PCSO unlawfully deleted photographers images

Image © James MacKay

Branch member photojournalist, James Mackay, represented by Chez Cotton, head of the Police Misconduct Department, at leading civil rights law firm Bindmans LLP, has succeeded in a complaint against the British Transport Police after he was unlawfully ordered by one of their officers to delete photographs he had taken on the basis that he “was not allowed to photograph the police.”

The journalist, who predominantly works on issues in and surrounding Burma and currently is working with exiled organisations on a global campaign to raise awareness on political prisoners in Burma, was passing through Waterloo mainline station on his way to catch a flight on 8 May 2009 and witnessed a number of Police Community Support Officers (PSCOs) apparently detaining a male.

The detained male lay on the floor in full view of the public and appeared distressed, crying out he was hurt and had done nothing wrong. The journalist began to record the incident from a distance so as not to interfere with any police operation, wanting independent evidence of what had happened and hoping his presence would offer re-assurance. Instead the journalist himself became the subject of unwarranted and unlawful police attention. The journalist complained he was threatened with arrest if he did not delete the six photographs he had managed to take, despite there being nationally in force guidelines agreed by the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) that “Members of the media have a duty to take photographs and film incidents, and we (the police) have no legal power or moral responsibility to prevent or restrict what they (journalists) record.”

Mr Mackay’s solicitor Chez Cotton said:

The incident highlights only too clearly the difficulties faced by journalists and photographers working in Britain today, where increasingly the police are attempting to use legislation for dealing with terrorism and serious public order incidents to prevent reporting on events of legitimate public interest, such as civil unrest, protest and, where it occurs, police wrong-doing. Working in Burma where there is no free press or freedom of speech; the value of ensuring these fundamental rights are protected in this country is of paramount importance to my client by way of complaint or legal action as necessary.

NUJ Legal Officer Roy Mincoff said:

The NUJ is delighted that the complaint that the Police acted outside their powers has been upheld, and that it was recognised there has been ‘an inherent lack of understanding’ amongst Police and Police Community Support Officers about these issues. Following persistent representations by the NUJ, the Association of Chief Police Officers issued instructions and guidance as to compliance with the law. The NUJ will continue to monitor progress closely and will take any necessary action should there be future breaches. It is hoped that the message will get through to officers at all ranks that these rights are fundamental and cannot be ignored.

Complaint upheld

Mr Mackay, through the NUJ, instructed Chez Cotton of law firm Bindmans to make a formal complaint to the Independent Police Complaints Commission. An investigation carried out by the British Transport Police confirmed:

That it was not disputed that PCSO Juneja requested Mr Mackay to cease taking photographs and delete the images from his camera, since this was corroborated by the pocket note book of the officer and the statement of the journalist.

The report states: “…it is clear from legislation and subsequent guidance that PCSO Juneja was acting outside of his powers without justification….complaint upheld.”

….it is clear that Mr Mackay was detained for a period, albeit a short time and this was against his will to leave. It is not in dispute that the PCSO had no power to detain Mr Mackay in these circumstances therefore it must be considered that the period of detention was unwarranted….complaint upheld.

Advice given to the officer

The report confirms that ‘advice’ has been given to the officer, including:

…acting outside of lawful powers can lead to misconduct proceedings for you as an individual, or civil actions against the force. In this instance a member of the media, a valuable partner in dealing with crime and disorder, has been hindered from going about his business due to your actions. You are reminded that there are no powers prohibiting the taking of photographs, file or digital images in a public place and members of the public and press should not be prevented from doing so.

Full background

 

On 8 May 2009 Mr Mackay, whilst passing through Waterloo Mainline Station, saw a number of Police Community Support Officers (PSCOs) apparently arresting or detaining a male. The detained male was lying on the floor in full view of the public and appeared to be in some distress, crying out in pain, saying he was hurt and had done nothing wrong. The situation concerned the journalist, and from around seven to eight metres away and without interfering with the police operation, he began to photograph what was happening; not only because it was noteworthy but also because he thought his presence might offer reassurance and temper any thought of wrong doing. Importantly, he would be able to provide independent evidence of what had happened if this was required in the future.

The journalist had taken six photographs before he was approached by PCSO Juneja and instructed immediately by the officer to stop taking photographs. Despite confirming that he was a member of the press, an NUJ member and offering to show his UK Press Card to prove his credentials, the journalist was instead escorted to a corner of a nearby lift entrance and wrongly told he was not allowed to take photographs of the police, or of any incident taking place, or within the station. PCSO Juneja was joined by two other officers, all of whom appeared unaware of the agreement between the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) and various media organisations, including the NUJ, which are in force nationally and confirm that members of the media have a duty to take photographs and film incidents and the police have no legal power or moral responsibility to prevent or restrict what they record. It is further accepted by ACPO that the police should actively help journalists to carry out their responsibilities, provided they do not interfere with police responsibilities.

The guidance makes clear to the police that “Members of the media have a duty to take photographs and film incidents, and we (the police) have no legal power or moral responsibility to prevent or restrict what they (journalists) record.”

Mr Mackay complained that when he tried to explain reasonably that the police had no power to interfere with his reporting he was treated in an intimidating way and threatened with arrest if he did not delete all of the photographs he had taken. He was told that he could not report on “this” incident and that he was not allowed to publish any photographs in the media. When asked why, the officer confirmed he was refusing to allow Mr Mackay to take photographs because he “was not allowed to take photographs of the police.”.

Although Mr Mackay did not wish to delete the photographs and believed the officer had no legal basis for enforcing this and was acting outside of any lawful power the officer had; needing to catch his flight and understanding from the officer’s behaviour, attitude and statement of intention that he would be arrested if he did not comply and delete the footage, Mr Mackay complied.

8th July, 2010

PCSO jailed after laundering cash from brothel

A police community support officer (PCSO) has been jailed for nine months after he laundered tens of thousands of pounds from a brothel run by his prostitute wife. 

Sean Griffin, 44, a Police community support officer with the Met Police, was arrested after cops found wife Debbie, 44, with four ''clients'' at his flat in Stevenage, Herts.

Police seized diaries revealing Griffin's wife has used their rented flat as a brothel and been a prostitute for more than 20 years.

The couple raked in £176,000 – including £116,000 in profits – from the prostitution racket and used the cash to pay off the mortgage on their home.

Griffin was jailed for nine months at Cambridge Crown Court after admitting money laundering. He denied a charge of running a brothel and this will now lie on file.

Judge Gareth Hawkesworth said: ''The money was put into your bank account which I am told only represents a fraction of the profits. 

''You are a weak man who avoids confrontation. You took Deborah Griffin back after your marriage split and failed to stand up to her and took the benefits for a period of time.

''These are serious offences because you made much money. You failed to take action in what you knew was criminal and wrong.''

Judge Hawkesworth jailed Debbie for 16 months for keeping a brothel used for prostitution and converting criminal property and transferring criminal property.

He said: ''You have pleaded guilty to keeping a brothel between July 2008 and July 2010 although it is appropriate to point out you have been in that premises from 2005 working on your own.

''I accept that there was no intimidation or trafficking of girls it was a very English enterprise but a criminal one and a profitable one.

''You are a strong woman rather than the vulnerable person you portray yourself as.''

The court heard Griffin, from Stevenage, Herts., was suspended from the Met Police after he was arrested in July last year but has now been sacked.

Police raided a two-bedroom rented flat in Stevenage on July 21 2010 after a tip-off and found Debbie and another woman with four men.

Inside the flat cops also found naked pictures or women and price lists for sexual acts hanging on the walls and several sex toys.

Janette Hayne, prosecuting, said: ''There was a computer that showed a website was being built up to advertise the business.

''There were advertisements in local and national papers and each bedroom has pictures of girls and price lists on the walls.

''Mr Griffin bought his wife stockings and lingerie for the business.''

Judge Hawkesworth ordered a Proceeds of crime application (Poca) hearing to force the couple to pay back the financial gains from their prostitution racket.

Official figures released in June last year revealed that 122 Met Police Pcsos had been sacked for disciplinary offences since 2005 – ten times the firing rate for police officers during the same period.

21 Mar 2011

 

Stockport PCSO arrested after death of his girlfriend

 

A police community support officer has been arrested on suspicion of manslaughter by neglect after the death of his girlfriend.

Chris Nash, 30, a serving PCSO with Greater Manchester Police, was arrested as part of an ongoing investigation into the death of 28-year-old Rebecca Wilson. She died from a morphine overdose at the home the couple shared on Green Lane, Heaton Norris, Stockport, in May last year. She had taken a substantial amount of morphine and had left a note.

Mr Nash is not suspected of giving any drugs to Ms Wilson. 

It is believed she was discovered in the early hours of the morning on Saturday May 15, but the emergency services were allegedly not contacted until several hours later. 

Ms Wilson was taken to Stepping Hill Hospital where she was pronounced dead. She had been prescribed morphine after undergoing an operation on her back. 

The M.E.N. understands Mr Nash, based in Reddish as part of the Stockport north policing team, was on leave until July 2010 following Ms Wilson’s death.

He was back on duty for at least seven months before being suspended, shortly after his arrest.

The PCSO, who was off duty when Ms Wilson died, has now been bailed until April and remains suspended pending the outcome of the investigation.

Mr Nash is understood to now be living with his parents. Last night he was unavailable for comment. 

A spokesman for GMP said: "A serving PCSO has been arrested on suspicion of manslaughter by neglect following the death of a 28-year-old woman.

"The 30-year-old man was arrested as part of an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the woman’s death at her home on Green Lane, Stockport, in May 2010.

"The PCSO, who was off duty at the time of the incident, has been bailed until April 2011 and suspended from duty pending the outcome of the investigation.

"A post-mortem examination revealed the woman died as a result of a morphine overdose."

March 30, 2011

Facebook gun pose PCSO arrested in Leeds

A police community support officer (PCSO) pictured on a social networking website with two guns has been arrested after fake firearms were seized.

Daniel Williams, 21, a PCSO with West Yorkshire Police, was arrested after a raid at the property in the Otley area of Leeds on Thursday. 

It is understood police took action after a picture of Mr Williams holding two handguns appeared on Facebook. 

Mr Williams has been suspended while an internal investigation takes place. 

He was released from custody on Friday after being cautioned for theft, a police spokesman said.

15 January 2010

Call for police chief to quit over meeting with ex-'NOTW' editor

John Yates, the senior police officer embroiled in the phone hacking affair, yesterday faced a call to step down after he told MPs that there was no reason for him to reveal a recent social engagement with a former senior executive at the News of the World. 

In a letter to the Commons media select committee, Assistant Commissioner Yates, who oversaw a review of the heavily-criticised original Scotland Yard investigation into the scandal, confirmed that he had attended a "private engagement" in February this year with Neil Wallis, the deputy editor of the Sunday tabloid until 2009. 

Mr Yates said they had known each other for "a number of years"; the meeting took place within a month of the announcement of Operation Weeting, the new investigation into phone hacking which senior officers have pledged will leave "no stone unturned". 

In evidence to MPs earlier this month, Mr Yates, who has no direct involvement in the new inquiry, insisted the two men did not discuss the issue during the meeting. 

But in response to questions about whether he had declared the meeting and sought advice from the inquiry team about whether it should take place, Mr Yates denied any wrongdoing. 

Mr Yates wrote: "Since assuming responsibility for dealing with the legacy of this case, relevant senior officers have been made aware that Mr Wallis and I know each other. The meeting referred to during my evidence was a private engagement attended by a number of others. There would be no reason to declare this." 

A senior Labour MP said the fact Mr Yates had only confirmed his meeting with Mr Wallis after it was put to him by the select committee and did not accept that the engagement was inappropriate meant he should consider his position. 

Chris Bryant, a shadow justice minister, who is suing the NOTW for damages over claims that his own mobile phone was hacked, said: "It is wholly inappropriate for senior figures at the Metropolitan Police to be having meals in private with current or former senior figures at the News of the World. Frankly, if Mr Yates cannot see that is a problem then he should not be in his job." 

Thursday, 28 April 2011

Police apologise after ignoring man beaten to pulp in street

POLICE ignored a man who had been beaten to a pulp in the street, telling him: “It isn’t our shout,” as they drove past.

Dad-of-two Peter Cox, 34, was blinded in one eye when he was attacked by a gang after a cricket match.

He was lying in a pool of his blood, drifting in and out of consciousness, when a police car went past. Mr Cox says the two officers inside spotted him but drove off.

The insurance boss woke in hospital and although five men were arrested over the beating, they were released because of a lack of evidence.

Police bosses admit they have been unable to find out who the two officers were, despite a lengthy investigation.

But Mr Cox said yesterday he was disgusted by the way he had been treated. He added: “The police made me feel like a common criminal.

“They found a guy who was lying in a pool of his own blood in a park, but they decided to judge me without looking at my injuries. That, to me, is the ultimate betrayal.

“To not be able to identify the officers is incredible. There were only three patrols and six officers in the area that night, so clearly two are not telling the truth.”

Police have since apologised over the incident in New Romney, Kent. In a letter to Mr Cox, a spokesman said: “It is not possible to say the offenders would have been caught if the officers did their duties, but it would have increased the chances. Please accept my apologies.”

29/04/2011

PCSO handed Community Order for defrauding

A former police community support officer (PCSO) with the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) has been given a Community Order after he defrauded a member of the local community out of almost £13,000.
Anthony Maitland was a Westminster PCSO working in the Oxford Street, Regent Street and Bond Street area. He was handed a 12 month Community Order at Snaresbrook Crown Court.

In October 2009 police received intelligence that he had obtained £12,700 in cash from a member of the local community, claiming it was a loan, but never paid the money back.

Between August 2006 and early 2007, the 43-year-old told the woman he was in debt and did not have enough money for a house deposit, she gave him money on several occasions to assist with the house deposit which he took and never attempted to repay.

The offences occurred both on duty, in uniform and off duty in his old borough, Newham. He was arrested on October 27 2009 and later charged with evading liability by deception and fraud and was suspended from duty pending the outcome of the investigation.

Maitland pleaded guilty at Snaresbrook Crown Court on March 22 2011 to one count of fraud totalling £12,770; he also tendered his resignation which was effective from March 31. In addition to the Community Order, he was ordered by the judge to compensate the victim with £1483.90 and complete 240 hours of community service.

Sergeant John Brandrick, Westminster Professional Standards Unit, said: “Anthony Maitland abused his position within the police service to defraud a member of his local community.

“This is a complete abuse of power and one which we did not tolerate. Maitland’s actions were entirely selfish and completely undermine the hard work that is carried out by officers across Westminster,
Newham and the rest of London on a daily basis to build trust and keep communities safe.

“All officers, PCSOs and staff must maintain the highest levels of conduct and standards and we will deal robustly with any instances where we believe this not to be the case.”


21 Apr 2011

Three Blunkett bobbies to watch a young tearaway on a day out fishing... but what about catching CRIMINALS?

Enjoying the sunshine, three police officers perch next to a lake while they supervise a teenager on a fishing trip.

Two of the officers seem more interested in checking their mobile phones and chatting than keeping an eye on the bored-looking tearaway.

Police say the publicly funded expedition was organised to help officers bond with the community and ‘get young people involved in positive activities’.

Hard day at the office: This image, captured by a passer-by, shows the officers relaxing and texting - at taxpayers' expense - while their teenage charge sits calmly by the riverbank

But this image, captured by a passer-by, has provoked outrage as the same force prepares to make £36million of cuts and close six police stations.

Cash-strapped Hertfordshire Police found the resources to send three police community support officers – nicknamed Blunkett bobbies after the Labour home secretary who introduced them – on the jaunt to a lake in Hemel Hempstead.

But while the PCSOs seemed to be having a good day, the teenager looked uninterested as the fishing rod sat on a stand by his side.

Last night one resident said: ‘Shouldn’t they be out catching criminals rather than fish?’

They also questioned whether officers should be enjoying a day out while crime figures in the area rose.

Other residents took to the internet after seeing the photo to voice their disgust at the ‘misuse’ of police time. One wrote: ‘I live in Hemel Hempstead so glad to see my taxes being used in such a productive way! (not!!!) The old saying “crime doesn’t pay” isn’t really a true reflection of this country when it is so obvious that crime does pay!!!

‘Maybe I should give up work & turn to crime, then maybe I can go fishing with our wonderful police force? No wonder more & more honest hard working people are no longer proud to British.’

Tory MP Douglas Carswell, who previously sat on the Police and Justice Bill Committee, said: ‘This is a dreadful use of police time. Most people would be absolutely livid and furious about seeing police time spent in this way.

‘Many constituents of mine understand that the police are under pressure, but to see resources wasted in this way is awful.’

Nice work if you can get it: The image has sparked outrage as the same force prepares to make £36million of cuts and close six police stations

The MP for Clacton added: ‘This photograph shows why we desperately need to elect police chiefs – so local people can decide the best use of their money. 

‘We need to make sure we elect people who can do the job efficiently and effectively.’

Charlotte Linacre, campaign manager at the TaxPayers’ Alliance, said: ‘Taxpayers want to see police pounding the pavement, not relaxing by the river.

‘Spending reductions don’t need to decimate frontline services, police forces just need to allocate resources better.

‘It’s disproportionate to have three policemen babysitting one teenager and calls into question the ways police have dreamt up ways to waste resources.’

It is not the first time that fishing has been used as a way of supposedly keeping young people out of trouble. 

Last May Cambridgeshire officers were criticised for spending nearly £1,000 on angling trips for youngsters.

Probation Trusts have also come under fire for allowing criminals to go fishing and learn gardening as part of their alternative community sentences.

Last night a spokesman for Hertfordshire Police said about eight troubled teenagers, all volunteers, had gone on the Hemel Hempstead trip and insisted that it had cost no money.

‘We bought the fishing rods a few years ago as part of the Labour government’s diversionary funds which they gave to every county,’ the spokesman said. ‘There was no cost to the force at all.’

The spokesman added: ‘These police staff are youth and schools PCSOs. 

‘As the schools are closed for half term, they were assisting with an organised local scheme which gets young people involved in positive activities, helps them to build good relationships with officers and ultimately steer them away from crime. 

‘If the PCSOs were not engaging with the youths at the fishing lake, they would be doing it elsewhere in the community.’

The Hertfordshire force was accused of wasting police resources last August after dispatching a helicopter to catch a shoplifter. Officers sent up the aircraft to track down the thief after he stole some meat from a branch of Tesco.

Critics branded it a ‘disproportionate’ response for the 15-minute chase, which would have cost around £1,000 when officers’ time was taken into account.

The Blunkett bobbies in uniform who sloped off duty to a visit a brothel in Soho are sacked

Four police community support officers have been booted out of Scotland Yard after they secretly visited a Soho brothel while on duty, the Daily Mail can reveal.

The quartet abandoned their positions guarding potential terrorist targets in the sensitive ‘government security zone’ in central London.

Then, wearing uniform, they met up at a vice den located five doors from a Metropolitan Police ‘community safety office’ and, according to sources, asked after an Eastern European ‘model’ who plied her trade there.

Neighbours: The brothel is only a few doors from the Metropolitan Police 'community safety office'

When informed she was not available, they drank tea with a brothel madam in the reception area. Their astonishing visit was discovered by chance by a police sergeant on patrol nearby.

He is believed to have seen the PCSOs walk into the brothel at about 2am and, suspicious about their motives, followed them inside a few minutes later.

The PCSOs, aged in their 20s and 30s, were challenged by the sergeant about why they were not on their designated beats before a major investigation was ordered by furious Scotland Yard Commissioner Sir Paul Stephenson.

It is believed that at least two of the officers claimed they had no idea they were in a brothel and that they were doing ‘community work’.

But earlier this month, three of them were sacked for gross misconduct after a disciplinary hearing.

'Plastic police': Community Support Officers on patrol

The fourth officer resigned in disgrace soon after the incident on October 18.

According to Police Federation sources, investigators seized CCTV footage which suggested some of the disgraced PCSOs had previously visited the sex den.

The case is the latest in a string of controversies and embarrassing incidents involving PCSOs, dubbed Blunkett’s Bobbies after the Labour Home Secretary who created them.

Last year figures showed that one in seven police community support officers, introduced in 2002 to increase the uniformed police presence on the streets, has been investigated for misconduct.

More than 2,000 PCSOs have been accused of wrongdoing, with 160 charged with criminal offences since the role was created, statistics released under Freedom of Information laws revealed.

The civilian officers, also dubbed the ‘Plastic Police’, have been criticised for lacking the powers properly to protect the public or solve crime.

Crucially, they do not have the power of arrest, although they can hand out fines for a range of minor crimes, including littering and parking offences.

Yesterday they were at the centre of another row after three community support officers supervised a tearaway teenager on a fishing trip in Hertfordshire.

The publicly funded visit, which was photographed by a passer-by, caused a storm as the local constabulary is preparing to make £36million of cuts and close six police stations.

Last night Scotland Yard issued a statement confirming that four PCSOs had been caught in a brothel while on duty.

It added: ‘We can confirm that on Tuesday, April 12, following a Met gross misconduct hearing, three male PCSOs aged 23, 28 and 38 based at Belgravia were dismissed for failing to comply with an order and behaviour likely to bring the service into disrepute. A 31-year-old male PCSO, who was based at Belgravia, resigned in autumn 2010.

Yesterday's Daily Mail story about PCSOs

‘All four were on duty at the time of an incident in Peter Street, Soho, W1, on October 18, 2010.’

Insiders said the PCSOs were clothed and not engaged in any sexual activities when caught.

A Police Federation source added: ‘It is simply astonishing that at a time of heightened fears over terrorism, these individuals should neglect their duties to visit a brothel.

‘You have to wonder about the IQ of officers who, with no good reason, visit a sex den in uniform.

‘Nevertheless, the Commissioner and his senior officers should be commended for taking robust action to remove them.’

Last month a PCSO was jailed for nine months after he laundered tens of thousands of pounds from a brothel run by his prostitute wife.

Sean Griffin, 44, a police community support officer with the Met, was arrested after cops found wife Debbie, 44, with four ‘clients’ at his flat in Stevenage, Hertfordshire.

The couple raked in £176,000 – including £116,000 in profits – from the prostitution racket and used the cash to pay off their mortgage.

Griffin was jailed for nine months at Cambridge Crown Court after admitting money laundering. He denied a charge of running a brothel and this will lie on file.

27th April 2011

A threat to our right to protest

Mounted police drive their horses into protestors during the December 2010 student demonstrations in London. Photograph: Leon Neal/AFP/Getty Images

The Metropolitan police's crackdown on student protesters seems part of a wider attempt to suppress legitimate dissent

In what can only be described as a colossally misjudged act of PR, the Metropolitan police have decided to charge several of the student protesters arrested in the wake of last year's demonstrations with violent disorder, affray and criminal damage. They include Alfie Meadows, the student who had to have brain surgery after he was allegedly hit with a truncheon.

These are serious charges which carry potentially heavy jail sentences. Their timing does not seem to be coincidental. The hearing dates for those arrested had been set for late May and June; they have now been moved forward. But to what end? This weekend will see not only the royal wedding, of course, but also 1 May protests stretched across a four-day holiday (for some, anyway).

By charging these allegedly dangerous individuals and banning them from Westminster and the City for the next week, the Met can reassure the public that they are pre-emptively protecting them from a violent social menace – despite the fact that none of the protesters have yet been found guilty of anything.

But apart from the crudeness of such tactics, does this kind of political policing achieve anything more than public disgust at such underhandedness? The police seem to be operating under the misapprehension that the recent protests have been led by identifiable leaders who can then be picked out, thus leaving crowds bereft of direction. What the protests at Millbank, Whitehall and elsewhere demonstrated, however, was that this assumption is increasingly wrong. A mass movement doesn't need to rely on charismatic figureheads for strength.

Protesters at recent demos know very well what the coalition is doing to students and workers alike, and that so many of them are prepared to stand up to the government and those paid to violently enforce their policies is clearly causing consternation, and more repressive responses, among the powers that be.

Alleging protester violence rather than questioning their own dangerous tactics, such as kettling, the police can try to put potential protesters off; they can try to make those with families afraid to march with their children (though the huge TUC march last month provided plenty of evidence that this tactic isn't working); and they can intimidate those who may never have protested before.

At the same time the police (some of whom work for "counter-terrorism") are creating large groups of criminalised youth, largely young men between 15 and 25, some of whom are students trying to save their EMA and their chance to afford university in a few years' time.

Fingerprints are taken, names and faces noted, and photos of those "wanted" are splashed all over the media, destroying anonymity and carrying the implicit message that if you protest, for any reason, we can and will destroy your future.

Many of those arrested for the first time are unaware of their legal rights, coerced into accepting cautions and distressed at the thought of bringing disrepute to their families, schools and colleges. At the same time the expense to taxpayers created by heavyhanded policing and high-profile arrests is immense.

But there are ways of fighting back. One student arrested in a dawn raid after the 24 November protest, Bryan Simpson, has set up a campaign which is holding a rally in Glasgow on 29 April.

A new campaign group, Defend the Right to Protest, has been launched with the support of John McDonnell MP, Naomi Klein, Tony Benn and others. There are many in Britain who may not ever want to attend a protest, but they'd be certain they'd want to live in a country in which people could protest. This pre-emptive criminalisation of protesters and the propagandistic tactics of intimidating future protesters is a worrying sign of things to come.

Nina Power - Wednesday 27 April 2011

Five police face misconduct probe

Five Scotland Yard officers are to face misconduct proceedings accused of "discreditable conduct", the police watchdog has said.

The allegation relates to an arrest after the interception of a suspected stolen car in north London in 2008, the Independent Police Complaints Commission said.

The accused officers are from the former Enfield Crime Squad, which has been at the centre of a string of corruption investigations.

A misconduct hearing will take place on July 4.

27th April 2011

Did married police spy use sex to infiltrate climate group?

There are calls for an inquiry into the conduct of a police spy after it emerged he had sexual relationships with several women during the seven years he spent infiltrating a ring of environmental activists.

Undercover: With his Tattoos, long hair and hat, Kennedy fitted in with the group of eco-activists

Undercover police officer Mark Kennedy – who posed as Mark Stone – was welcomed into Earth First after approaching the green protesters at a ‘spiritual sanctuary’ on a farm in Yorkshire.

His work resulted in a high-profile trial which subsequently collapsed when it emerged he had crossed the line by organising and directing the very protests the police had hired him to help stamp out.

Now a woman has come forward to say her relationship with Kennedy had left her feeling violated after he was unmasked as a spy.

She told The Guardian Kennedy had relationships with several women and may have used sex as a tactic to gain intelligence.

She said: ‘In a general sense, there is a feeling that if somebody was being paid to have sex with me, that gives me a sense of having been violated.’

Following questions in parliament over the case, Cindy Butts, a member of the Met’s watchdog, has called for a review into the conduct and handling of the officer.

She said: ‘There should be guidance so officers remain focused on what they are doing.

‘I don’t think “by any means necessary” should be the modus operandi [for undercover officers] at all. There should be a review.

‘I expect questions on all aspects of this case, including these [sexual] allegations.’

The woman, who now lives abroad and wants to be known only as Anna, claims she had sex with married Kennedy more than 20 times.

She said: ‘I’m not sure personally if I would be willing to take part in an inquiry that touched on our sexual relationship.

‘If the Met knew that this was going on, then obviously they should reveal this. There should be an inquiry into whether this is legal.’

Using a fake passport supplied by his police handlers, Kennedy travelled to more than 22 countries posing as a committed green ­anarchist, while drawing a salary of £50,000 from the Metropolitan Police.

After his initial approach, during which he made clear he had money and a car to transport protesters to a series of high profile events being secretly planned, Kennedy was admitted to the group in August 2003.

Nicknamed ‘Flash’, on account of the bundle of cash he always had in his wallet, Kennedy stood no personal risk of arrest over any illegal activities – indeed he was relaying every detail of these activities to his superiors.

But the astonishing double life of PC Kennedy was this week blown wide open after a high-profile trial collapsed ­following allegations that ‘Flash’ crossed the line — and acted as an agent provocateur.

Unsuspecting: 'Mark Stone' spent seven years undercover with the group without any of them realising. The operation cost £2million

The case against six people charged with ­conspiring to shut down the coal-fired Ratcliffe-on-Soar power station in Nottinghamshire in 2009 was dropped. 

It came amid fears by the police and Crown Prosecution Service that the trial would expose sensitive details of the undercover operation.

And even more damagingly, defence lawyers claimed he was willing to give evidence in court for the protesters.

Last year, 114 activists, including PC Kennedy, were arrested when police raided a building. They were gathering at the Iona School in Sneinton, ­Nottingham, on the morning of Easter Monday, April 13, before they could shut down the nearby plant.

Mark Schwarz, representing the six accused activists, last night revealed the case was abandoned after he had requested further information on the role of PC Kennedy, saying prosecutors had opted to abandon the case rather than have ‘murky’ evidence about the police’s involvement heard in public.

Climbing the tower: Pc Mark Kennedy (circled) on a ladder as a banner is unfurled at Didcot Power Station

Bizarrely, the undercover policeman is reportedly consumed with remorse over his ‘betrayal’ of his fellow ­activists — so much so he has resigned from the police and is said to be considering making a ­personal apology to those arrested.

Indeed, immediately after the arrest of the power station protesters, Stone was seen almost in tears at another activist’s house. Slumped on the stairs, his head in his hands, he apparently decided his infiltration had been ‘really wrong’.

He was this week reported to have contacted one close friend, telling him: ‘I’ll just say I’m sorry — for everything. It really hurts.’

Now in hiding abroad, Mark Kennedy’s bewildering case also prompted questions about whether he should ever have been selected for such a sensitive job, as police colleagues revealed he had ‘clearly gone native’.

In academic studies, undercover policemen often report identifying closely with their targets and can be overcome with remorse after spending long periods with those they ‘betray’ — a fact confirmed by Donnie Brasco, the famous undercover officer who infiltrated the Mafia and was ­tormented for years.

Dr Glenn Wilson, Visiting Professor of Psychology at Gresham College, said: ‘‘The only way they can do it (go under cover) effectively is immersing themselves and becoming part of the group they are spying on.

‘It is not a recipe for mental well-being, running two identities. It can be psychologically damaging while you maintain the deception — telling the truth is a much more straightforward process — and can create confusion in the individual as their personality is, in effect, split in two.’

In fact, soon after going undercover, the policeman became one of the most enthusiastic members of the anarchist movements, attending virtually every event across Europe, including trips to Iceland and Italy, and even training his fellow protesters for the Ratcliffe power station attack.

He helped gather 114 other anarchists at a private school and they planned to hit the power station at dawn. If they had succeeded in storming the power station, they could have shut down electricity to much of the East Midlands.

But, unknown to his supposed allies, ‘Flash’ had already tipped off police, who carried out a dawn raid on the school and arrested all the activists. Charges against ‘Mark Stone’ were later dropped.

Alex Long, a member of an anarchist group called the Wombles, this week reflected bitterly on how ‘Flash’ had duped them all.

‘He was too good to be true — the perfect activist. If he walked in now, I’d say to him “Mark, how you going?” and then only seconds later I’d think: ‘‘Oh, I forgot, you’re a cop,’’ ’ he said.

‘Flash’ was present — and agitating for direct action — at all the most ­controversial demonstrations in recent years, many of which descended into bloodshed and violence.

Dressed in his trademark jeans, T-shirt and fur ‘trapper’ hat, he was among those at the bloody G20 ­protests in April 2009, which led to the death of innocent bystander Ian ­Tomlinson as police and protesters clashed repeatedly.

 

Prosecutor Felicity Gerry told Judge John Milmo the Crown invited him to return not guilty verdicts for, from left, Oliver Knowles, Daniel Chivers, Brody Stevens, Anthony Mullen, Simon Lewis and Spencer Pawling

Indeed, activists last night told the Mail ‘Flash’ also played a central role in protests at Heathrow airport, Kingsworth power station and in the hijacking of a coal train. To demonstrate his commitment to the cause, he risked his life to climb a crane and hang a banner from Didcot Power Station, which stated: ‘Climate crime!’

Increasingly part of the trusted inner circle, he was arrested for a series of minor offences at green climate camps — and once chained himself to the ­railing at a nuclear power station — but, mysteriously, was let off by the police. 

By the middle of the last decade, his reputation was such that he was on first-name terms with an underground global network of ­anarchists. 

Having spent seven years using taxpayers’ cash to help with these events, Kennedy even came to be regarded as the protest groups’ official driver.

‘We needed someone who could drive and someone we could trust,’ says Bradley Day, 23, one of the undercover officer’s fellow activists. ‘Mark felt like that kind of person.’

Stone earned more trust when he used his fake driving licence and passport — supplied when he was selected to go undercover in 2003 — to pay £778 for the hire of a 7.5 tonne truck to transport equipment for breaking into the ­Ratcliffe-on-Soar power station.

So who is the real Mark Kennedy? Now aged 41, he has a wife in London — as well as an unwitting girlfriend in Nottingham said to be ‘in tatters’ on discovering her supposed activist and mountaineer lover had been lying to her all along.

Ratcliffe-on-Soar power station: The trial of six protesters accused of trying to shut down the station for several days has been abandoned amid claims Mr Kennedy offered to give evidence on their behalf

PC Kennedy was recruited by the Met’s National Police Order ­Intelligence Unit — set up in 1999 and now with an annual budget of £50 million and 70 staff — in 2002. He had left the police training ­college at Hendon in 1994.

A secretive police unit based at Scotland Yard, its officers are specially selected from other forces and are deployed to ‘perform an intelligence function in relation to politically-motivated disorder’.

But PC Kennedy’s big breakthrough came when he managed to stage his meeting with Earth First, amid a haze of cannabis smoke, at their farm camp in Yorkshire seven years ago. 

Having made contact with his ­targets, and after discussions with his superiors, Kennedy began his full-time life as Mark Stone, a meat-eating anarchist whose wealth and regular disappearances made some others nervous.

Stone moved to Nottingham from his home in London so he could be close to other protesters, and secretly fed back information about planned protests. He attended training camps and clandestine meetings across Europe as he forged links with anti-power, animal rights and anti-roads activists.

Bradley Day, who was one of 20 protesters found guilty of conspiring to shut down the power station earlier this year, told the Mail he had never questioned the undercover officer’s dedication to the environmental cause, having seen the keen climber arrested a number of times.

‘He was always keen to provide practical help, both as a climber and driver,’ said Mr Day. ‘He wasn’t someone hiding in the corner, but someone who actively took part in organising these protests.

‘He was willing to trespass, he’d been arrested a number of times and he seemed like someone with an active conscience. The night we were released from custody, he took me for a pint and told me how upset he was that we had failed. We never suspected a thing.’

PC Kennedy: Recruited by the Met's National Police Order Intelligence Unit in 2002

He added that ‘Mark Stone’ had been a key player in the power station plan from the beginning.

‘He carried out reconnaissance and drove us round the power ­station, showing us all the good footpaths to use. At that point, the police must have known about the shutdown as, ­presumably, he told them.’

Of course, fellow activists now say they were always suspicious about his ready money and expensive cars — not to mention his frequent unexplained disappearances to London (where he would spend as much time as possible with his wife, who is understood to have known bare details of the operation).

Some activists say they dubbed him Detective Stone, as their doubts about him crystallised, claiming he did nothing to prevent them taking more and more risks in ­pursuit of the ‘green cause’.

But the policeman’s betrayal has also provoked fury among many former anarchists. Internet sites were bombarded with expletive-filled messages, denouncing ‘Flash’ — and members of his family — in the vilest terms. One raged: ‘Oh, Mark! WHY!? We shared a particularly brotherly experience once  . . . or so I thought. It’s actually worse than someone dying, in many ways — I’m really angry as well as mourning for a lost friend.’

Another said: ‘This guy, Mark Stone, was involved in many movements recently. He was at Animal Rights gatherings, UK and international in Italy, connected with anti-fascism and environmentalism  . . . please pass this information on to anyone who may have been in contact with Mark in the last decade, both in the UK and abroad.’

Not surprisingly, the disclosures of the policeman’s role in the collapse of the trial have also prompted political outrage. Not least because the cost of Mark’s seven-year operation is estimated at more than £2 million.

Senior Labour backbencher David Winnick called for Home Secretary Theresa May to make a statement to the House. He said: ‘The concern is not the fact that the Metropolitan Police, and possibly other police forces, use undercover agents. My concern is the manner in which it has been alleged that Kennedy acted almost as an agent provocateur.’

Critical: Green Party MP Caroline Lucas said the operation raises questions about the motivations of police and Government

Caroline Lucas, MP for Brighton Pavilion and leader of the Green Party, also referred to the allegations over his role: ‘That the undercover officer here was an agent ­provocateur rather than a mere observer raises alarming questions about the intentions of the police and, ultimately, the Government. Such anti-democratic forces have no place in our society.’

Jenny Jones, a Green Party ­member of the Metropolitan Police Authority, said: ‘I will be asking the commissioner how many more Met officers are spending their lives embedded within environment groups and to publish the guidelines given to officers about the difference between collecting information and acting as an agent provocateur.’

Mark Stone’s secret life came to an end soon after the raid on the ­Nottingham school. Fellow anarchists confronted him after discovering a passport with his real identity on it. He admitted his role — then fled.

Now his whereabouts are a closely guarded secret. His e-mail addresses and mobile phone numbers have been deleted. His Facebook page has been de-activated.

Yet, incredibly, the lawyer for the freed activists this week revealed that PC Kennedy had agreed to offer evidence in support of the defendants rather than the police force.

‘He was willing to speak to me with a view to assisting the defence,’ said the lawyer. ‘We took the issues to the prosecution in the autumn of last year and asked them for ­information of his involvement.’

This week, Nottinghamshire Police referred the case to the Independent Police Complaints Commission, while the Metropolitan Police refused to discuss it. 

But life may become even more fraught for ‘Flash’ from now on. Animal rights activists warned ­several years ago they will not tolerate any undercover police or private detectives found in their midst. 

Not that many of former PC Kennedy’s woes will bring a tear to the eye of any former police ­colleagues. ‘He would have been privy to hundreds of bits of information,’ said one police source.

‘He will be looking over his ­shoulder for the rest of his life.’

The war on street photography

Photographer Alex Turner has been arrested by Kent police for being "too tall" in an action which must cast further doubt on the collective sanity of Kent Police and which also suggests that some police forces are now really behaving as if we lived in police state, a phrase that I have been reluctant to use.

In his blog, Turner gives a full account of being stopped by two men in Chatham High Street, after he took a picture of a fish bar called Mick's Plaice, which stands between Specsavers and a shop called Mr Flower and advertises jacket potatoes and an all day breakfast in a colour scheme of bold blue and white. The men said they worked for Medway Council.

"I saw a badge attached to one of the men's waistband and saw the logo of Kent Police. The men asked me why I was taking pictures in the High Street.
I told them photography was a hobby and explained what and who I had taken pictures of and why".

Turner continues, "I asked them under what authority they were making their request. They did not provide a clear answer to this question in that they failed to state the legal authority under which they were making their enquiries."

Because they neither stated their authority nor properly identified themselves, Turner refused to answer their questions. The men summoned uniformed police. Turner took photographs of two officers as they approached him reproduced with blurred faces on his blog – and arrest followed. He was handcuffed held in police van and then questioned by two plain clothes officers. "They spoke about the threat of terrorism. They were keen to seek my agreement with regards to the views they expressed, both about the threat of terrorism and the suspicious nature of people with cameras and especially those who chose not to provide identifying details about themselves when requested to do so."

He was searched while still handcuffed. The officer told him to take off his trainers and patted down the soles of his feet. At some point the officers made a veiled threat about Turner's ability to continue as photographer.

"Whilst sharing their views about the threat of terrorism officer xxxxx [name redacted] stated she had felt threatened by me when I took her picture. I cannot recall exactly what she said but I do recall her referring to my size and implying she found it intimidating at the time (I am 5ft 11in and weigh about 12 stone)."

Turner concludes with this, "I believe the way I was treated was unjustified and wholly disproportionate. I assert that officer xxxxx misused her powers of arrest and demonstrated a poor understanding of the law in relation to arrest, the use of force, the use of detention, photography in public places, obstruction and the ... Terrorism Act 2000. Furthermore I assert that officer xxxxx is unsuitable to act as a police officer or at the very least requires further training if she is intimidated by a male of an unremarkable stature taking a single picture with a camera pointed in her direction."

Clearly something has to be done about the police attitude to photography and filming. This week it was reported that Essex Police photographed residents who attended a peaceful meeting about the future of Southend Airport. The Lib Dem MP Norman Baker who attended the meeting likened the behaviour of the police to "Stasi like spying" and attacked the "gross intrusion into people's civil liberties". The images have subsequently been destroyed and the officer in charge sent a half penitent letter to the local newspaper. The police response underlines how important it is for the public to challenge the use of covert and overt surveillance of law abiding political activity.

In another development, the magazine Amateur Photographer, has sought to clarify whether police have the right to delete photographic images. The Metropolitan Police's guidance suggests that they have the power "to seize and retain any article found during a search that they reasonably suspect is intended to be used in connection with terrorism."

But Rupert Grey, a lawyer working for Swan Turton, one of the best new law firms, told the magazine, "This is correct as far as the powers conferred by section 44 are concerned. But the advice fails to point out that although film and memory cards may be seized as part of a search, officers do not have a legal power to delete images or to destroy film."

He added: "The Association of Chief Police Officers' practice advice on stop and search in relation to terrorism makes this clear; so do guidelines for MPS staff on dealing with media reporters, press photographers and television crews: "Once images are recorded, [the police] have no power to delete or confiscate them without a court order."

Despite being too tall, Alex Turner did not have his pictures deleted.

However, the offence to his rights as a law abiding citizen are shocking and he is due an apology. What is needed now is clear statement from the home secretary on the rights of photographers and the limits of police surveillance.

16 July 2009