Veteran republican's spy statement

Denis Donaldson said he had been a British agent since the 1980s

Veteran Sinn Fein official Denis Donaldson has admitted he was a paid British agent for two decades.

Here is his statement in full, which he made to Irish broadcaster RTE at a Dublin hotel.

"My name is Denis Donaldson. I worked as the Sinn Fein Assembly group administrator in Parliament Buildings at the time of the PSNI raid on the Sinn Fein offices in October 2002, the so-called Stormontgate affair.

"I was a British agent at the time.

"I was recruited in the 1980s after compromising myself during a vulnerable time in my life.

"Since then, I have worked for British intelligence and the RUC/PSNI Special Branch. Over that period I was paid money.

"My last two contacts with Special Branch were as follows: two days before my arrest in October 2002, and last night, when a member of Special Branch contacted me to arrange a meeting.

"I was not involved in any republican spy ring at Stormont.

"The so-called Stormontgate affair was a scam and a fiction. It never existed. It was created by Special Branch.

"I deeply regret my activities with British intelligence and RUC/PSNI Special Branch.

"I apologise to anyone who has suffered as a result of my activities as well as to my former comrades, and especially to my family who have become victims in all of this."