The New Dark Age

2 September 2019 — COPS

It’s been a busy time for the campaign for truth about Britain’s political secret police. Here’s an update – feel free to share it.

PUBLIC INQUIRY

– DATA PROTECTION

Perhaps the big news is Inquiry Chair Sir John Mitting’s statement on data protection and privacy, setting out the approach the Inquiry intends to take regarding sharing documents with us civilian witnesses.
https://www.ucpi.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/20190821-chairmans_second_statement_on_data_protection_and_privacy_san.pdf

It is a considerable change of tack on how information will be passed on to witnesses and core participants as the Inquiry moves towards providing witness packs, to start later this year. All material mentioning a witness will be given to them under a restriction order. It’s something of a victory in that we will essentially get to see much of our files and some other relevant material. However, we will be prohibited from conferring with others without permission from the Inquiry.

This material given to witnesses will not be redacted except in ‘particularly sensitive’ cases and for public interest issues. The police continue to see everything. Note that not all of this material will become public later on; how much does will be up to Inquiry having received representations.

– HEARINGS

The Inquiry’s evidence hearings are now expected to start in summer 2020. This first tranche will focus on Special Demonstration Squad officers and managers, as well as non-state core participants and witnesses affected by deployments, all from1968-1982. 43 ex-officers and 20 who were spied on will give evidence.

– NAMING NAMES

The Inquiry’s online list of known officers is inaccurate and incomplete. COPS published this post on the anomalies and omissions.
http://campaignopposingpolicesurveillance.com/2019/07/22/spycops-your-names-down-but-youre-not-on-the-list/

– NEW CORE PARTICIPANTS

Richard, Audrey and Nathan Adams – the family of murdered teenager Rolan Adams – have finally been designated as core participants, following a review of additional evidence in relation to the Rolan Adams justice campaign. Rolan’s was just one of at least 18 such deaths where the police resources that should have been spent catching killers were instead used to obstruct justice.

– COSTS

The Inquiry published an update on its costs – it has spent just short of £20,000,000, and it hasn’t really started yet.

SPYCOPS NAMED

Two new names:

A year after the public inquiry promised to name him, we now know‘Paul Gray’ was deployed into the Socialist Workers Party and Anti-Nazi League 1977-1982. The Inquiry won’t give his real name as it would ’cause anxiety & stress’ & ‘interfere with his right to a private & family life’.

‘Anthony “Bobby” Lewis’ was deployed into the Socialist Workers Party & Anti-Nazi League between 1991-1995. He is the only known black member of the Special Demonstration Squad. Lewis gathered ‘quite a lot’ of information about the campaign run by Doreen and Neville Lawrence, and he ‘admits to a relationship with a member of the opposite sex during the deployment,’ according to the Inquiry.

‘Lewis’ is the 75th spycop to be named, from a total of at least 139 officers. COPS have updated their 2016 post to include all known names, with links to the Undercover Research Group profiles (where they exist).
http://campaignopposingpolicesurveillance.com/2016/09/01/how-many-spycops-have-there-been/

Also, the Undercover Research Group have published two new detailed profiles:

– ‘Dave Jones’, aka Bob the Builder, who infiltrated anarchist/ anti-capitalist group WOMBLES, London Rising Tide, and the Camp for Climate Action.
http://powerbase.info/index.php/Dave_Jones_(alias)

– Alex Sloan infiltrated the Irish National Liberation Solidarity Front in 1971, and appears to be the first officer to target the justice campaign of a grieving family.
http://powerbase.info/index.php/Alex_Sloan

Also, ‘Rob Harrison’ was deployed 2004-2007 into the International Solidarity Movement, No Borders, Globalise Resistance. A new article about Harrison, including the first published pictures of him, has been published.
https://electronicintifada.net/blogs/asa-winstanley/revealed-uk-police-spy-who-infiltrated-palestine-solidarity

SCOTLAND

The tireless Tilly Gifford was back in court in Scotland trying to force a judicial review of the decision to exclude activities there from the Inquiry. We know officers were there committing the same abuses as in the rest of the UK, yet the public inquiry is limited to events in England & Wales. Having already had numerous hurdles put in her path by the Scottish establishment before she got to court, the Court of Session ruled against her.

UNDERCOVER POLICING & TRADE UNIONS CONFERENCE

The final touches are being put to the free, one-day Undercover Policing & Trade Unions conference jointly organised by Police Spies Out of Loves, COPS & the Blacklist Support Group.

It’s on Saturday November 16th, 10:30-17:30, at the University of Greenwich in London. The conference is free, and food will be provided.

Speakers are drawn from a wide range of blacklisted workers, women deceived into relationships by spycops, campaigners, activists, lawyers, writers and more, including: John McDonnell, Gail Cartmel, Rob Evans, Sukhdev Reel, Gareth Peirce and Suresh Grover.

Register to attend here:
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/undercover-policing-and-trade-unions-the-political-and-the-personal-tickets-64167284074?fbclid=IwAR2hE4lBM8y1qrGBp24szPhjR1r6nMNgpw2snd2roi64Juh4Jo5jmanCoMc

SACK ANDY COLES

In the 1990s Andy Coles infiltrated peace & animal rights groups, and groomed a vulnerable teenager into a year-long relationship. When the truth was revealed, he resigned as Cambridgeshire’s Deputy Police & Crime Commissioner, but he is still a Tory member of Peterborough City Council. There have been protests at every Peterborough council meeting since, and will be until he goes. Join us at the next protests at the Town Hall (Peterborough is on the East Coast mainline, less than an hour from London and only a little longer from Leeds or York).

Wednesday 16 October, 5pm
Wednesday 18 December, 5pm

https://sackandycoles.wordpress.com/

BLACKLISTING FILM

For decades, household name construction firms conspired with spycops in the illegal blacklisting of construction workers. No firm or officer has faced any charges. Solidarity, the new documentary on blacklisting, has its London premiere as part of the Open City documentary festival on Saturday 7 September followed by Q&A with director Lucy Parker.

http://campaignopposingpolicesurveillance.com/event/solidarity-blacklisting-film-qa-london/

BLACKLISTING EXPOSED

After the large-scale illegal blacklisting of construction workers was exposed in 2009, it became clear that much of the information in the files had – equally illegally – been supplied by police.

In April 2012, the Blacklist Support Group submitted a formal complaint to the Metropolitan Police alleging collusion between Special Branch and construction companies. The police investigation was called Operation Reuben, and though its final report was completed in 2014, it took another four years before a redacted version was given to the Blacklist Support Group.

Donal O’Driscoll of the Undercover Research Group has written a detailed response to the report, exposing the shocking details of police collusion.
http://specialbranchfiles.uk/operation-reuben-unpicked-pt1/

Details of the Andy Coles demos, Trade union conference, Solidarity film screening and other spycops related events are on the Events Calendar on the COPS website.
http://campaignopposingpolicesurveillance.com/events/