UndercoverResearch Portal

investigating corporate and police spying on activists

In October 2010, Mark Kennedy was exposed as a police spy who had infiltrated environmental and anti-capitalist groups for the previous seven years. His was the beginning of a series of public exposures; most resulting from investigations by the people targeted, supported by the work of Rob Evans and Paul Lewis at the Guardian. Growing public pressure led to more than a dozen official - and mostly internal - reviews, and eventually to the judge-led Pitchford Inquiry into undercover policing which started autumn 2015 and is to run for three years.'

The Undercover Research Portal provides easy public access to the stories about the various undercover officers who have been exposed and the groups they spied upon. We also look at the police officers and units involved and how they interconnect with some of the big stories around policing in the past few decades. The portal is set up and edited by the Undercover Research Group, we also write the Undercover Research blog dedicated to analyse and comment our work on political policing. Both are overseen by Eveline Lubbers and Peter Salmon. We can be reached by email - PGP key available on request.

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Background The undercover operations exposed involve two Special Branch units that focused on protest groups and what would in the 2000s be given the name Domestic Extremism. These were the Special Demonstration Squad, operating since 1968, and the National Public Order Intelligence Unit. The lack of supervision and oversight of their undercover police operations has led to more than a dozen official inquiries, most of which are internal and confidential. Convictions of campaigners have been overturned, and declared unsafe because it had not been disclosed that undercover police officers were at the heart of activities, and it is highly likely that further convictions will be challenged. A number of court cases have been initiated by women tricked into intimate relationships with undercover agents (and in a few cases having children by them. Hearings in Parliament have questioned the more extreme methods employed, such as the use of death certificates of children to provide a false identity for the spies involved; while using Parliamentary Privilege, Green MP Caroline Lucas has accused one spy of being an agent provocateur, committing arson while an activist with the Animal Liberation Front. Elsewhere another officer, Peter Francis, came forward with details of how the undercover police were used to smear the Stephen Lawrence family. It has become apparent that a culture of abuse grew up around the units involved in covert policing and how that intelligence was used. So much so, that a public inquiry was announced in 2014. Where to Start? Follow the links below to learn about the secretive world of undercover policing, the shadowy units and the personalities involved, as well as context for the stories seen in the news. An A-Z list of articles on the people, groups and issues around undercover operations and policing of protest. Undercover Operations in Policing Protest and Dissent The Undercover Officers: profiles of known undercover police. The Covert Police Units: the units which spied on protests and protestors. Police Officers: the senior police who knew and had oversight International Surveillance and Undercover Groups Non-UK undercover police Corporate Spying Known Infiltrators Corporate Intelligence Agencies and Private Investigation Agencies: the private security firms who have spied on campaign groups. UndercoverResearch: Ex-Cops in the Security Industry: police officers who have taken their knowledge and experience to the corporate world. Issues/Case Studies/Background/Analysis Smearing of the Stephen Lawrence Campaign Use of Identities of Children Sexual Relations Domestic Extremism Convictions Overturned Consultancy Association Blacklist Far Right Holding Authorities to Account Official Inquiries Rules & Regulation on Undercover Policing Parliamentary Hearings and Questions Cases in Court Official Inquiries, Cases in Court & Questions - Abroad International Policy and Agreements on Undercover Operations Targets and Background Targeted Groups Targeted Events

What's New on Undercover Research Dave Robertson (alias), SDS HN348 / Sandra, SDS HN109, SDS Christine Green (alias) HN16, HN58, SDS N officers list Rick Gibson (alias), SDS William Paul 'Bill' Lewis (alias), SDS Operation Elter John Graham (alias), SDS Andy Coles AKA Andy Davey, SDS Rod Richardson (alias), NPOIU Andrew Robbins, Head of NDET Undercovers Uncovered List of ‘confirmed’ undercover officers in the UK Peter Francis AKA Peter Daley or Pete Black, SDS Mark Kennedy AKA Mark Stone, NPOIU Lynn Watson (alias), NPOIU Marco Jacobs (alias), NPOIU Jim Boyling AKA Jim Sutton, SDS Simon Wellings (alias), SDS Robert Lambert AKA Bob Robinson, SDS John Dines AKA John Barker, SDS Mark Jenner AKA Mark Cassidy, SDS Carlo Neri (alias), SDS "RC" (alias), SDS Gary R. & Abigail L. (aliases), NPOIU Rod Richardson (alias), SDS Mike Chitty AKA Mike Blake, SDS Matt Rayner (alias), SDS Jason Bishop (alias), SDS N81, SDS Roger Pearce, SDS Andy Coles AKA Andy Davey, SDS Rick Gibson (alias), SDS Christine Green, SDS Douglas Edwards (alias), SDS John Graham (alias), SDS William Paul 'Bill' Lewis, SDS Alex Sloan (alias), SDS John Clinton (alias), SDS John Clinton (alias), SDS Dick Epps (alias), SDS Michael Scott (alias), SDS Dave Robertson (alias), SDS HN348 / 'Sandra', SDS Undercover Police Officers & Agents - Abroad Simon Bromma AKA Simon Brenner (Germany) Christian Høibø (Norway) Further Reading collaborating with ARspycatcher Police Spies Out of Lives Campaign Opposing Police Surveillance Network on Police Monitoring (NetPol) SpinWatch CorporateWatch StateWatch others of interest The Monitoring Group Hillsborough Justice Campaign Random Reflectons of a Domestic Extremist ActivistSecurity.org resources for further action FOIA Fighters NetPol guide to requesting your data from the police Exposing Infiltrators and Informers (pdf from ActivistSecurity.org) Activist Security Handbook (pdf from ActivistSecurity.org)