Special Demonstration Squad

Special Branch Unit established in the late 1960s as a result of the rise of the New Left. The Special Demonstration Squad was a a unit of the Metropolitan Police Service with a remit to prevent disorder.

Activities

'Officer A' from a secretive unit of the Special Branch of the Metropolitan Police Service, tells The Guardian that his role was to "provide intelligence about protests and demonstrations, particularly those that had the potential to become violent". could be considered to currently occupy a similar role to the SDS.

History

The SDS was established in 1968 to "deal with the lack of police knowledge of what was happening on demonstrations", states a film interview from The Guardian. It was shut down in october 2006 as part of a restructuring of the Met, though continued to exist until October 2008. Anti-Nazi League, Youth Against Racism, the British National party and the National Front are all believed to have bee infiltrated by the SDS. Since it has been closed down, the National Public Order Intelligence Unit, an agency that monitors so-called domestic extremists<ref=name"Evans"/> performs a similar role in the UK today.

Accountability

The measures that are taken to avoid supplying information as to who these individuals are working for, as well as their remit, raises questions about accountability.

Fears of Public Inquiry

Officer A's deployment, which lasted from 1993 to 1997, ended amid fears that his presence and role within groups protesting about black deaths in police custody and bungled investigations into racist murders would be revealed during the public inquiry by Sir William Macpherson into the death of south London teenager Stephen Lawrence.<ref=name"Thompson"/>

Prosecution Dropped

When details of his role within the protest planned against E.ON's coal power fire station were required for the prosecution, The Guardian revealed that

the prosecutors unexpectedly abandoned the trial after they were asked to disclose classified details about the role the undercover officer played in organising and helping to fund the protest. "I have no doubt that our attempts to get disclosure about Kennedy's role has led to the collapse of the trial," said Mike Schwarz, a solicitor at the Bindmans law firm who represented the activists.<ref=name"Evans"/>

Traceability

When the 'Mark Stone', or 'Flash', was uncovered as a police officer embedded in the UK environmental movement for 7 years, questions regarding his identity were asked

"The individual is a Met officer," said Nottinghamshire police."He's an undercover officer," said the Metropolitan police. "We can't say more." Scotland Yard refused requests for information about the Special Demonstration Squad, reported an article from The Daily Telegraph.

In another instance of Police seeking to recruit CHIS (Covert Human Intelligence Sources) from the environmental movement, the two plain clothes policemen claiming to be officers from Strathclyde Police were in fact not traceable on any Strathclyde Police databases. No satisfactory answers were obtained as to who they were, or to which department they were accountable.

Private Security Sector

Peter Bleksley, former undercover police officer, when questioned about the Kennedy affair in an an interview for BBC2, confirms that there are currently more police officers embedded in the movement and that "there are also people from the private security sector working against climate campaigners".<ref=name"Wark">Kirsty Wark, NewsNight "BBC2" 10/01/11, accessed 11/01/11</ref>

Interfering with the right to protest

By providing intelligence, Officer A tells The Guardian

"the campaigns I was associated with lost much of their effectiveness, a factor that ultimately hastened their demise".

He believes the public should be able to make an informed decision about whether such covert activities are necessary, given their potential to curtail legitimate protest movements.

Similar questions were raised by the Strathclyde Police's attempts to deter Plane Stupid activists from taking action against the aviation industry.

More than a Peripheral Role in Protest

Officer A'from the SDS was never suspected by the people he worked and socialised with

so convincing was he in his covert role that he quickly rose to become branch secretary of a leading anti-racist organisation that was believed to be a front for Labour's Militant tendency.<ref=name"Thompson">

He spoke out after his duties with the SDS were terminated, claiming that he feels the public should know what police tactics they could be subject to.<ref=name"Thompson"> Though occupying a similarly key role in the organising (contributing to the planning of the actions) and logistics (providing transport and funds) of protest, Mark Kennedy was however finally exposed by activists who found a passport with his real name and confronted him, leading to a confession.

Infiltrator or Agent Provocateur?

Unlike regular undercover officers, members of the SDS do not have to gather evidence with a view to prosecuting their targets, The Guardian article explains. This enables them to witness and even engage in criminal activity without fear of disciplinary action or compromising a subsequent court case".<ref=name"Thompson">

Legal documents suggest Kennedy's activities, working for the NPOIU, went beyond those of a passive spy, prompting questions as to whether his role in organising and helping to fund protests meant he turned into an agent provocateur, suggests the BBC NewNight interview.<ref=name"Wark"\>

The Costs of Intelligence Gathering

Kennedy, 'Flash', was exposed as a police officer having infiltrated the UK environment protest movement. He told friends each undercover spy cost £250,000, according to The Guardian. Kennedy is believed to have been one of at least two undercover operatives working for the National Public Order Intelligence Unit, an agency that monitors so-called domestic extremists.<ref=name"Evans"/> He was actively involved in the protest against E.ON's coal-fire power station in Nottingham which, according to The Guardian was subject to "months of surveillance, cost ￡300,000 and resulted in the largest number of pre-emptive arrests of political activists in the UK".

Following an attempt to infiltrate a Plane Stupid group in Scotland, through Freedom of Information request, The Guardian revealed that Strathclyde Police force had almost doubled the annual amount it paid to informants since 2004, when £145,198 was paid. A total of £762,459 was paid between 2004 and 2008.