but MI5 can be worse.
Its when they leave your DNA or fingerprints at a crime scene and then force you to join them, thats when you need to worry! (one of their tactics for recruiting in northern ireland at the height of the 'troubles').

Ive gone through various intimidation from "secret bastards" ever since I became apart of the alternative globalisation "movement", which has included all manner of official "stuff" going wrong, or paper work going missing,or blokes talking in to head sets looking straight at me and seemingly relaying information about my movements hours before, some times days before, a big national demo or big news story demo, like g20 or ratcliffe on soar power station. I always get stopped and searched at demo's, regardless of my involvement or what im wearing or carrying. At g2o it was as soon as i got to anywhere near the main block of protestors. its absolutely guaranteed. once i was miles away from a demo, with no clothing or banners or anything (not even coloured dread locks!) to suggest i was going on a demo, and I got photographed by travelling FIT who popped out of nowhere, walked in to my face pointing his camera, took a head shot and then wandered away. I was gutted, as I was on my way to join a massive demo. I couldn't go because I was gonna do some militant shit (therefore their tactic had worked, admittedly). How did the cop know who I was? Usual suspects, FIT, MI5, etc. Morning debrief for the coppers before a big demo, they get shown "our" photos. Not sure what we have to do to be in one of their special photos.

It's also funny when anarchist/anti-globalisation websites im looking at suddenly crash, particularly when i need certain info from them, like meeting times and places or whatever, "i wonder where such and such is taking place, oh, no, the websites just gone down, what a coincidence" that kind of thing. or phones making weird noises when im chatting on them about meetings or routes to march along or whatever. You get used to these "strange" coincidences after a decade of struggle and organising....

Its weird because they act like they know you know, and that is the scary part.because its like they're saying, yes we're spying on you, and we know you know, so now you know.......its weird and can be intimidating. They never care that we know,they are truly untouchable. But they are also not 100 percent good at their job, they can be played with.

The best thing to do? play them at their own game. walk around with wires in a box, leave it somewhere public by mistake (but dont run!!), see what that does to the blokes talking in to head sets!! or jump on and off a few buses and trams or trains and lose them. that always pisses them off. then they just come up to you, or get you searched by uniformed police nearby under the pretext of you looking dodgy or "reports from someone near by about your behavior". (not withstanding the fact you could be a genuine dodgy bastard!!)

By the way, complaining probably wont do fuck all, they are secret service for a reason, to stay secret. unless the chap got their real names or photo (yeah right), he wont have a chance of proving this ever happened. All they'll say is it wasn't them.

PS. the government want them to spy on somalis and gangs, who's remit do you think they are working to? It's a fucking shame, but this will get buried soon enough......you'll see.

good luck and smoke me a kipper,
i'll be back for breakfast.

I think your case is more likely the Forward Intelligence Team (FIT) or National Extremism Task Coordination Unit (NETCU) than MI5. I don't think MI5 do overt surveillance.

And whilst they do follow people round and harass them, I think the websites going down as you look at them might just be paranoia!

I have experienced strange things like picking up the phone and hearing cops talking in the background at the other end. Possibly it's a wrong number or someone dialling at the exact time I pick up and is just my paranoia, but it certainly felt real. If they really are tapping your phone I don't think you will hear anything these days since it is all digital now at the exchanges.

They just go for the obvious low-hanging fruit, so stay under the radar. I'm not sure that leaving boxes of wires around is good advice though, unless you want to do time for a bomb hoax!

I don't disagree that when websites go down it could be any old thing, too right. But I know when it isn't, there's just to many coincidences. MI5 are adept at using digital and electro/techno means of fucking things up for people.

I also didn't mean just my own phone, i meant when i am on the phone to other "activists", using any phone,depending on how "important" the person on the other end is. I am no one, although I have dined with those the state sees as enemies.

The old trick of searching for an important website then to be told on screen that there is a problem with finding it, comes as a usual story for me these days. Often when I have tried to access the same sites from different computers its been ok, then after a while, maybe minutes, or days, the old tricks start happening. Just curious, thats all.

Im not paranoid about the state spying on me, I know they do it, one way or the other! I admit the types who come up to you or follow you or photo you are more often than not police/netcu, etc.
But MI5 are active, on different levels and for different reasons.

MI5 are charged with the task of operating AGAINST any one person or group that threatens the status quo in britain. That is their remit. They class anarchist-bloc protestors as one of the biggest threats ever and what may not be known by everyone is that the biggest threat to the world order, as seen by the powers that be, BEFORE 9/11, was anarcho-eco- "terrorism".

Their fight against 'us' costs them LITERALLY hundreds of millions per year in dollars pounds and euros. believe me, they spy on us, along with the police, the military, over sees agents and company employed agents, too. They are all at it.
But more often than not they will use what they know to tell the regular police. So for example, they will learn about a big demo, say ratcliffe-on-soar power station attempt 1, early last year, then they will tell the "normal" police who will then say they got a tip off.
They will also infiltrate groups and try and get to places within those groups that are "senior" or "powerful", ie. the boss or leader or person organising. The thing about their battle against anarchists is that we, as should be known by all and sundry, have no "leaders" as such, even militantly shunning the idea in favour of autonomous actions or community consensus building.
That is hard for MI5 to infiltrate, but they still do it.
The state took the threat of the potential 114 people who were allegedly gearing up for the power station demo last year so seriously, that it spent hundreds of thousands of pounds and disrupted what would have been surely one of the biggest and most glorious shutting downs of a power station for ages.
MI5 no doubt helped out with the intel on which activists were there and where and with whom, etc. These things aren't down to how paranoid can we get, its about what is logical in the eyes of the state and its workers via security and police services.
If you are being paid thousands of pounds to be a spy, why not sit at a computer and mess with peoples access to the internet, or their phone,or their personal life, as well as collect info on them and photos, etc? What is there to stop them? Parliament? nope. they wont stop spy's that are helping to keep them and their "system" safe.
There's nothing that can be done against spies, really, except the spreading of misinformation to try and catch some of them out or actually avoiding placing ourselves in situations whereby we will come in to contact with them (like leaving these comments!!).
But like a certain activist hippy from round these parts once said, "if they are not spying on us, then we are not doing our job....."

PS.For extensive information on spying in the modern times, read The New Spies, by James Adams, ISBN-0091740630. Near enough everything you would want to know about how spying will effect us for the next couple of decades is in this book. Also, try and trace books about IRA spies, there you will find hundreds of stories about how MI5 and MI6 operate on a one-to-one level or how they operate in general (even hollywood-ised versions of northern irish spying show MI5 killing in cold blood to protect the crown and britain, see the film Fifty Dead Men Walking, about a IRA informant being ran by state/MI5/special branch).

Clues are everywhere. Be vigilant.

PPS.the wires in the box was a joke idea, but worth it if people are actually following you...why not play with them a little?? no ones going to call it a hoax unless you make it one. otherwise its just wires in a box you left on the floor by accident.........

Most of these 'secret police/Stasi' types are inadequate little people who love doing what they are told, and get a buzz out of feeling they are James Bond.

If one of them approaches you to take a photo or whatever whip out your camera phone and get his/her photo and stick it on here. These inadequates thrive on their 'secret police protecting the state' self-image, and the last thing they want is to be outed. If everyone knows you are a secret policeman then you can no longer be effective.

Also if you get the guy who takes your mugshot on the street, turn the tables and follow him when he thinks you have been spooked. S/he will be off-guard when he thinks he's done his job, and you can get pix of his colleagues, car numbers etc, which you can make public knowledge. An outed secret policeman is a non-effective one.


If any uniforms get involved as a result of the surveillance get names and numbers and put in complaints to the local chief constable, and Freedom of Information and Data Protection Act requests as to what, who why etc happened.

Another old tactic if you know you are being followed is to approach a uniformed cop and explain that you are being stalked by some nutter following you. If you are lucky the secret cop will have to explain himself, and if he shows his Stasi badge, you've got him again. plus a report the uniforms will have to put in, regarding who this person was. Chase this up at a later date, claim harassment and intimidation, all the way to the top (chief constable, MP etc) and show them that you will not let it go. The tables can be turned on them, giving you the a great sense of power, and letting them know that you will not be fucked with. If you know they are harassing you anyway, what have you got to lose.

And just console yourself and have a good laugh with your mates about the demotion, transfer to other duties etc. the secret policeman will get, and the constant ribbing from his colleagues he will get from being outfoxed and outwitted by an 'anarchist'. These twats are so obsessed with self-importance they cannot stand being laughed at.

Have fun!

Who care ,most people could give a shit

i know for a fact that mi5 do, or at least did, keep tabs on certain activist types. and i do get sort of peeved when me emails start playing up. it always seems to be when about some sort of action that might interest me seems to be happening. have also got one or two curious messages in the past, purporting to be a long not seen friend. mostly just to ask where i be the now, and when i reply not in the country them seem not to be interested anymore.
so don´t be complacent, but then again nae panic

MI5 will eventually pass on "information" [misinformation half the time...] to uniformed police as part of their campaigns of harrassment and intimidation against people....whether or not they are politically active...but not necessarily straight away.

In Camden people were bullied and asked to inform on neighbours. This is appalling. What followed after MI5 dirty tactics were borough wide ASBOs against Somalian people...many were accused of drug dealing / anti social behaviour etc having done nothing wrong.

Never underestimate MI5's capacity to fit you up with something as well if they see you as being in the way when they want their own people to run a political campaign. This does not necessarily mean sticthing you up with a crime...smear tactics are common....starting trouble beteewn people / activists / neighbours. They are capable of getting to anyone, anywhere. [Although some of their lock pickers aren't the best!]

As far as anarchists and activists are concerned one of their tricks is to try and ruin an effective movement with tactics such as swamping with drugs. It happened in the early 90s with the Reclaim The Land / Streets movement. First it was ecstacy then smack. Then there the so called New Age Traveller movement was over. Thanks to MI5 drugs and dealers.

Another tactic is to send in trouble makers to peaceful demos ...all dressed in black...to smash windows etc resulting in your message ie Climate Change [for example] getting lost or overlooked. They will also send in "idiots" who will shout stupid things, act the prat, dress in a ridiculous outfit etc to discredit a movement.

None of this is however as bad as picking on an entire community which as what has happened in Camden. What MI5 have done in Camden against Somalian people is bang out of order and has done lasting damage to innocent people.