------ Forwarded Message > From: "dasg...@aol.com" <dasg...@aol.com> > Date: Sun, 14 Mar 2010 23:53:36 EDT > To: Robert Millegan <ramille...@aol.com> > Cc: <ema...@aol.com>, <j...@aol.com>, <jim6...@cwnet.com>, > <christian.r...@gmail.com>, <l...@legitgov.org> > Subject: Why Protest Is Minimal in the UK -- They Still Have Their Own > "COINTELPRO" >
> http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2010/mar/14/undercover-policeman-infiltrated-viol > ent-activists > "Officer A lived a secret life among anti-racist activists as they fought > brutal battles with the police and the BNP. Here he tells of the terrifying > life he led, the psychological burden it placed on him and his growing fears > that the work of his unit could threaten legitimate protest" > > Undercover with Britain's violent Left: Amazing story of how Special Branch > officer infiltrated anti-racist groups > By Sophie Freeman > <http://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/search.html?s=y&authornamef=Sophie+Freeman> > 14th March 2010 > http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1257856/Undercover-Britains-violent-Le > ft-Amazing-story-Special-Branch-officer-infiltrated-anti-racist-groups.html > <http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1257856/Undercover-Britains-violent-L > eft-Amazing-story-Special-Branch-officer-infiltrated-anti-racist-groups.html> > A Metropolitan Police officer has told how he routinely engaged in violence > while working undercover among British anti-racist groups. > > The man, known only as Officer A, was a member of the Special Demonstration > Squad, a secret unit within the Met's Special Branch with a remit to prevent > violent public disorder on the streets of London. > > In order to maintain his cover, Officer A became involved in violence against > members of the public and uniformed police officers. > > He also had sexual relations with at least two of his female targets as a way > of getting hold of intelligence, he told The Observer. > > > > Protest: The National Front march through Bolton town centre in 1980. Special > Demonstration Squad officers are believed to have infiltrated the party > > 'My role was to provide intelligence about protests and demonstrations, > particularly those that had the potential to become violent,' he said. > > 'In doing so, the campaigns I was associated with lost much of their > effectiveness, a factor that ultimately hastened their demise. > > 'By providing intelligence you rob these groups of the element of surprise. > Once the SDS get into an organisation, it is effectively finished.' > > The Special Demonstration Squad was set up in the wake of violent anti-Vietnam > war demonstrations in London in 1968. > > With their long hair and beards - which was very different to the usual > appearance of a policeman - they were referred to as the 'hairies', and fitted > into the role of Left wing intellectuals with ease. > > Officer A, with his pony tail and angry persona, was so convincing that he > became branch secretary of a leading anti-racist organisation believed to be a > front for Labour's Militant tendency. > > He was given a new identity and provided with a flat and a 'cover job' during > his deployment between 1993 and 1997. He lived a double life six days a week, > spending just one day a week with his wife and family. > > It was a period of heightened tension between orgnaisations such as the > Anti-Nazi League and the National Front. The SDS is believed to have > infiltrated all such Right and Left-wing groups. > > 'I had a really good time with my targets and enjoyed their company enormously > - there was a genuine bond,' said Officer A. 'But I was never under any > illusion about what I was there to do. They were not truly my friends. > > 'The one thing all these groups have in common, both on the Left and the Right > is a total hatred of the police... You have no choice but to engage in acts of > violence.' > > Getting information from a man was easy, he said - you simply became his best > friend. But to get details from a woman was much harder. > > 'If someone started talking about getting good information from a female > target, we all knew there was only one way that could have happened. They had > been sleeping with them,' he said. > > He himself slept with two targets - for information, and to maintain his > undercover role. > > 'You can't be in that world full-time for five years and never have a > girlfriend,' he said. 'People would start to ask questions.' > > Officer A's role ended amid fears that his presence within groups protesting > about black deaths in police custody and bungled investigations into racist > murders would be revealed during the Macpherson inquiry into the death of > teenager Stephen Lawrence, claims The Observer. > > Officer A has chosen to tell his story because he believes the public have a > right to know - and subsequently make their own decisions - about these covert > activities, given their potential to help end legitimate protest movements, > said the newspaper. > > Members of the SDS do not have to gather evidence to prosecute their targets > and are able to engage in activity outside the limits of a regular officer's > job, without the fear of disciplinary action. > > 'If I were a regular police officer and I wanted to plant a bug in your house > or your office, I would need to get all kinds of permissions,' said Officer A. > 'But the SDS can put a person in your car, in your house, in you life 24 hours > a day for five years and nobody outside the SDS will know anything about it.' > > But, by using this intelligence to pre-empt violent situations, the unit has > been able to prevent bloodshed on many occasions. > > One of Officer A's successes came when he was deployed during a demonstration > against a British National Party-run bookshop in south-east London. > > He became aware that the protest was going to be much larger than the Met > realised and that one anti-racism faction was even planning to set fire to the > shop. > > Officer A was able to inform his Met colleagues of the threat, police leave > was cancelled for that weekend and 7,000 officers were deployed on the > streets. > > Despite violent clashes, the police operation was deemed a success. > > > ------ End of Forwarded Message
