Green Gathering Campaigns 💚🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿🌍🌱☮️♻️

When listening to the witnesses give evidence at the Undercover policing Inquiry there couldn’t be more of contrast being the heart felt and detailed testimony of the activists, especially the women deceived into sexual relationships and the #spycops officers themselves, who just lie and pretend not to recall throughout the questioning. Undercover police spied on so many women while pretending to be activists in the groups that these women were participating in. These secret cops did not only attend protests but meetings, social events, had dates, went on holidays, and even lived with activists, as their boyfriends. Some police officers father children with Women who had no idea who they were and who they were working for. @helensteel12 is one of the women who uncovered the existence of secret police in the heart of progressive campaigns in the UK. And one of the women who had a prolonged relationship with an undercover officer. John Dines. When she gave evidence to the enquiry, she gave it in great detail with a huge amount of physical evidence submitted. This public inquiry, called by Theresa May, has been running for 11 years, and the gulf between the testimony of women and men whose lives were invaded by police officers, and those police officers themselves is staggering.

The #spycops Inquiry returns on Monday 21st September with 2 witnesses: First the undercover officer HN60 cover name "Dave Evans" who infiltrated the SWP and then a number of animal rights groups, deceiving at least one woman into a sexual relationship. He will only appear remotely, and will be broadcast with the usual delay audio-only. Then one of the activists who exposed the unit, @helensteel12, who was deceived into a sexual relationship by undercover officer John Dines. It will be her 6th appearance at the inquiry. She will appear in person and broadcast with full video. ucpi.org.uk/2026/09/15/opera…

Whenever people hear about how undercover #spycops spied on activists, infiltrating protest groups and deceiving women into sexual relationships, they are always keen to know what they can do to protect their campaign from infiltration today. Though we know a lot about the historic tactics and what the undercover police used to do, we don’t have a checklist of the current methods used by Covert Human Intelligence Sources targeting protestors. The most powerful and important thing that anyone in a group that could be targeted by infiltration can do is guard against the disruption that these secret police would cause. Destabilising and undermining campaigns was considered the most effective element of the SDS Spycops unit by its managers. Setting people against each other, spreading rumour and gossip, causing distrust and division that ultimately tears organisations apart. Protecting our communities from infiltration isn’t about being paranoid about who might be a cop, but creating resilient collectives that don’t attack each other over minor disagreements. We’ve got a lot to do, and we all need to keep doing it together.

As well as collecting information for the rest of Special Branch, up until the late 90s the #spycops also sent their intelligence reports to the Security Service MI5. When the @ucpinquiry attempted to retrieve intelligence reports from the @metpoliceuk, the force admitted to shredding a large quantity of documents in May 2014. However MI5 were much more forthcoming with their archive (though that too is far from complete). MI5 would provide ‘shopping lists’ to Special Branch for information they wanted to know about campaigners and organisations. Having one on one briefings with undercover officers during their deployment. There were other ‘customers’ of the covert intelligence that were outside the state, with police information about campaigners appearing in the #blacklisting documents of private companies like the Consulting Association and Economic League who advised companies on who to deny work. Video is @bristolnoborder at @GGcampaigns 2026

So far, the #spycops inquiry has only looked at the historic abuses of one undercover unit, the Special Demonstration Squad. If the heavily implicated Home Office gets it's way, the National Public Order Intelligence Unit won't face the same scrutiny.

The @ucpinquiry into #spycops is under threat. The Home Office has launched a sham consultation process in a bid to prevent the inquiry from finishing it's work. Visit ucpi.uk/consultation/action.… to oppose this attempt to shut down the search for the truth.

In the 11 years of the @ucpinquiry there’s only been limited parliamentary support for those spied on, with some notable exceptions. Many MPs were themselves spied on by #spycops. The first black MP @BGTrust, along with the first black female MP, @HackneyAbbott, were repeatedly reported on by undercover officers for supporting family justice campaigns and people organising for police accountability. @jeremycorbyn has been one of the most reported on MPs due to his support for peace, trade union and socialist causes. @PeterHain was a prominent anti apartheid campaigner with the Stop the 70 Tour - running on to stop cricket matches taking place, and they did the same thing with the British and Irish Lions Tour of 1972. Blocking the team from leaving the Star and Garter hotel in a protest that included an undercover police officer. Whilst Welsh Secretary, father of the House of Commons and part of Tony Blair cabinet after he voted for the Iraq war, Peter Hain attended a Christmas party at the parents of spied on activist @fruitbatmania who was being deceived into a relationship by undercover police officer officer Mark Kennedy, in Kennedy's report, he referred to Hain as a ‘South African terrorist’. It just shows however senior a position, if you ever dare to threaten power structures, you will continue to be targeted. This is a video of me speaking at @GGcampaigns earlier this summer, more videos to follow

I'm involved in the Green Gathering's Campaigns area, where we run 7 different spaces with loads of talks, workshops and plenty of fun stuff. Follow @GGcampaigns

there's loads of other great speakers and performers at the Gathering including @Lowkey0nline @billybragg @beanstoast @Efa_Twm @ZackPolanski @labourlewis @GuantanamoAndy and loads more.

More information about the festival here: greengathering.org.uk

I gave a talk about #spycops ant the @ucpinquiry at last year's Green Gathering Festival. I'll be doing an updated version at this year's event. youtu.be/Cad0V8Js7Ic