Today the #SpyCopsInquiry starts at noon with an opening statement by Helen Steel. Perhaps best known for the #McLibel trial, Helen is a lifelong campaigner for environmental & social justice issues. She was deceived into a long-term relationship by undercover officer John Dines 
The rest of the day is given over to evidence from officer HN 348, which seems odd as she appear to have had about as minor a deployment as is possible for #spycops - long ago, not for long, in 1 group that don't appear to have warranted spying on even by the police's standards.
HN348 infiltrated the Women's Liberation Front for about a year 1972-73. A small feminist group with Maoist leanings, its meetings were up to 12 people, round at one of the member’s houses. She says action was mostly just taking part in demonstrations with placards and banners.
HN348 has been granted anonymity by the #SpyCopsInquiry not due to any risk of reprisal but because she would be embarrassed if the group’s main activist found out the truth. She also said her reputation would be tainted if her colleagues found out she had been a spycop.
It’s an extraordinary display of mental gymnastics - when we question the purpose of #spycops, police tell us that they're doing vital & noble work ensuring the safety of everyone, yet when we question why they want anonymity, they say it would be humiliating to be known as one.
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