UK UK Newswire Archive
Women sue Met over undercover cops
26-12-2011 16:55
Eight former lovers of undercover cops have started legal action against police chiefs for the psychological suffering they’ve endured. The women include three former lovers of Mark Kennedy, two former lovers of Jim Boyling, and women who had relationships with “Mark Cassidy”, Bob Lambert and “John Barker” – a name that doesn’t seem to have been associated with undercover policing of activism before.
On the newswire: FULL statement from women suing police | Women take legal action against undercover cops
Previous features: First report into undercover policing: “whitewash” | Undercover police officer back in the spotlight | Mark Kennedy/Stone exposed as undercover
Birnberg Peirce and partners have commenced legal action against the Metropolitan Police on behalf of eight women who were deceived into having long term intimate relationships with undercover police officers. The five undercover officers* were all engaged in infiltrating environmental and social justice campaign groups between the mid 1980’s and 2010 and had relationships with the women lasting from 7 months and the longest spanning 9 years.
The women assert that the actions of the undercover officers breached their rights as protected by the European Convention on Human Rights, including Article 3 (no one shall be subject to inhumane and degrading treatment) and Article 8 (respect for private and family life, including the right to form relationships without unjustified interference by the state), The women are also bringing claims for deceit, assault, misfeasance in public office and negligence, and seek to highlight and prevent the continuation of psychological, emotional and sexual abuse of campaigners and others by undercover police officers.
After deceiving at least one woman into having a relationship with him, one of the officers, Bob Lambert, went on to supervise other undercover officers who had long term intimate relationships with campaigners. This, and the extended period in which these relationships were undertaken confirms that recently exposed police spies were not ‘rogue officers’, but were in fact part of an unacceptable pattern of engaging in long term intimate relationships (including embedding themselves in extended families) as part of the infiltration of environmental and other activist groups, which seems to have been condoned at high levels.
Through their collective experiences the women have identified a pattern that covers more than two decades of police operations and is therefore indicative of systemic abuse of female political activists involved in a range of different groups. Officers are given extensive training in how to spin tales, groom, deceive and embed themselves deeply in protest movements. After the women formed loving relationships with these men, they disappeared when their posting ended, leaving the women to cope with the trauma of not knowing whether or not the person they were in love with would return, not knowing if they should be worried or angry and trying to discover what was real and what was not. In one case where the officer re-appeared, his training enabled him to create a new deceit and further abuse the woman who had been left in a state of shock and trauma. She extricated herself with the help of Women’s Aid and left for Refuge with her children. The responsibility for the lasting damage this caused goes right back to the undercover operation by the Metropolitan police and the training they gave him in the art of duplicity
The subsequent discovery that the men they had loved were in fact undercover police officers spying on them and others they knew was a horrifying experience, leaving the women with both a sense of violation and difficulties in trusting others and their own judgement. Discovering that the fundamentals of the relationship were lies has left them trying to comprehend how someone they shared dreams with, knew so intimately and trusted so deeply had never actually existed
This abuse has had a severe and lasting emotional impact on those affected.
Quote:
“We believe our case highlights institutionalised sexism within the police. It is incredible that if the police want to search someone’s house they are required to get the permission of a judge, yet if they want to send in an agent who may live and sleep with activists in their homes, this can happen without any apparent oversight!”
”We are bringing this case because we want to see an end to the sexual and psychological abuse of campaigners and others by undercover police officers. It is unacceptable that state agents can cultivate intimate and long lasting relationships with political activists in order to gain so called intelligence on those political movements.”
So far twelve inquiries have been set up in relation to undercover officers, however none of them are focussed on the human rights abuses perpetrated by the unit, none is independent and none of them are open and transparent.
- The five undercover officers are Mark Kennedy, Jim Boyling, Bob Lambert and two others who have not yet been exposed, known when undercover as John Barker and Mark Cassidy.
Peace activist threatened with ridiculous 10 year ASBO!
26-12-2011 16:15
Just read this unbvelievable story concerning Chris Cole, a peace activist from Oxford who was approached by plain clothed police during his attendance at court for a hearing concerned with action he took outside Downing Street during the 10 year anniversary week of the beginning of the Afghanistan ‘war’....Palestine Today 12 26 2011
26-12-2011 15:11
Calais: death of Ismael
26-12-2011 10:25
Calais has killed a person, a young Ethiopian man, who has spent some time Calais and is known to a lot of people there. He was found at the bottom of a bridge in the center of Calais in the early hours of Thursday 22 December.Brixton prison new year solidarity demo!
25-12-2011 12:57
Occupy and the meaning of Christmas
25-12-2011 01:16
As the world awaits the celebration of the birth of the Christ child -- and as, on the eve of this celebration, municipalities around the United States clear out Occupy encampments, pepper-spray peaceful protesters, and threaten them with felony convictions and two-year jail sentences -- it is worth remembering what the historical Jesus actually told people to do: he told them precisely to behave like Occupy protesters.Melbourne, Australia : Commonwealth Bank Branch Attacked
25-12-2011 00:10
In the early hours of the 24/12/2011 we attacked the Mountain Gate branch of the Commonwealth Bank with rocks causing some damage to windows in a small, spontaneous expression of nihilistic solidarity with our comrades fighting the state both here in Australia and all over the world.Dispelling disinformation
24-12-2011 23:44
Earlier in December a series of false articles were posted on Indymedia about SHAC activists and hunt monitors in the Bristol and Bath areas, including impersonations of the Bristol Hunt Saboteurs. We would like to ensure everyone knows these to be fake.TOR vulnerabilities discovered
24-12-2011 22:36
TOR is a popular technology used to increase the anonymity of web users.Recently vulnerabilities have been discovered which make this software insecure.
Users are advised to upgrade to the latest (fixed) version
Combat 18 and HMV Records
24-12-2011 16:56
Puting a searchlight on fash fund-raisingMuslims Quite Like Christmas SHOCK HORROR!!!
24-12-2011 13:42
Portsmouth Nazi Watch publish an article by the Muslim Council of Britain that reveals Muslims quite like Christmas actually..Sofa-surfing homeless campaign launched in Hackney
24-12-2011 12:55
A youth charity in Hackney has launched a campaign to establish the number of homeless young people living on sofas and under the radar of the authorities as the closure of supported housing schemes compounds the problem.
The initiative was kicked off on Wednesday with the premiere of short film Sofa-surfer that tells the story of a young girl who has spent years living precariously unable to return home.
A housing expert warned the problem will only get worse when under 35s will be unable to claim housing allowance for a one-bdroomed flat from April.
Leicestershire Rank and File Meeting - further details
24-12-2011 10:56
Planning meeting to organise a Leicestershire rank and file conferenceNATO/Mossad intelligence agents planting 'Arab' bombs? & origin of the word Tory
24-12-2011 00:21
At five: discussing the big stories in Bristol, Britain and around the world
After six: straight talking and investigative reports with Martin Summers and Marina Morris
Victory as Van Zellers Remove Foie Gras
23-12-2011 20:17
Harrogate’s Van Zellers restaurant has been the focal point of a growing campaign surrounding their controversial use of foie gras on the menu.Six Restaurants Drop Foie Gras as MARN Campaign Kicks Off
23-12-2011 17:42
Foie gras is a product of extreme animal cruelty, produced by caging birds and forcing large amounts of grain into their stomachs.Tommy Robinson takes a beating
23-12-2011 16:43
English Defence League leader Tommy Robinson was attacked in Luton. Photos have emerged of his face after the beating, showing his face covered in cuts, lumps and bruises. However, there is some doubt over who the perpetrators of the attack were.
The Gates of Vienna blog carries a report that blames “Pakistani youths;
He was out driving, when he saw a car similar to his wife’s, driven by a blond white girl. The other car flashed its lights so Tommy pulled over.
A group of Pakistani youths wearing knuckle dusters poured out. Tommy was knocked out pretty quickly, and they gave him a good kicking.
He looks pretty beaten up, but no bones were broken, and no eyes or teeth are missing. He had a brain scan this morning. We don’t know the results yet.
He has spoken to The Sun, who asked whether he had called the police. Tommy said there was no point, as a racial attack on a white guy was of no interest to them.
Tommy has apparently since then reported that the gang were shouting “Allah Akhbar” and “Merry Christmas Tommy.” The blog states that they “want Tommy to go to the police,” because if they don’t act upon this, it is “yet more evidence that there is a two-tier system of justice in England.”
This story has been reported faithfully by the EDL’s new political bed-warmers, the British Freedom Party. They add that “our thoughts are with Tommy and his family during this tough time, a time which should be happy but has been devastated by thuggish invaders who would like to see Christmas eradicated from Britain.”
However, rival fascist faction the North West Infidels think differently;
Norfolk Cty Council- Senior Green skunks off to Tories
23-12-2011 15:59
A 'senior' Green on Norfolk County Council has turned out to be a Zac Goldsmith in disguise. Elected for Green Party, Philip Hardy now runs off to the Tories cos he likes their "modernisation" of the NHS etc. (£Kerching£ more like shurely)