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Spy in hiding revelas personal heartache

Apr 19 2009 by Neil McKay, Sunday Sun

FORMER British spy Martin McGartland will never be able to tell his two sons why he betrayed the IRA to become a double agent.

After being gunned down outside his Tyneside home 10 years ago, he fears he could be targeted again by an assassination squad after he was named last week as an intended target of terror group The Real IRA.

In an emotional interview, he told the Sunday Sun of his heartbreak at being unable to see his two sons in Northern Ireland.

Belfast-born Martin, 39, is doomed to live his life in hiding after information he supplied to the British secret services saved the lives of 50 intended IRA targets.

His amazing double life is portrayed in the film, 50 Dead Men Walking, where the actor Jim Sturgess plays Martin.

Martin, who was moved to a secret location after surviving the assassination attempt outside his home in Duchess Street, Whitley Bay, North Tyneside, said: “Every time I hear a motorbike pull up nearby, or see a car following me, I fear the worst.

“Reading that I was on the Real IRA hit list means I can never be safe.

“The arm injuries I received when I was shot in Whitley Bay prevent me from doing any manual work, so I spend most of my days reading or on my computer.

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