Denis Donaldson’s family angry over inquiry rejection

They have alleged that some police officers who handled him during his 20 years as an agent were complicit in his murder.

Mr Donaldson’s killing was claimed by the Real IRA.

He was shot at a remote cottage in Glenties, County Donegal, just months after he admitted being an informer for the police and MI5 during the 1980s and 1990s.

After the Good Friday Agreement, he occupied a key backroom role for Sinn Féin at Stormont.

His family wrote to the Irish Justice Minister Helen McEntee in April 2021.

In a statement, they say she wrote back on Monday, ruling out an inquiry due to “an active ongoing criminal investigation in this jurisdiction”.

Mr Donaldson’s daughter Jane said: “The Irish government is publicly demanding an Article 2 compliant approach to legacy cases in the North of Ireland while it continues to refuse to provide an Article 2 compliant investigation into my father’s murder.

“In two decades since my father’s murder, no Irish government minister has been willing to meet my family and account for its double standards and differential treatment.”

She added that while agents such as Stakeknife “were shepherded away to safety”, her father had been left exposed and without protection.

“State agencies and officials in both jurisdictions were complicit in that and it is in the public interest to uncover the truth in an open, robust and transparent manner capable of commanding public confidence,” she added.

No-one has ever been convicted in connection with Mr Donaldson’s murder.