Mark Kennedy

Mark Kennedy was an undercover police officer who used the name Mark Stone in his infiltrations of the climate protest movement and was known as 'Flash' to campaigners. His was exposed as a police officer in October 2010 and in January 2011 after wide media coverage he went public with his story in a Mail on Sunday interview.

Mark Kennedy: A chronology of his activities

Click here for a link to Mark Kennedy: A chronology of his activities

Mark Kennedy's interview with the Daily Mail

Amid all the media coverage Mark Kennedy, purportedly in hiding in the USA, chose to give an exclusive interview to the Daily Mail. His account contains interesting information about his intelligence-gathering activities over the 8 years undercover, though it has not been verified by other sources.

Career in the MET

According to the Daily Mail, Mark Kennedy was recruited in 2002 by the Met’s National Public Order Intelligence Unit. He left school at 16, worked as a court usher and joined the City of London Police in 1990, aged 21. In the early Nineties he was a uniformed member of the ‘Ring of Steel’ around the City of London. He transferred to the Metropolitan Police and in 1996 was recruited to his first undercover course on street-level drug dealing. ‘I was a natural at undercover work and I loved it,’ says Mark Kennedy in his interview. ‘Drug work was black and white. You identify the bad guys, record and film the evidence, present it in court and take them down. I did that for four years and loved it.’ in 2000, he was approached by the Animal Rights National Index, a unit which became the National Public Order Intelligence Unit (NPOIU), a shadowy body that runs a nationwide intelligence database of political activists. In early 2003 – that he was selected as a candidate for a classified operation, The Guardian tells us. In the summer of 2003 he was issued with a driving licence and passport bearing his new identity – Mark Stone – and a plausible backstory that explained his long absences.

In September 2009, he was apparently informed via text message that his activities were over and that he had 3 weeks to return his Mark Stone papers. ‘I had an interview with the Met’s personnel department in December 2009 and was told I wasn’t qualified. I was in there less than 20 minutes. I came out hugely depressed. I’d done 20 years’ service and they were basically telling me I was only qualified to drive a panda car. So long undercover had left me totally inequipped to go back into mainstream policing. I couldn’t even use the radios or computers'.. It was in January 2010 that he was approached by Global Open the private security company whose clients included BAE and E.ON. Kennedy handed in his resignation from the police in January 2010, ending work in March. He then went back to Nottingham and contacted his old friends: ‘People were worried about me. I wanted to withdraw myself in a more believable way. I didn’t tell police I was going back.’He claims he then resumed his relationship with his girlfriend while he worked for Global Open as a consultant.

Reporting to a cover officer

The media generated a lot of speculation as to whether Mark Kennedy "went rogue" or acted without the authorisation of his superiors. His interview with the Daily Mail reveals patterns of frequent communication with his cover officer. ‘I had a cover officer whom I spoke to numerous times a day,’ said Kennedy. ‘He was the first person I spoke to in the morning and the last person I spoke to at night. I didn’t sneeze without a superior officer knowing about it. My BlackBerry had a tracking device. My cover officer joked that he knew when I went to the loo.’ Kennedy says his cover officer would report back up a line of command who ‘were aware of everything I was doing. Every action I took had to receive something called an “authority” which covered me to infiltrate activist groups and be involved in minor crime such as trespass and criminal damage. In all the time I worked undercover I never broke the law.’ 'I texted and informed on a daily basis' he claims in his interview. ‘I reported everything. There were many instances of shoplifting. I was offered counterfeit money. I was offered drugs many, many times. Yes, I had a serious relationship but there was another undercover female operative there who definitely knew about it. Kennedy says he would travel abroad with fellow activists, and feed information back to his British superiors to share with other nations. ‘Activism has no borders,’ he says. ‘I would never go abroad without authority from my superiors and the local police.’

The costs of intelligence gathering

The salary of an undercover officer

The Daily Mail claims his £50,000 annual police salary was paid into a private account in his real name. All other payments, which he says came to £200,000 a year, went into his ‘Mark Stone’ account. "I often worked as an industrial climber, which meant I had a means of showing I was “making” money, rather than the truth – which was that the NPOIU would wire it to me" explained Kennedy in his interview. ‘I was given a fake passport as Mark Stone, a driver’s licence, bank accounts, a credit card and a phone with a tracking device.’

The Daily Mail article, in Mark's words, reveals that

Each undercover officer cost £250,000 a year in wages, overtime, cost of transport and housing. Every day I was on the job, even if I was at 'home' in bed watching telly and doing the laundry, I got five hours’ overtime. My handler got the same overtime. When I was actively involved in operations I would get the maximum, which was 14 hours of overtime on top of my eight-hour working day. They paid me for 22 hours of work which was the maximum I could claim in a 24-hour period. This could go on for weeks. My handler, or cover officer, would get the same.

The same article itemised controversially expensive cars and accommodation purchased by the NPOIU.

The costs of policing operations

In the pre-emptive arrest of the 114 activist at Ratcliffe-on-Soar power station, a coal-fired plant owned by E.ON, the police operation cost £300,000, according to The Guardian.

In 2009, revelations on amounts paid for intelligence were also disclosed after Strathclyde Police attempted to recruit spies within Plane Stupid. Through a Freedom of Information request, it was revealed that £762,459 was paid between 2004 and 2008 by Strathclyde Police force, almost doubled the annual amount it paid to informants since 2004.

Intelligence gathering tactics

Recording device built into a Casio watch

The Daily Mail interview also presents insights as to how intelligence was gathered and in what form.

Kennedy used a specially modified Casio G Shock watch worth £7,000 and equipped with a microchip to record a meeting of activists prior to the planned raid on the Ratcliffe-on-Soar power station in 2009. Kennedy said the meeting was recorded on a chip in the watch then the information was downloaded to a police computer. The tape was transcribed and Kennedy went through each line to note which activist was talking.

it appears this device was used to record the two meetings, with 114 other protesters, at Iona School in Nottingham, to discuss shutting down the power plant on April 12 and 13 2010. Mr Kennedy said that before these meetings he was instructed to wear a recording device, the first time he had been ordered to do so by his handlers. "The meetings were over two days and I recorded both days. The first recording didn’t record because the office had failed to charge the battery on the device".

Printed matter handed to his superiors

From his interview it also appears he was handing hard copies of activist booklets to be "studied and copied". He states that in Berlin in 2007 "I had a meeting with one person who gave me a booklet. It was a highly prized asset. This booklet was a “how to” manual on building incendiary devices and derailing trains.". In Mark's words, "I took it home to the UK and immediately gave it to my cover officer so it could be studied and copied".

Communicating with cover officer

As seen in the above section Reporting to cover officer, Mark Kennedy claims he "texted and informed on a daily basis". ‘I had a cover officer whom I spoke to numerous times a day’, he states.

Prosecution

Controversy surrounds the trial of those charged with conspiracy to shut down the Ratcliffe-on-Soar power station, a plan for an action in which Mark Kennedy was actively involved.

Collapse of prosecution case

According to the Daily Mail, the Crown Prosecution Service said it was abandoning the £1 million prosecution against the environmental activists after fresh information had been made available. When defence barristers submitted a disclosure request asking for information about Mark Kennedy's involvement, the prosecution apparently opted to abandon the case rather than have ‘murky’ evidence about the police’s involvement heard in public, suggests the Daily Mail.

Recordings by Mark Kennedy withheld

Mr Kennedy told the Daily Mail that the case was doomed to fail anyway because covert recordings he supplied police proved undeniably that the six men facing trial last week for conspiracy to commit aggravated trespass were innocent. 

Kennedy, who subsequently flirted with providing assistance to the activists’ defence team, said there was no agreement to commit the offence and his recordings prove it. According to his interview, these recordings were made on April 12 and 13th 2010, Mr Kennedy says he attended two meetings, with 114 other protesters, in Nottingham, to discuss shutting down the power plant.

Mike Schwarz, the lawyer representing the activists involved, said Mr Kennedy’s evidence cast doubt on the legality of the whole police operation. He said: ‘What Kennedy says now and what he confirmed to his handlers at the time casts serious doubt on the safety of the conviction of the 20 activists and the compliance of the police with their legal obligations.’ Mike Schwarz explains that the prosecution told the defence on Friday 7th January 2011, just before the trial was due to begin, and almost 20 months after the investigation began, that 'Previously unavailable material that significantly undermines the prosecution's case came to light on Wednesday 5 January'. The discovery of this material came at the time when the prosecution were informed that we planned to pursue disclosure of the evidence relating to PC Kennedy with the judge. Unsurprisingly, they have declined to confirm whether the new material relates to PC Kennedy. In my opinion the two are obviously connected. The timing speaks for itself.That evidence, had it been kept secret, could have led to a miscarriage of justice. Serious questions must be asked relating to the policing of protest, from the use of undercover officers, to the use of expensive and legally questionable mass pre-emptive arrest of protesters, to extremely restrictive pre-charge bail condition, to the seemingly arbitrary nature by which the 114 initially arrested were reduced to the final 26 who were eventually charged.

The Daily Mail explains that under the Criminal Procedure and Investigations Act of 1996, the police have a duty to make the CPS and the defence team aware of evidence they have collected. Mr Kennedy’s identity could have been protected by the judge granting a Public Interest Immunity order should the tapes have been heard in court.

Investigation into convictions

Jezz Davis, one of the jurors, in February 2011, spoke out after hearing revelations that Nottinghamshire police allegedly suppressed surveillance tapes of activists. He told The Guardian that "when called for jury service, you assume with good faith that all relevant evidence will be presented. The absence of potentially verdict-changing evidence is utterly outrageous." Keir Starmer, the director of public prosecutions, has ordered an investigation into the safety of the convictions, while the Independent Police Complaints Commission is scrutinising the police's alleged failure to disclose the tapes to court.

Infiltrating through Social Networks

"He took part in almost every major environmental protest in the UK from 2003, and also managed to infiltrate groups of anti-racists, anarchists and animal rights protesters", says 'The Guardian.

Using a fake passport, Kennedy visited more than 22 countries, taking part in protests against the building of a dam in Iceland, touring Spain with eco-activists, and penetrating anarchist networks in Germany and Italy.

It was a career that involved breaking into power stations, invading airports and – according to legal papers – concluded in an operation in which he now stands accused of crossing the boundary from spy to agent provocateur.

Kennedy had two assets that, in the years to come, would make him indispensable to protesters. First, he could drive, and had a dark blue pick-up truck. Second, he was generous with his money, agreeing to pay for campaign literature, rented vans and fines imposed on activists in magistrates courts. His largesse would eventually earn him his best-known nickname, Flash.

Embedded within friendships

He was becoming well-known among protesters, including Alex Long, a member of the London-based Wombles anarchist collective, who had met him the previous year.

Looking back, Long said, Kennedy was "too good to be true – the perfect activist". "He would be your best mate, but not in a contrived way," he said. "If he walked in right now, I'd say to him: 'Mark, how you doing?' and then only seconds later I'd think, oh, I forgot, you're a cop."

Moving in social circles, out with meetings, appears a key method of becoming embedded. As an article from The Guardian explains

Kennedy would live a remarkable double life lasting more than seven years. So embedded in the protest community did he become that about 200 people turned up for a joint celebration of his 40th birthday, described as a "three-day bender" on a farm.

All were, of course, oblivious that Kennedy was feeding back detailed reports to his police commanders as he participated in, and sometimes even organised, some of the most high-profile demonstrations of the past decade.

Intelligence gathering tactics

Recording device built into a Casio watch

From a Daily Mail article, one of the recording tactics is revealed

Kennedy used a specially modified Casio G Shock watch worth £7,000 and equipped with a microchip to record a meeting of activists prior to the planned raid on the Ratcliffe-on-Soar power station in 2009. Kennedy said the meeting was recorded on a chip in the watch then the information was downloaded to a police computer. The tape was transcribed and Kennedy went through each line to note which activist was talking.

Hard copies of documents handed to his superiors

From the Daily Mail article it also appears he was handing hard copies of booklets to be "studied and copied". Apparently in Berlin in 2007 he "had a meeting with one person who gave me a booklet. It was a highly prized asset. This booklet was a “how to” manual on building incendiary devices and derailing trains."

He was told this was one of only a handful of copies in existence. In Mark's words, "I took it home to the UK and immediately gave it to my cover officer so it could be studied and copied".

Career in the Met

The Guardian reveals that

Kennedy's career as a police constable in the Metropolitan police began around 1994. It was almost 10 years later – in early 2003 – that he was selected as a candidate for a classified operation.

NPIOU

Police have been infiltrating protest movements for decades, but Kennedy was to be one of the first to work for the newly formed National Public Order Intelligence Unit, which monitors so-called "domestic extremists". This unit occupies a similar function to that of the Special Demonstration Squad, now defunct.

Double Life

The Guardian tells us that, in the summer of 2003

he was issued with a driving licence and passport bearing his new identity – Mark Stone – and a plausible backstory that explained his long absences. Claiming to be a professional climber, Kennedy told people he encountered in Nottingham – many of them connected to Earth First – that he often had well-paid work abroad.

More than a Peripheral Role

Conscious of police surveillance, activists keep those who know about the logistics of a protest "action" to a small circle. For practical reasons, those in the know typically include people responsible for transport. By the summer of 2006, according to The Guardian,

he entered the circle of people planning the first of the annual Climate Camp gatherings, helping to set up the encampment near the Drax coal-fired power station in North Yorkshire. Around the same time he chained himself to Hartlepool nuclear power station and climbed a crane at Didcot power station.

At the following year's Climate Camp, Kennedy was trusted enough to be given the important role of organising transport needed to set up a camp near Heathrow.

Kennedy allowed his house to be used for planning meetings and, days before the protest was due to take place he used his fake ID to pay £778 to hire a 7.5-tonne truck to transport equipment. Those around said they became increasingly aware of his desire for the protest to go ahead.

The Costs of Police Intelligence

Police had been tipped off – by Kennedy The Guardian suggests– that some activists planned to break into the nearby Ratcliffe-on-Soar power station, a coal-fired plant owned by E.ON. In a £300,000 operation police swooped into a school building where protesters had gathered on the eve of the invasion. 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. A Daily Mail article, in Mark's words, reveals that

Each undercover officer cost £250,000 a year in wages, overtime, cost of transport and housing. Every day I was on the job, even if I was at 'home' in bed watching telly and doing the laundry, I got five hours’ overtime. My handler got the same overtime. When I was actively involved in operations I would get the maximum, which was 14 hours of overtime on top of my eight-hour working day. They paid me for 22 hours of work which was the maximum I could claim in a 24-hour period. This could go on for weeks. My handler, or cover officer, would get the same.

The same article itemised controversially expensive cars and accommodation purchased by the NPOIU.

In 2009 when Strathclyde Police attempted to recruit spies within Plane Stupid, revelations on amounts of money paid by infiltrators of the environmental movement were also disclosed. Through a 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.

Infiltrator or Agent provocateur?

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 NewsNight interview. As told by The Guardian

Kennedy allowed his house to be used for planning meetings and, days before the protest was due to take place he used his fake ID to pay £778 to hire a 7.5-tonne truck to transport equipment. Those around said they became increasingly aware of his desire for the protest to go ahead.

When a heavy police presence was reported outside the power station, activists considered abandoning the protest, but nominated Kennedy to drive out to see how big a threat they posed. When he returned, he told the group there was no police presence at all. The arrests followed soon after.

Prosecution Collapses

However, the prosecution told the defence on Friday 7th January 2011, just before the trial was due to begin, and almost 20 months after the investigation began, that 'Previously unavailable material that significantly undermines the prosecution's case came to light on Wednesday 5 January'. The discovery of this material came at the time when the prosecution were informed that we planned to pursue disclosure of the evidence relating to PC Kennedy with the judge. Unsurprisingly, they have declined to confirm whether the new material relates to PC Kennedy. In my opinion the two are obviously connected. The timing speaks for itself. These events also beg wider, serious questions.

That evidence, had it been kept secret, could have led to a miscarriage of justice. Serious questions must be asked relating to the policing of protest, from the use of undercover officers, to the use of expensive and legally questionable mass pre-emptive arrest of protesters, to extremely restrictive pre-charge bail condition, to the seemingly arbitrary nature by which the 114 initially arrested were reduced to the final 26 who were eventually charged. The police need to answer some serious questions about their conduct relating to protesters.

Exposed

Suspicions grew when Kennedy – among 27 activists who were charged – declined to use the same law firm as the others. Charges against him, but not the others, were then dropped. But it was a chance discovery of his real passport, bearing the surname Kennedy, months later that put activists on a trail that would eventually lead them to documents confirming he was a police officer. Six of Kennedy's close friends confronted him in a house in Nottingham in the early hours of 21 October 2010. He confessed, breaking down in tears and expressing regret for the pain he had caused. He told those present that he was not the only officer deep undercover in the protest movement, costing the taxpayer £250,000 a year per agent. Those claims – along with his apparent remorse – were not believed by everyone present. "He is duplicitous. He was undercover for seven years. I didn't trust a word of what he was saying," said one activist.

Gone Native?

Kennedy's personal journey also appears to have ended with a remarkable twist. In recent weeks, after protesters discovered his hidden identity and circulated news that he was a police agent, Kennedy is said to have "gone native". He has expressed remorse to betrayed friends and is seeking some way of securing redemption.

Remorse?

Much of the mainstream media suggest his desire for redemption is sincere. In email exchanges with activists and their lawyer, Kennedy talked of taking a "leap of faith", giving the defence evidence that would "assist" them. "I want to help," he said. Three weeks ago, Kennedy suddenly pulled out and ceased communications, but not before expressing an abiding concern. "I don't want this ever to happen to anyone ever again," he said. "What's happened is really wrong." It could be argued that the public's focus on remorse deflects the attention from the question of intrusive police tactics.

Personal relationships and code of conduct

In Germany

The Guardian understands Kennedy spent long periods in Germany, and lived with individuals in the "black block" anarchist movement.

He also travelled extensively elsewhere in Europe, using a fake passport to enter 22 different countries. Andrej Hunko, an MP for the leftwing Linke party, issued a press release saying Kennedy had been "active" in Germany as well as the UK and had "trespassed" in the private lives of activists.

Just before Christmas the German government refused to answer a series of parliamentary questions Hunko had tabled about Germany's co-operation with undercover police officers from other countries, and Kennedy in particular. Hunko had asked (here: in German) whether the German government knew Kennedy was working undercover "in German territories", and whether it had authorised his deployment under his undercover identity, Mark Stone.

He also asked: "How does the federal government justify the fact that [Mark Kennedy], as part of his operation in Germany, didn't only initiate long-term, meaningful friendships but also sexual relationships, clearly under false pretences?"

The Bundestag refused to answer all questions relating to Kennedy, citing operational reasons.

As detailed in documents obtained from Strathclyde Police the process for UK Covert Human Intelligence Sources (CHIS) operating abroad requires higher authorisation and oversight.

Private Security Sector

An article by The Guardian, dealing with the undercover police officer Mark Kennedy reveals information about the private security sector. After leaving the police,

In February 2010 – a month before resigning – Kennedy set up Tokra Limited, at an address in Leighton Buzzard, Bedfordshire. Calling himself a logistics officer, Kennedy registered himself as sole director of the company. Intriguingly, the address he used is the work address of Heather Millgate, a solicitor specialising in personal injury, and a former director of Global Open, a private security firm.

In February last year, Millgate went from being a marketing manager to a director of Global Open. On 31 March, Tokra changed its address from Millgate's work address to one in Basingstoke. On 12 April, Kennedy applied for Tokra to be dissolved. Within a few days of that application, he resigned from the police. Tokra was finally dissolved on the 17 August. On 31 August, Millgate resigned as director of Global Open.

External Resources

• Paul Lewis and Nidhi Prakash, Ratcliffe coal protesters spared jail sentences, guardian.co.uk, 5 January 2011.
• Rob Evans and Paul Lewis, Undercover officer spied on green activists, guardian.co.uk, 9 January 2011.
• Paul Lewis and Rob Evans, Mark Kennedy: A journey from undercover cop to 'bona fide' activist, The Guardian, 10 January 2011.
• Helen Pidd and Paul Lewis, MP in Germany says Mark Kennedy 'trespassed' in Berlin activists' lives, guardian.co.uk, 10 January 2011.
• Paul Lewis and Rob Evans, Activists walk free as undercover officer prompts collapse of case, guardian.co.uk, 10 January 2011.
• Paul Lewis, Rob Evans and Martin Wainwright, Mark Kennedy knew of second undercover eco-activist, guardian.co.uk, 10 January 2011.
• Paul Lewis and Rob Evans, Environmental activists demand inquiry into undercover officer's role, guardian.co.uk, 10 January 2011.
• Policing protest: When the line is crossed, The Gardian, 11 January 2011.
• Paul Lewis and Rob Evans, Tricked, betrayed, violated: did police spy use sex to win activists' trust?, guardian.co.uk, 11 January 2011.
• Paul Lewis, Rob Evans and Vikram Dodd, Calls for inquiry into conduct of undercover police officer, guardian.co.uk, 11 January 2011.
• Vikram Dodd, Undercover officers: Limited rules on sexual encounters, guardian.co.uk, 11 January 2011.
• Ben Child, Tale of undercover eco-warrior PC could hit the big screen, guardian.co.uk, 12 January 2011.
• Paul Lewis, Rob Evans and Vikram Dodd, Revealed: Second undercover police officer who posed as activist, The Guardian, 13 January 2011.
• Paul Lewis, Afua Hirsch and Rob Evans, Activists challenge convictions in wake of police spy revelations, guardian.co.uk, 13 January 2011.
• Rob Evans, Amelia Hill, Paul Lewis and Patrick Kingsley, Mark Kennedy: secret policeman's sideline as corporate spy, The Guardian, 13 January 2011.
• Matthew Taylor and Paul Lewis, Undercover police officer Mark Kennedy at centre of international row, The Guardian, 13 January 2011.
• Afua Hirsch, Mark Kennedy and the strange case of undercover sex, guardian.co.uk, 13 January 2011.
• Afua Hirsch, Mark Kennedy case: News of sexual liaisons may result in civil actions, guardian.co.uk, 13 January 2011.
• Rob Evans, Matthew Taylor, Afua Hirsch and Paul Lewis, Rein in undercover police units, says former DPP, guardian.co.uk, 13 January 2011.
• Vikram Dodd, IPCC to launch inquiry into collapsed case against environmental protesters, guardian.co.uk, 13 January 2011.
• Henry McDonald, Mark Kennedy 'took part in attack on Irish police officers at EU summit', guardian.co.uk, 14 January 2011.
• Paul Lewis, Matthew Taylor and Rajeev Syal, Third undercover police spy unmasked as scale of network emerges, Guardian.co.uk, 14 January 2011.
• Amelia Hill, Mark Kennedy 'played key role in forming green movement in Iceland', guardian.co.uk, 14 January 2011.
• Helen Pidd, Undercover police officer 'could be prosecuted in Germany', guardian.co.uk, 14 January 2011.
• Kate Anderson, Police climate spies can't break us, guardian.co.uk, 14 January 2011.
• Caroline Graham, 'I'm the victim of smears': Undercover policeman denies bedding a string of women during his eight years with eco-warriors, Mail on Sunday, 16 January 2011.