HN86

This article is part of the Undercover Research Portal at Powerbase - investigating corporate and police spying on activists

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Part of a series on undercover police officers
'HN86'
Alias:	unknown
Deployment:	late 1970s / early 1980s
Unit:	Special Demonstration Squad
Targets:	'against groups whose principle activities during that time are outside the terms of reference of the Inquiry'

HN86 is the cipher given to a former Special Demonstration Squad undercover officer who was deployed in late 1970s / early 1980s 'against groups whose principle activities during that time are outside the terms of reference of the Inquiry'. From 1993 to 1996 was head of the SDS, as Detective Chief Inspector. Left SDS for another post on 11 April 1996. On 21 April 1997 he took temporary control for six months of S Squad (the division which contained the SDS) due to illness of its Superintendent. They make appearances in the first two Operation Herne reports and the Ellison Review.

The chair of the Undercover Policing Inquiry, John Mitting, has indicated he is minded to restrict the real and cover name on healh grounds.

For the N cipher system see N officers page.

As an SDS officer

1993-1996 head of SDS as Det. Ch. Insp.; responsibilities included SDS recruitment & tasking. As such he was author of a document dated 24 September 1993 which referred to a 'new, violent anti-fascist group forming within Youth Against Racism'. Youth Against Racism in Europe, a group set up by the Socialist Party was infiltrated by Peter Francis.

HN86 He also authored the 1993/1994 SDS Annual Report which discussed left-wing campaigning around the death of Stephen Lawrence, and is central to the claims of Peter Francis regarding racism in the SDS and the tasking against the Lawrence family. He refused to provide a statement to Operation Herne, though did provide one for the Ellison Review, in which he denied much of what whistleblower Peter Francis had said about tasking against the Lawrences. (Ellison 6.5 & 6.9(c)-(d); Herne II, 26.1.19) DOUBLE CHECK HERNE REFERENCES

In the Undercover Policing Inquiry

• 19 Apr 2018: directed that any applications for anonymity to be filed by 24 April 2018 by MPS legal team, or 27 April for the Designated Lawyers team.

• 14 Nov 2017: extent of restriction sought unclear; extension sought for MPS to supply application.

• 23 May 2018: Mitting wrote he was minded to restrict both HN86's real and cover names, writing:

HN86 is in his 60s. He was deployed as an undercover officer in the late 1970s and early 1980s against groups whose principal activities during that time are outside the terms of reference of the Inquiry. With the permission of his managers, his deployment was ended prematurely in the interests of his health. He was the Detective Chief Inspector in operational charge of the SOS for a period during the 1990s. He introduced changes to enhance the welfare of deployed officers. He has important evidence to give about that and other matters to the Inquiry. Responsible journalists either know, or can readily discover, his true identity.

HN86 has, for over 20 years, suffered from a illness, which he categorises as beginning with a "nervous breakdown" in the late 1990s. Dr Jagmohan Singh, a consultant psychiatrist, diagnosis the condition as either or both "panic disorder" and "generalised anxiety disorder". He is currently prescribed medication for this condition. In the opinion of Dr Singh, expressed in his report of 5 April 2018, he will find any direct engagement with the Inquiry "extremely stressful" and disclosure of his real or cover name will destabilise his mental health further.

HN86 does not live in the United Kingdom. The application for a restriction order made by the designated lawyers for HN86 is expressly founded on the premise that "it is in the public interest for HN86 to be enabled to participate as fully as possible in providing evidence to the Inquiry ... by mitigating personal harm to HN86 that might otherwise prevent engagement". I infer from this statement that he is willing to provide evidence to the Inquiry, provided that proper steps are taken to protect his health and welfare, including the making of a restriction order in respect of his real and cover name. This is a price worth paying to secure his evidence. Not imposing a restriction on publication of his real or cover name would impair the effectiveness of the Inquiry....