Prior to Christmas 2019 we were instructed by Richard Chessum to act for him in the Undercover Policing Inquiry (UCPI). He had already secured core participant status in December 2017. We have now been designated as his legal representative.
Richard was an activist in the Troops Out Movement (TOM) which was formed in 1973 following the attacks by the British soldiers on the minority Catholic/Nationalist population. TOM set out with its major aim to secure the withdrawal of British troops from Northern Ireland and self-determination for the Irish people as a whole.
Linked to that central demand were calls for the demilitarisation of the local police and paramilitary police support – the B specials – as well as opposition to UK Government policies that set effectively set in law discrimination against Catholic people in areas such as elections, housing, education, cultural pursuits, jobs and social welfare.
Richard was spied on by undercover police from the Special Demonstration Squad. He was targeted by an officer called ‘Rick Gibson’ who had targeted Richard, TOM and the socialist group ‘Big Flame.’
The UCPI is due to open on the 1st June 2020 where legal representatives from many of the 200 core participants are due to provide opening statements. This will then be followed by core participants providing witness evidence to the Inquiry.
