hard to overcome," he said.

"So if we leave with deep uncertainties, or if we allow a kind of a new Yalta, a new Iron Curtain, to descend on Europe as we come to peace in Ukraine, that's problematic for the whole of Europe. So our future is very much on the line here."

He said this mattered most for Ukrainians - but the outcome of the war will also affect the future of his country, the UK and the rest of the continent.

"This has to be taken more seriously… It's a conflict in Europe, it has global consequences, but it's fundamentally a war in our continent and the way it's solved matters to our coming generations," the Norwegian foreign minister said.

Russia 'will know very well how to exploit vagueness'

Asked what he meant by a cheap ceasefire, he said: "If Ukraine is forced to give up territory that it currently militarily holds, I think that would be very problematic.

"If restrictions are imposed on future sovereignty. If there's vagueness on what was actually agreed that can be exploited. I think our Russian neighbours will know very well how to exploit that vagueness in order to keep a small flame burning to annoy us in the future."

Progress being made on peace talks

Referring to the latest round of peace talks, initiated by Donald Trump, Mr Eide signalled that progress was being made from an initial 28-point peace plan proposed a couple of weeks ago by the United States that favoured Moscow over Kyiv.

That document included a requirement for the Ukrainian side to give up territory it still holds in eastern Ukraine to Russia and Mr Eide described it as "problematic in many aspects".

But he said: "I think we've now had a good conversation between Ukraine, leading European countries and the US on how to adapt and develop that into something which might be a good platform for Ukraine and its allies to go to Russia with.

"We still don't know the Russian response, but what I do know is the more we are in agreement as the West, the better Ukraine will stand."