Judgement has been reserved in a case in which a man named in media reports as the British Army's top agent in the IRA is seeking to clear his name.
In the High Court in Belfast today a lawyer for Freddie Scappaticci, a Republican from West Belfast, denied that he is, or ever was, the agent known as Stakeknife.
A lawyer for 57-year-old Scappaticci applied for a judicial review to force the North's Security Minister, Jane Kennedy, to confirm he was not the agent known as Stakeknife.
A barrister said Mr Scappaticci had been subjected to a campaign of vilification in the press. He said the continuing allegations against him had resulted in a very serious risk to his life and urgent action needed to be taken to protect it.
In her initial response, Jane Kennedy had said the British government did not comment on intelligence matters.
The lawyer said this reply was totally inadequate and argued that it was very urgent that the Minister should provide clarification as the threat to Mr Scappaticci's life was immediate.
There was no threat to national security involved in seeking a simple statement that his client was not Stakeknife, he said.
Counsel for the Northern Ireland Office said it was striking that there was nothing in Mr Scappaticci's affidavit to indicate that a direct threat had been made to him by some lawless paramilitaries.
He said no attempt was made to explain whether any statement by the Security Minister would make a button of difference to any such group if they were minded to behave in this outrageous way.
He suggested the matter could be dealt with by making an appeal under the Data Protection Act for disclosure of information.
But counsel for Mr Scappaticci said this was not an appropriate procedure, given the circumstances.
Mr Justice Kerr said there was some urgency about the case and it was not free from complexity. He said he would deliver his decision on whether to grant a judicial review early next week.
