SpyCops Inquiry restarts: what role did the Thatcher Government play in directing Undercover officers into the anti-nuclear movement?

The Undercover Policing Inquiry commenced today, with legal representatives for both state and non-state core participants presenting their opening statements.

On behalf of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND), James Scobie KC and Piers Marquis, instructed by Paul Heron, delivered a statement outlining the infiltration and monitoring of CND by undercover officers. Lindsey German, Stop the War Coalition Convenor, and Michael Chant of the Revolutionary Communist Party of Britain (Marxist-Leninist), were also involved in the statement as the issues that affect them are clearly relevant to this part of the public inquiry.

The submissions focused on the targeted infiltration of CND, which, as far as is known, involved three undercover officers: ‘John Kerry’ (HN65), ‘Timothy Spence’ (HN88), and ‘Lee Bonser’ (HN33). The infiltration of CND was not merely a decision made by the Metropolitan Police Special Branch but was also encouraged by the Prime Minister’s Office, the Ministry of Defence, and the Minister of Defence at the time. This strategy appeared to fill a gap left by the Security Services, who had distanced themselves from the need to infiltrate CND. Additionally, the Home Office had raised concerns about the Metropolitan Police’s increasingly aggressive tactics.

The Inquiry sheds light on the significant state interest in suppressing peace and disarmament movements through covert means, particularly at a time when CND was at the forefront of opposition to nuclear weapons. The decision to infiltrate CND, despite clear divisions within the British state reflects the state’s prioritisation of surveillance and infiltration at the cost of civil liberties. These opening submissions underscore the depth of government involvement in the surveillance of peaceful campaigning political organisations like CND.

Read the opening submissions here.