Undercover Policing Inquiry – a very British Stasi.

The Undercover Policing Inquiry (UCPI) re-starts on Monday, 21^st October 2024 to hear long-overdue live evidence regarding some of the most controversial incidents involving Met Police’s own Special Demonstration Squad (SDS).

This Tranche of the inquiry hearings highly have been postponed on a number of occasions. It is difficult as lawyers representing those who were spied on to know why these delays have been so necessary. Is due to the suspected ongoing battles between the police, the Security Services and the Government to withhold information from the public? Or is it the poor resourcing by the Home Office of the Inquiry? Or does it involved both?

The Undercover Officers (UCO) involved in this period are accused of organising and committing serious crimes. There is substantial evidence suggesting that the Met. Police collaborated with senior government officials to undermine democracy, and worked with corporations like McDonald's, effectively functioning as spied for corporate interests.

On 14^th October 2024 the Met Police issued, in their Opening Statement, to Tranche 2 further apologies to the victims. Both the Met. Police and the Inquiry acknowledge that the actions of the police were indefensible. Yet, despite this, the legal representatives of the UCOs has asked the Inquiry to find that some of the spying in this period could still be considered justifiable – it was not.

On the same day James Scobie KC provided opening submissions on behalf of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, Lindsey German (a former leading member of the Socialist Workers Party) and Michael Chant (Revolutionary Communist Party of Britain (Marxist-Leninist). In these submissions not only was it argued that these individuals and  groups were unjustly targeted by undercover police operations, but they were subjected to politically motivated surveillance.

However, as we submitted the surveillance and infiltration was not solely at the instruction of the Managers in the SDS. CND was particularly targeted by the Ministry of Defence, and the Office of Margaret Thatcher MP (the then Prime Minister) who instructed UCOs to continue infiltration and reporting. They directed SDS and Special Branch directly.

Many UCOs during this era, including all those involved in targeting animal rights campaigns, engaged in deceitful sexual relationships with women activists while deployed in the SDS. A prominent case was John Dines, whose actions were described as “…cold, calculating emotional and sexual exploitation” by counsel for those women activists. Testimonies also revealed the troubling behaviour of Andy Coles, as several women shared experiences of unwanted advances, and UCO ‘Matt Rayner’ confirmed that Coles was described as “creepy” by a woman at the time.

Bob Lambert is a notorious figure in this Inquiry. He fathered a child while undercover, and later became a manager in the SDS. In an opening statement, his son (known as ‘TBS’) shared his story of being born in 1985, he was then abandoned by Lambert. ‘TBS’ only discovered his father’s true identity 24 years later, after years of trying to uncover the truth behind the fictional persona ‘Bob Robinson.’ The story highlighted the deep personal toll of Lambert’s deceit on those abandoned and left.

Lambert’s misconduct extended beyond personal relationships. Allegations against him include planting an improvised incendiary device at the Harrow branch of Debenhams on 11 July 1987.

Additionally, Dave Morris an activist and joint Defendant in the McLibel case testified that Lambert co-authored the original “What’s Wrong with McDonald’s?” flyer, and that the SDS interfered in the legal process to protect Lambert’s successor, John Dines, from being named in the libel suit. Dines even reported confidential legal advice given by Keir Starmer (then a barrister at Doughty Street chambers) to defendants.

In our closing statement to Tranche 1 we stated:

"In their defence the British establishment claimed to be defending democracy, but it was not a defence of democracy, it was the undermining of democracy in defence of the establishment"

This still rings true as we further examine more of the practices of undercover political policing in Britain.

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Tranche 2 Part 2 runs from Monday 21^st October 2024 until  Thursday 23^rd January 2025. Running until Friday 20^th December 2024 the Inquiry will hear from activists from family justice campaigns, and animal rights activists, and the UCOs who targeted them. In the New Year the Inquiry will investigate the role of the managers of the SDS during 1982-1992 – the whole of the Tranche 2 period.

Witnesses, victims, campaigners and lawyers will rally on Monday, 21^st October 2024 outside the International Dispute Resolution Centre at 1pm