The worthless piece of shit is just after publicity. Didn't he employ Max Clifford?

"I started drinking heavily, cutting myself and plunged into a deep depression."

If this is true, I wouldn't wish it on anyone, but I have very little sympathy for him. He wasn't forced to do it. He could have left at any time.

It isn't as if he was spying on criminals, let alone the major criminals they tell us these techniques are used against. He was spying on campaigners who take part in non-violent political action. The police shouldn't waste a penny of my tax money spying on us.

My sympathy is with my brother and sister campaigners who were abused in numerous ways by this individual and his fellow spies. May the spies live lonely lives and die unloved. They are certainly cut off from the grat love activists have.

"I was tormented with guilt over the hurt I’d caused."

The man is a serial liar. To use an old-fashioned word, a scoundrel. I don't believe for a second that he is tormented over the hurt, though he may be tormented by the loss of money and other benefits. He abused fellow campaigners for many years, he didn't concern himself with the hurt he would cause then and I don't believe he is concerned now.

Here is the e-mail address of Mark Kennedy in his new life

 mark.kennedy@densusgroup.com

This is a US "private security" firm...

All coppers are bastards, especially the police agent-provocateurs who troll Indymedia

I wish it were that easy, I regarded 'Flash' as a friend, drank with him, shared food, drove with him, shared jokes and ideas. When the news about him came out I was a strong defender of him for some days before I accepted the truth. Now I am much more distrustful, I am wary of who I share secrets with, who I befrend, who I help.

Now I have questions for new people, a couple of simple background checks for new faces that helps to establish where they have come from.

'Flash' was a 'friend' to a lot of people, don't forget that.

A standard police/Security Service tactic to disrupt those whose politics they dislike is to sow FUD. They try and get people fighting each other and thus not fighting the forces of repression. It is a difficult tactic to fight against, even if aware of it.

Being wary of who you share secrets with is fine and who you befriend, but being reluctant about who you help is the top of a slippery slope. They want people fighting each other, we don't. Help people, but don't tell them what they don't need to know.

Old Cold War people like me perhaps have some useful experience for some other activists. Need to know, avoiding security own-goals like Facebook, keeping a discreet eye on people to check who they are really loyal to. People who are on-side don't mind a bit of secuity checking. I often tell activists that I don't wish to know what they are up to and there is no need for me to know. Hopefully they are just testing my loyalty, the other alternative is that their security is poor (in which case I'd rather not get too involved with them).

Power to the elbows of those chasing via the courts the slimeballs who deployed these spies. The police and those hiding behind them have still not come up with a good counter to those willing and able to use the courts.

My love and best wishes to those betrayed by this and the the other lumps of worthless shit.