The North's security minister, Ms Jane Kennedy, is continuing to resist efforts by Mr Freddy Scappaticci's solicitor to declare that his client is not the IRA informant known as "Stakeknife".
Ms Kennedy and the solicitor Mr Michael Flanigan are in correspondence over the issue, the Northern Ireland Office (NIO) has confirmed, but the minister will not comment on the matter because it is a "security issue".
Neither would the NIO comment on a report that Mr Scappaticci is taking High Court action to try to force Ms Kennedy to declare that he is not "Stakeknife".
Mr Scappaticci is applying for a judicial review on the matter, according to yesterday's Sunday Business Post.
"We want the minister to confirm that our client is not the agent, spelled as Stakeknife or Steakknife," Mr Flanigan told the paper.
He wanted the case dealt with urgently "because Mr Scappaticci's life could be in danger", he added.
The "Stakeknife" issue was raised by Sinn Féin president, Mr Gerry Adams, and the party's chief negotiator, Mr Martin McGuinness, when they met the Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, in Dublin on Saturday.
It was among a number of issues relating to British intelligence and alleged collusion that the Sinn Féin leader raised with Mr Ahern.
Mr Adams said he presented the Taoiseach with a dossier - Who Sanctioned Britain's Death Squads: Time for the Truth - "detailing the involvement of the British government through its agencies - MI5, British Military Intelligence and RUC/Special Branch - in the murder of its citizens".
"It is clear that all of these agencies are continuing to operate and that they are intent on destabilising the entire peace process," said Mr Adams.
"In the last four weeks we have seen a spotlight put on Britain's undercover war in Ireland with the publication of only a limited summary of the Stevens report, the revelations regarding the bugging of Sinn Féin chief negotiator, Martin McGuinness, the briefings by British Intelligence of unsubstantiated allegations in respect of an alleged British agent in the IRA codenamed 'Stakeknife', and the report that the UVF had a spy network which colluded with the military and police personnel to kill," he continued.
Mr Adams said that this was at a time when the British government "moved unilaterally to stop the Assembly elections".
"The response of the British government has been to continue business as usual, i.e. in a wall of silence, obstruction of inquiries, failure to make full disclosure, refusal to investigate, destruction of evidence and ultimately failure to prosecute," he added.
