Mole who infiltrated IRA attacks biopic

Former agent McGartland says motives are distorted
Two controversial films on Troubles debut at Cannes

Henry McDonald and Charlotte Higgins in Cannes. Friday May 16, 2008, The Guardian

One of the most important agents to infiltrate the IRA has publicly distanced himself from a biopic of his life which is being marketed at this year's Cannes film festival. Fifty Dead Men Walking, starring Sir Ben Kingsley as the mole's Royal Ulster Constabulary handler, is based on the autobiographical book of the same name by Martin McGartland. As "agent Carol", McGartland undermined the IRA in Belfast during the later years of the Troubles, foiling dozens of murders and bombings.

The west Belfast man, who jumped through a bathroom window to escape his IRA interrogators after he was discovered, has told the Guardian the script "totally distorted" his story, and he plans to take legal action unless radical changes are made to the film before it is released.

A second controversial film based on the Troubles had its premiere at the festival yesterday. Steve McQueen's Hunger, which focuses on the death of Bobby Sands after 66 days without food, prompted both applause and walkouts as it opened the Un Certain Régard section... [article continues]