Stakeknife inquiry ends without any prosecutions of final 12 suspects

Announcement signals widely expected winding down of one of most contentious cases of the Northern Ireland Troubles

A seven-year police investigation into murders linked to the British army's top agent inside the Provisional IRA has ended with no prosecutions.

The Public Prosecution Service for Northern Ireland said the final files reviewed by Operation Kenova yielded insufficient evidence to prosecute seven alleged IRA members and five former soldiers who worked with the army's Force Research Unit. Three of the soldiers had been agent handlers and the other two were more senior.