Thread by @copscampaign

Mitting is responding to some of the points made - says it would be 'gargantuan' and a waste of public money (?!) to find all of the relevant 'Registry Files' and other documents held by the State.

Kilroy repeats that the #spycops operations were obviously unlawful - Mitting says her submissions are "forceful and well-founded" but he's unwilling to respond immediately on the question of lawfulness...

#SpyCopsInquiry

Another break, before the #SpyCopsInquiry returns, to hear from Owen Greenhall, representing Lord Peter Hain, Professor Jonathan Rosenhead and Ernest Rodker.

#spycops

You can download their written Opening Statement from ucpi.org.uk/wp-content/upl…

#spycops

HN298, using the cover name 'Mike Scott', infiltrated anti-apartheid campaigning in the early 1970s.
Both Hain and Rosenhead were involved in the incident at the Star and Garter hotel in May 1972, which resulted in the arrests and convictions of 14 activists, including 'Scott'.

Mitting referred this incident to the Panel that's been set up to examine possible miscarriages of justice linked to #spycops
This case has raised a number of serious issues about the management of these political policing units.

We know that the Star and Garter case was monitored closely by SDS management. One of them attended court. The Deputy Assistant Commissioner was kept up-to-date about the case and its progress.

One Commander described HN298 as acting "with refreshing initiative" and recommended that the police take advantage of the situation to gather even more intelligence about the activists involved.

The involvement of an undercover officer was not disclosed, to the defence or prosecution; there was clearly a breach of 'legal privilege' in this case; most worrying, the SDS's approach in this case seems to have become a template for future court cases involving #spycops

This included another case that we've heard about - HN13 aka 'Barry Loader' was arrested in 1977, and again in 1978 - charges against him were dropped the first time but he (and others) were convicted the second time..

The court was told that Barry was "an informant", not a serving police officer, and his co-defendants were not told at all.
SDS managers don't seem to have cared about the integrity of the court process, but only about maintaining the secrecy around the unit.

More senior police officers were made aware of these criminal court cases, but didn't intervene; they allowed these possible miscarriages of justice to proceed.

#spycops

The Young Liberals were involved in campaigning against apartheid. Many of their meetings were held in the Hain family home, with children in attendance, but it seems that little consideration was given to whether this level of intrusion was necessary or justified.

SDS management did not exercise adequate control over these officers. Conrad Dixon issued clear guidance to #spycops about how much they should get involved in the campaigns/ groups, but it is clear that there was little supervision in place to ensure this guidance was followed.

One more Opening Statement today - this one from Celia Stubbs, who is represented by Sam Jacobs. It's due to start in about 10 mins

Blair Peach was killed by a police officer at an anti-racist demo in Southall in April 1979.

Celia Stubbs has been campaigning for justice ever since.
And - like other justice campaigns set up following deaths in custody and other police killings - has been targeted by #spycops for decades...

Vast amounts of 'intelligence' have been collected about Stubbs, and it is clear that this is not 'incidental', it has been deliberate (and often covert).

So far, we have heard denials about why Stubbs was spied on and how intrusive that surveillance has been. The police have claimed that the infiltration of the Blair Peach campaign was concerned with preventing public disorder.

This is clearly untrue. It seems likely that #spycops were tasked with gathering evidence that could be used to discredit the Blair Peach campaign and others who sought to highlight police brutality.

We know that Stubbs was spied on from the 70s until at least the 90s. Not just the Blair Peach campaign but also @INQUEST_ORG (which she founded) and the Colin Roach Centre/ Hackney Community Defence Association (which she was involved in)

@INQUEST_ORG Since the #SpyCopsInquiry hearings a year ago, Stubbs has received some (heavily readacted) disclosure from the @metpoliceuk This was in response to her making a Subject Access Request (SAR) and raises questions about the 'rigour' of the Inquiry's own methods of locating evidence

@INQUEST_ORG @metpoliceuk This disclosure includes various reports from Special Branch. The only case of Stubbs being associated with public disorder was a report of her injuries following a right-wing attack.

@INQUEST_ORG @metpoliceuk Mitting interrupted to say something about this - he can't see any association with the SDS. Jacobs patiently explains that it's a Special Branch report.

@INQUEST_ORG @metpoliceuk The next doc he displays includes an Appendix - this shows that Special Branch already had some kind of file on Stubbs, and it is likely that SDS intelligence would have fed into this

@INQUEST_ORG @metpoliceuk The next document exhibited shows the police's attitude towards Stubbs. They describe her as a mere "propaganda tool" for the "left wing publicity machine", call her "opportunistic" and display the level of disdain the police commonly show towards justice campaigns

@INQUEST_ORG @metpoliceuk They criticised her for setting up @INQUEST_ORG and suggest it's some kind of vanity project of hers. The work done by @INQUEST_ORG ever since proves its value and the necessity of its existence!

@INQUEST_ORG @metpoliceuk It's frankly disturbing to hear the disparaging tone of these police reports and the casual prejudice and racism on display. And realise that not much has changed since.

@INQUEST_ORG @metpoliceuk These justice campaigns have sought to call the police to account and find justice for the victims of police misconduct; it's little wonder that the #spycops were sent to gather dirt about such campaigners

@INQUEST_ORG @metpoliceuk The police tried to keep the names of Peach's killer(s) secret, and put a lot of effort into countering campaigns like the one set up after his death

@INQUEST_ORG @metpoliceuk Stubbs is disappointed by the 'Disclosure Note' supplied - and any effort to deflect from this Inquiry's duty to uncover the evidence relating to evidence gathered on her - why has the Inquiry not tried to locate missing reports?

@INQUEST_ORG @metpoliceuk Evidence has been redacted, with-held, hidden and destroyed. It has been difficult for Stubbs (and other Non State Core Participants) to get answers to their questions via this Inquiry, or to participate as fully as they'd like to.

@INQUEST_ORG @metpoliceuk The #SpyCopsInquiry has not asked the questions necessary to get to the truth, and to get past the @metpoliceuk obstructiveness

@INQUEST_ORG @metpoliceuk He ends with Celia Stubbs' own words:
"Following the disclosure of the Cass report in 2010, I with other friends from the
campaign felt that it had run its course."

@INQUEST_ORG @metpoliceuk "It was then I had legal advice that there was a
case for the inquest to be re-opened now we had information that had been hidden
from us at the original inquest in 1980. I declined this as I just could not face the
publicity that this would engender."

@INQUEST_ORG @metpoliceuk "Since I have learnt about the surveillance the SDS
and Special Branch have carried out on me stretching over nearly 30 years and how I
have been held up as 'a propaganda tool', I have felt more distressed but also angry."

@INQUEST_ORG @metpoliceuk "To put it bluntly, police officers took my partner's life and then concealed the truth. The
concluding job of this Inquiry is to uncover the truth”

@INQUEST_ORG @metpoliceuk Mitting pops up on screen to act apologetic, and attempt to explain why his team have found it so difficult to obtain the evidence...

@INQUEST_ORG @metpoliceuk He claims the Inquiry has a "mammoth task" and can't do a "general trawl" as it's too time-consuming.

@INQUEST_ORG @metpoliceuk That's it for today. You can download the various documents mentioned as well as Celia Stubbs' Statement from ucpi.org.uk/hearing/ucpi-t…

#spycops

@INQUEST_ORG @metpoliceuk @threadreaderapp unroll