Alert at Scappaticci house

The area was cordoned off as a controlled explosion was carried out

A security alert at the home of the west Belfast man alleged to be the army spy Stakeknife has been declared a hoax.

Army bomb disposal experts examined a suspect device in the garden of Freddie Scappaticci's house in Riverdale Park North on Tuesday.

A controlled explosion was carried out on the device which had been found in a flowerbed, before it was declared an elaborate hoax.

Mr Scappaticci, 59, has strenuously denied allegations that he was an Army informer inside the IRA.

Former Sinn Fein Belfast lord layor Alex Maskey said Mr Scappaticci and his family "should be left to get on with their lives in peace".

Earlier this month, Mr Scappaticci won the right to try to force the government to clear his name.

He was given leave in the High Court in Belfast to apply for a judicial review of Security Minister Jane Kennedy's refusal to confirm that he was not a British agent.

At the High Court, Mr Justice Kerr ruled that Mr Scappaticci could proceed with his bid to make Ms Kennedy break her silence.