Undercover: The True Story of Britain's Secret Police
Page 33
‘Come on, Bob. We would like to talk to you about your infiltration of London Greenpeace,’ said Steel.
‘All you have got to do is have a chat,’ said Morris. ‘What are you ashamed of?’
Lambert crossed the road and started running. Steel and Morris picked up their pace to stay in tow.
‘Would you like to say sorry to any of the other women who had relationships with your undercover officers?’ asked Steel. ‘Are you proud of what you did?’
‘It is all going to come out, yeah,’ said Morris. ‘All the infiltrators are being unmasked. Everyone knows that it’s disgusting, yeah, using Stasi tactics against campaign groups.’
Lambert carried on walking.
‘All you have to do is stop and say, “OK, it was wrong,”’ Morris said.
‘That it was abusive to people,’ added Steel. ‘It was damaging.’
It was clear that Lambert was not going to say a word. The procession continued along the street. He smiled, awkwardly.
‘All you have got to do is stop and have a chat,’ said Morris. ‘You know us. We are good people. You knew us for five years.’
‘You were quite happy to chat to us in the pub 15, 20 years ago,’ said Steel.
Lambert stood by the road and hailed a taxi. Steel and Morris were still beside him, like apparitions from a previous life.
‘So, nothing to say about abusing women campaigners?’ said Steel.
‘Will you apologise for the whole police operation against campaign groups?’ said Morris.
The veteran spy said nothing. He entered the taxi and slammed the door. He would have heard the final shouts from those familiar faces, the people he had called his friends all those years before.
‘Shame on you!’ they shouted. ‘Shame on you!’
AUTHORS’ NOTE AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
For two years we have delved into a particularly secretive part of the secret state. It is not possible, for obvious reasons, to acknowledge in public the many people who went out of their way to enable this story to be told. They know who they are. There were some, however, who did not help at all. Mark Kennedy did not co-operate with this book. On the occasions he or his family are quoted, the remarks are taken from published interviews with the Mail on Sunday, Guardian, BBC and Rolling Stone. The Metropolitan Police officially refused to co-operate and answered virtually none of our questions. We asked for an interview with a senior officer who could give the official view of these undercover operations, or assistance ‘on background’, which is almost always provided for projects on this scale. The force refused, saying undercover policing ‘is by definition a covert activity and it is imperative that we safeguard our working practices and certain aspects of our decision making, to protect the men and women who undertake this dangerous work.’
In the face of official obstruction, we relied on the courage of confidential sources. A number of ‘insiders’, past and present, have helped us, but we owe particular thanks to Pete Black. This book could never have been written without his bravery. Pete has not received any payment for this book. At his request, a portion of the royalties is being donated to a local branch of the mental health charity, Mind. We thank Tony Thompson for introducing us to Pete, who was at the time known as Officer A.
A number of people spoke on the condition of anonymity, either to protect their privacy or because they feared retribution from police. As a rule, all references to people by first names only (e.g. ‘Megan’) are pseudonyms. We are grateful to the many other activists who agreed to break with tradition to be named on the record.
Our book was made possible by senior executives at the Guardian who allowed us the time and freedom to investigate these stories and then turn them into a book. Particular thanks to Alan Rusbridger, Ian Katz, Dan Roberts, Dan Sabbagh, Jan Thompson, Sara Montgomery and Katie Roden. We would like to thank our main researcher, Sorcha Pollack, and three reporters who helped along the way: Rowenna Davis, who worked briefly at the Guardian, and Meirion Jones and Richard Watson, from BBC Newsnight. Thanks also to our friends at ITN Productions.
We’re grateful to three solicitors who represent the targets of the undercover operations – Mike Schwarz, Jules Carey and Harriet Wistrich – and two media lawyers who facilitated publication, Sean McTernan and Gill Phillips. We are also indebted to the careful skill of Lindsay Davies, who edited the manuscript, and Tom Lewis, whose advice early on helped shape it.
We have in places been greatly helped by journalists and researchers who have gone before us. In chapter two, we quoted from Peter Taylor’s BBC 2002 series on MI5 and the Special Branch, and his accompanying Guardian article of October 23 2002, which disclosed the existence of the Special Demonstration Squad. We also drew from a BBC Newsnight programme on May 28 2008 on the policing of the 1968 anti-Vietnam war protests. Solomon Hughes passed on documents he had uncovered in the National Archives in Kew, London, about those protests. We also quoted from a BBC Radio Four File on Four programme broadcast on October 2 2012 and, in chapter five, drew on two books: McLibel – Burger Culture on Trial by John Vidal (Macmillan, 1997) and Secret Manoeuvres in the Dark – Corporate and Police Spying on Activists by Eveline Lubbers (Pluto Press, 2012).
Authors regularly acknowledge the tolerance of their partners while they disappear for some time. We are no different. Rob would like to thank his wife Caroline for her forbearance and support. She may have got bored of him talking about undercover police, but she did not show it. Paul would like to thank Kay for encouraging him to pursue his obsessions. She was unwaveringly supportive, right from when the story first broke.
Finally, like all journalism, this book is merely a first draft of the history. We recognise we have only scratched the surface. If you can help us improve the record, then we would urge you to get in touch via Rob.Evans@guardian.co.uk or Paul.Lewis@ guardian.co.uk. We hope this book will be an incentive, in particular, to the South African resident, the Scottish hotelier, the pensioner in Lincolnshire and the second spy who learned the consequences of fathering a child undercover.
Paul Lewis and Rob Evans, May 2013
INDEX
Action for Radical Change, 1
Action Medics Collective, 1
activist security, 1
Activist Tat Collective (ATC), 1, 2, 3
Aldermaston women’s peace camp, 1
Ali, Tariq, 1
Alison, 1, 2
al-Qaida, 1, 2, 3
anarchism, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9
Black Bloc, 1, 2
black-star symbol of, 1, 2
and collectivism, 1
Euro-, 1
philosophy of, 1
Anarchist Teapot, 1, 2
Animal Liberation Front (ALF), 1, 2, 3, 4
bombings orchestrated by, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
Chitty spies on, 1
founding of, 1
Lambert infiltrates, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8
philosophy of, 1
printed material published by, 1
SDS targets, 1
animal rights movement, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19;
see also Animal Liberation Front (ALF); vegetarian/vegan movement
animal testing, 1, 2
Anna, Kennedy’s relationship with, 1
anti-airport expansion movement, 1
anti-apartheid, 1
anti-capitalist movement, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11
anti-dam-building movement, 1, 2
anti-fascism movement, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
Anti-Fascist Action (AFA), 1
anti-GMO movement, 1, 2
anti-MacDonald’s, 1
Anti-Nazi League (ANL), 1, 2, 3
SDS infiltrates, 1
anti-nuclear movement, 1, 2, 3, 4
anti-oil movement, 1, 2
anti-police protests, 1
anti-Post Office-privatisation movement, 1
anti-poverty movement, 1
anti-racism movement, 1, 2, 3, 4,
5, 6, 7
Anti-Racist Alliance (ARA), 1
anti-roads movement, 1, 2
anti-vivisection movement, 1
anti-war movement, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7
Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO), 1, 2
asylum seekers, 1, 2, 3, 4
B Squad, 1
badger culling, 1
BAE, 1
Barker, John, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5;
see also Dines, John
Barker, Nora, 1
Barker, Philip John, 1
Barker, Thomas, 1
Bash the Rich demonstrations, 1
Bayer, 1
BBC, 1, 2
BBC World Service, 1
Beackon, Derek, 1
Beaumont Court, 1
Benn, Hilary, 1
Berlin Wall, 1
bicycle-maintenance workshops, 1
Big Issue, 1
Bin Laden, Osama, 1
Black, Pete, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
academic achievements of, 1
anti-police protests organised by, 1
and anti-racism, 1
becomes YRE branch secretary, 1, 2, 3
birth of, 1
confrontational nature of, 1, 2
donates money to Militant, 1
family life of, 1, 2, 3, 4
and identity theft, 1, 2
invented dyslexia of, 1
joins Special Branch, 1
Lambert praises, 1, 2, 3, 4
leaves SDS, 1
M2672 code number of, 1
mental ill-health of, 1, 2, 3
Met sued by, 1
MI5 accolade received by, 1
Militant infiltrated by, 1
parental background of, 1, 2
retired on health grounds, 1
SDS actions questioned by, 1, 2
SDS exposed by, 1, 2
sexual misconduct of, 1
sobriquets of, 1, 2, 3
voluntary work undertaken by, 1
YRE infiltrated by, 1, 2, 3
YRE summer camps attended by, 1, 2
Black Star Access Ltd, 1
Blair, Tony, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
Blake, Mike, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
girlfriend of, 1
see also Chitty, Mike
Blood and Honour, 1
Bone, Ian, 1
Boyling, Jim, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7
confesses to Laura, 1
Guardian exposes, 1
and fake identity, 1, 2
Laura marries, 1
Laura’s relationship with, 1
legal action filed against, 1
mood swings of, 1, 2
sobriquets of, 1
see also Sutton, Jim
BP, 1
Brick Lane, 1
British National Party (BNP), 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8
bookshop, 1
Tower Hamlets election victory of, 1
YRE attack on, 1
Brixton police station, 1
Brixton riots, 1
Brooks, Duwayne, 1, 2, 3
Bush, George W., 1, 2
C Squad, 1
Camberwell Green Magistrates Court, 1
Cameron, David, 1, 2
Cardiff Anarchist Network (CAN), 1, 2, 3
Carey, Jules, 1
Cashinella, Brian, 1
Cashman, Edel, 1
Cassidy, Mark, 1
disappearance of, 1
and fake identity, 1, 2
Red Action infiltrated by, 1
sexual misconduct of, 1
see also Jenner, Mark
Catriona (activist), 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
Catt, John, 1
CCTV surveillance, 1, 2
céilidh, 1
Charing Cross police station, 1
Charlotte (activist), 1, 2
and husband’s death, 1
Lambert abandons, 1, 2, 3
Lambert harasses, 1
Lambert meets, 1
Lambert tracked down by, 1, 2
marries, 1
parents of, 1, 2
psychiatric treatment of, 1
as single mum, 1
and son’s birth, 1, 2
and Thatcherism, 1
Chelsea FC, 1
Chesterton, GK, 1
Child Support Agency, 1
Chitty, Mike, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
and animal rights, 1, 2, 3, 4
and conspiracy theory, 1
illegal activities continued by, 1, 2, 3, 4
Lambert investigates, 1
mental ill health of, 1, 2, 3, 4
put on sick leave, 1, 2
returns to Special Branch, 1
sobriquets of, 1, 2
threatens SDS exposure, 1, 2
see also Blake, Mike
Chris (SDS member), 1
Christodolou, Loukas, 1, 2, 3
CIA, 1
Citizen Smith, 1
City of London police, 1
civil disobedience, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
Clandestine Insurgent Rebel Clown Army, 1
Clarke, Andrew, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
Clash, 1
Class War (group), 1, 2, 3, 4
Class War (publication), 1
Clifford, Max, 1
Climate Camp, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7
climate-change movement, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7
CO11, 1
Cold War, 1, 2
Colin Roach Centre, 1, 2
collectivism, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12
Combat 1, 2
Common Place, 1, 2
Communist Party of Great Britain, 1
Condon, Sir Paul, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
Conservative Party, 1, 2
Conway Hall, 1
Counter Terrorism Command (SO15), 1
Countering Al-Qaeda in London (Lambert), 1
counter-terrorism, 1
Cowley Club, 1, 2
Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), 1, 2, 3
C2i International, 1
Curtis, Steve, 1, 2
CX/5011/96, 1
cycling protests, 1
Daily Mail, 1, 2, 3
Daley, Pete, 1;
see also Black, Pete
Day, Ken, 1
Day of the Jackal (Forsyth), 1
Debenhams, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8
Deborah (activist), 1, 2
defamation laws, 1
Densus Group, 1
Didcot power station, 1, 2
digital surveillance, 1, 2, 3, 4
Dines, Debbie, 1
Dines, Jim, 1
Dines, John, 1, 2, 3
Steel’s relationship with, 1
family life of, 1
and identity theft, 1, 2, 3
media expose, 1
sexual misconduct of, 1
sobriquets of, 1, 2
see also Barker, John
direct action, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13
Direct Action Movement (DAM), 1
Dissent, 1
Dixon, Conrad Hepworth, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10
books written by, 1
death of, 1
1968 secret memo of, 1, 2, 3, 4
SDS founded by, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7
undercover infiltration pioneered by, 1
University Challenge appearance of, 1
Dobson, Gary, 1
domestic extremism, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
Don’t Squeeze the Tube protest, 1
Douglas, Brian, 1, 2
Drax power station demonstrations, 1, 2, 3, 4
drugs/drug-dealing, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14
DVLA, 1
E Squad, 1
Earth First, 1, 2
Eat Out Vegan Wales, 1
eco-activism, 1, 2, 3, 4
Ecological Showstoppers, 1
Ed (fake friend), 1
Edmonds, Richard, 1
Edmondson, Keith, 1
EDO MBM, 1
environmental movement, see green movement
E.ON, 1, 2, 3
Eur
opean Muslim Research Centre, 1
Falklands War, 1, 2
FBI, 1, 2, 3
Ferguson, Mike, 1
588 filing code, 1
Flash, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6;
see also Kennedy, Mark
Foreign Office, 1
Forsyth, Frederick, 1
Forward Intelligence Teams (FIT), 1
Fowler, Tom, 1, 2, 3
Jacobs courts girlfriend of, 1, 2
Jacobs’s friendship with, 1, 2
legal action filed by, 1
foxhunting, 1, 2
freegan movement, 1, 2
free-love movement, 1, 2
Friends Reunited, 1
Gallan, Patricia, 1, 2
Gardner, Joy, 1
Gaulle, Charles de, 1
GCHQ, 1
G8, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7
Genoa G8 summit, 1
Gifford, Tilly, 1
Glastonbury Festival, 1, 2
Gleneagles, 1, 2
Global Open, 1, 2, 3
Globalise Resistance, 1, 2, 3
GMO, 1, 2
Gravett, Paul, 1, 2, 3, 4
green movement, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26
Greenham Common, 1
Greenpeace (national organisation), 1;
see also London Greenpeace
Grewelthorpe, 1
Grosvenor Square demonstrations, 1, 2, 3
Guardian, 1, 2, 3, 4
Kennedy exposed by, 1, 2
Lambert exposed by, 1
Hain, Peter, 1
Hairy Squad (‘Hairies’), 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
Hannah, 1
Harbour, Dr Peter, 1
Hardie, Keir, 1
Hartlepool nuclear-power station, 1
Heathrow Airport, 1, 2
Heiligendamm protests, 1
High Court, 1, 2, 3, 4
Holcombe, Kate, 1
Home Office, 1, 2, 3, 4
Horne, John, 1
Horseferry Road magistrates court, 1
House of Commons, 1
House of Fraser, 1
Housmans, 1
Human Rights Act, 1
Hutcheson, David, 1, 2
Hyde Park rallies, 1, 2
identity theft, 1
Indymedia, 1, 2
Inkerman Group, 1
Inkster, Nigel, 1
International Institute for Strategic Studies, 1
International Marxist Group, 1, 2, 3
‘Interviews with Animal Liberation Front Activists’ (ALF), 1
Investigatory Powers Tribunal, 1
Iona School, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8