Thread by @copscampaign

Menon: Richard Adams say the Inquiry seems to be damage limitation for spycops. There is no reason to refuse to live stream hearings. Whose side is the criminal justice system on? It dehumanises black people & families

Menon: Duwayne Brooks was 18 in 1993, living in SE London, training to be an electrical engineer. Stehen Lawrence was his close friend. In April 1993 they were attacked by racists & Stephen was murdered. He got PTSD

Menon: Police were hostile to Brooks. His courage exposed the racist nature of the attack. It mirrored the Adams experience; a racist attack with victims treated like criminals & subjected to spycops surveillance. Brooks did everything asked of him. Assisted 3 investigations

Menon: Brooks was in witness protection, guarded by an officer with links to one of the people involved. Gave evidence in court when medically unfit. Brooks has helped numerous police bodies with their work on racism

Menon: Depite - or because - of this Brooks has been targeted by police. Prosecuted on trumped up charges, meeting with his lawyer bugged, & the truth trickling out over many long years. Increasingly despondent; no disclosure form Inquiry

MEnon: Brooks won't get lilve streaming; Chair sits without a diverse panel. When Brooks is given FULL disclosure he will address it, but not before. He has received more info than most about his spying, but has had nothing from inquiry.

Menon: Brooks refuses to be treated like a suspect all over again, answering questions in advance to show there was no reason to be spied on,.

Menon: Ken Livingstone led the Greater London Council from 1981, but was active long before. In the 1960s he saw a new politics & joined Labour Party in 1969, rapidly holding office locally, focusing on housing issues

Menon: Livingstone has had minimal disclosure from Inquiry, but has not been told why he was spied on. As soon as he was elected GLC leader he had relentless vilification in press & from opponents. Special Branch had intel of threats to his safety

Menon: Livingstone knew there'd be no peace in Northern Ireland without a negotiated settlement. After GLC, Livingstone became an MP in 1987 'like working in the Natural History Museum except not all the exhibits are stuffed'

Menon: Livingstone told UDA assassin had been going to kill him but was called off at last minute. This is an example of legit spycops, in a proscribed organisation involved in serious & violent crime. Whistleblower @realspycop revealed spying on Livingstone as an MP

Menon: Livingstone says there were bombings going on yet he was targeted by Spyops. He wants to see his files, like many MPs [see video of them demandin answers here campaignopposingpolicesurveillance.com/2020/10/16/201… ]

Menon: Livingstone has been political for 50 years, always public. He can't see any justification for targeting by spycops either before or after he was elected.

Menon: The SDS was a weapon in the arsenal, of the state from 1968-2008 (with other units doing the same after), to keep people in their place & allow the established order to thrive. To answer police lawyers, the ends DO NOT justify the means.

Menon: The victims of #SpyCops include all who want to see an open, democratic & fair society. We're hear to try to shine a light, let the world see into the dark den of police spies. We hope our participation will allow people to see at least a little of the truth.

Menon: In 1962, Martin Luther King said the guardians of the status quo are always on hand with oxygen tents to keep the old order alive. We hope the #SpyCopsInquiry will not prove to be such a guardian.

With that, Menon concludes. There will now be a 10 minute break until 11.45 when we'll hear the opening statement from Matthew Ryder QC, speaking for lawyers representing most of the core participants who were targeted by #SpyCops