Police Officer becomes witness for the defence
Discussion
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-12148753
Newsnight tonight will reveal that a climate change protest prosecution was abandoned after an undercover police officer offered to give evidence to support the defence.
Newsnight tonight will reveal that a climate change protest prosecution was abandoned after an undercover police officer offered to give evidence to support the defence.
BBC report said:
Trial collapses after undercover officer changes sides
By Meirion Jones BBC Newsnight
Mark Kennedy Pc Mark Kennedy worked undercover in the green movement for a number of years
The trial of six green campaigners has collapsed after an undercover policeman who had infiltrated their group offered to give evidence on their behalf.
The six were charged with conspiring to shut down the Ratcliffe-on-Soar power station in Nottingham in 2009.
The case was due to start on Monday, but was abandoned after Pc Mark Kennedy contacted the defence team to say he would be prepared to help them.
The prosecution subsequently dropped their case.
Mr Kennedy had been intimately involved in the green movement since 2000.
He was known to those within it as Mark "Flash" Stone, having earned the nickname because he always seemed to have more money than the other activists.
Confronted
He lived a double life: as Mark Kennedy of the Metropolitan Police and as Mark Stone, green activist, based in Nottingham.
He would disappear for extended periods, saying he had to visit his "brother" in the United States.
In October 2010, Mr Kennedy was confronted by some of the activists after they found documents which revealed his true identity.
He admitted he had been a Met Police officer and had infiltrated their organisations, before then disappearing.
Danny Chivers, who was one of the six defendants in the failed case, said Mr Kennedy was not just an observer, but an agent provocateur.
"We're not talking about someone sitting at the back of the meeting taking notes - he was in the thick of it."
Speaking about the Ratcliffe-on-Soar protest, Mr Chivers said: "Mark Stone was involved in organising this for months - they could have stopped it at the start."
Instead, Mr Chivers said the police officer helped recruit as many people as possible.
He also drove a reconnaissance party to the power station in his van and then hired a truck for the main protest, Mr Chivers added.
The activists' plan was to try to shut down the coal-fired power station for a few days as a protest against global warming.
Ratcliffe-on-Soar power station Twenty people were convicted over the Ratcliffe-on-Soar case last year
But in April 2009, when 114 people had gathered for a meeting at the Iona School in Nottingham, hundreds of police swooped on the building and arrested them all for "conspiracy to commit aggravated trespass".
Twenty were convicted late last year.
Ratcliffe-on-Soar was one of many actions in Britain and across Europe which Mr Kennedy was involved in, including the protests against the G8 summit at Gleneagles in 2005 which helped give birth to the Climate Camp movement.
"He was one of the key people setting up Gleneagles 2005," said Mr Chivers, who also claimed the undercover officer drove protesters there in his van.
'Violated'
Activist websites are full of denunciations of Mr Kennedy by former close friends.
There is some abuse, but most say they feel "violated", "betrayed" and "sickened".
One writes: "He must be a deeply conflicted individual."
When confronted, Mr Kennedy told the activists he left the police after the Nottingham arrests in 2009.
It is unclear whether this is true, or where he is now, but contacted the activists' defence team to say he would be prepared to help their case.
When the defence then asked the prosecution to disclose full details of Mr Kennedy's activities the prosecution dropped the case.
The Met Police are refusing to comment officially on Mr Kennedy.
Find out more on BBC2's Newsnight at 2230 GMT on 10 January
This will no doubt raise questions about how the police gather evidence, as the officer concerned was labeled an "agent provocateur" but it will also shine a spotlight on how the previous government has sought to stamp out protest at it's policies!By Meirion Jones BBC Newsnight
Mark Kennedy Pc Mark Kennedy worked undercover in the green movement for a number of years
The trial of six green campaigners has collapsed after an undercover policeman who had infiltrated their group offered to give evidence on their behalf.
The six were charged with conspiring to shut down the Ratcliffe-on-Soar power station in Nottingham in 2009.
The case was due to start on Monday, but was abandoned after Pc Mark Kennedy contacted the defence team to say he would be prepared to help them.
The prosecution subsequently dropped their case.
Mr Kennedy had been intimately involved in the green movement since 2000.
He was known to those within it as Mark "Flash" Stone, having earned the nickname because he always seemed to have more money than the other activists.
Confronted
He lived a double life: as Mark Kennedy of the Metropolitan Police and as Mark Stone, green activist, based in Nottingham.
He would disappear for extended periods, saying he had to visit his "brother" in the United States.
In October 2010, Mr Kennedy was confronted by some of the activists after they found documents which revealed his true identity.
He admitted he had been a Met Police officer and had infiltrated their organisations, before then disappearing.
Danny Chivers, who was one of the six defendants in the failed case, said Mr Kennedy was not just an observer, but an agent provocateur.
"We're not talking about someone sitting at the back of the meeting taking notes - he was in the thick of it."
Speaking about the Ratcliffe-on-Soar protest, Mr Chivers said: "Mark Stone was involved in organising this for months - they could have stopped it at the start."
Instead, Mr Chivers said the police officer helped recruit as many people as possible.
He also drove a reconnaissance party to the power station in his van and then hired a truck for the main protest, Mr Chivers added.
The activists' plan was to try to shut down the coal-fired power station for a few days as a protest against global warming.
Ratcliffe-on-Soar power station Twenty people were convicted over the Ratcliffe-on-Soar case last year
But in April 2009, when 114 people had gathered for a meeting at the Iona School in Nottingham, hundreds of police swooped on the building and arrested them all for "conspiracy to commit aggravated trespass".
Twenty were convicted late last year.
Ratcliffe-on-Soar was one of many actions in Britain and across Europe which Mr Kennedy was involved in, including the protests against the G8 summit at Gleneagles in 2005 which helped give birth to the Climate Camp movement.
"He was one of the key people setting up Gleneagles 2005," said Mr Chivers, who also claimed the undercover officer drove protesters there in his van.
'Violated'
Activist websites are full of denunciations of Mr Kennedy by former close friends.
There is some abuse, but most say they feel "violated", "betrayed" and "sickened".
One writes: "He must be a deeply conflicted individual."
When confronted, Mr Kennedy told the activists he left the police after the Nottingham arrests in 2009.
It is unclear whether this is true, or where he is now, but contacted the activists' defence team to say he would be prepared to help their case.
When the defence then asked the prosecution to disclose full details of Mr Kennedy's activities the prosecution dropped the case.
The Met Police are refusing to comment officially on Mr Kennedy.
Find out more on BBC2's Newsnight at 2230 GMT on 10 January
I 'might' have met an undercover cop via a friend, last time I met him he was about to go 'underground' with the G8 protestors at Gleneagles.
He said he found it easy to fit in with them, as he agreed with a lot of what they were saying!
Just as well we don't live in a Police State then!
He said he found it easy to fit in with them, as he agreed with a lot of what they were saying!
Just as well we don't live in a Police State then!
Now I would have thought that somebody with a penchant for herbal teas - especially somebody who calls himself something like Puff the magic (mushroom) would be the ideal choice! 
After all, anyone with previous experience of sneaking around (in submarines), prepared to nuke a foreign country at his government's bidding - and is prepared to lie to make a point would fit right in and not leave the prosecution with egg on it's face!
After all, anyone with previous experience of sneaking around (in submarines), prepared to nuke a foreign country at his government's bidding - and is prepared to lie to make a point would fit right in and not leave the prosecution with egg on it's face!
'Going native' is a well-known phenomenon. There's a lot of reports suggesting that once you start associating with certain groups of people then you can't help but get to like them. Part of the problem is the black and white issue. Officers are told that they are going against the worst type of criminal in the world and how they are the most horrible of all kinds and then they meet them.
They then find out that some are very honest to their own morals, are kind and likeable. They are then subject to their point of view - brainwashing in essence. The most closed-minded officers are the most vulnerable, those who think that if you've broken a law you are beyond the pale. At least there are no police officers who post on these forums like that.
In the early/middle 70s there was a cab war in the east end of London. One of the City PCs, a much-decorate ex-squaddie, went 'undercover' as a mini-cab driver. He said he got on well with all the cabbies and quite liked them. However:
At one time a cabbie working for another cab company got severely beaten. The City PC was told that it was suspected that he was an undercover PC. His colleagues then told him he'd better be very careful. He had, it seems, been spotted very early on.
They then find out that some are very honest to their own morals, are kind and likeable. They are then subject to their point of view - brainwashing in essence. The most closed-minded officers are the most vulnerable, those who think that if you've broken a law you are beyond the pale. At least there are no police officers who post on these forums like that.
In the early/middle 70s there was a cab war in the east end of London. One of the City PCs, a much-decorate ex-squaddie, went 'undercover' as a mini-cab driver. He said he got on well with all the cabbies and quite liked them. However:
At one time a cabbie working for another cab company got severely beaten. The City PC was told that it was suspected that he was an undercover PC. His colleagues then told him he'd better be very careful. He had, it seems, been spotted very early on.
Derek Smith said:
In the early/middle 70s there was a cab war in the east end of London. One of the City PCs, a much-decorate ex-squaddie, went 'undercover' as a mini-cab driver. He said he got on well with all the cabbies and quite liked them. However:
At one time a cabbie working for another cab company got severely beaten. The City PC was told that it was suspected that he was an undercover PC. His colleagues then told him he'd better be very careful. He had, it seems, been spotted very early on.
I know this is a serious thread, but I have an image of him using an old powder blue and white Panda car with th word "taxi" written over it... At one time a cabbie working for another cab company got severely beaten. The City PC was told that it was suspected that he was an undercover PC. His colleagues then told him he'd better be very careful. He had, it seems, been spotted very early on.
A very good Drug Squad officer I knew for a number of years ended up losing his job after he began to use the stuff those he'd infiltrated were using. It was difficult to appear as one of them if he didn't "use" the stuff.
He was a good copper, a good bloke and a good thief catcher. Sadly his career was ruined by his ability to work well undercover. No-one had a bad word for him and it gave no-one any pleasure to see his departure from the job he loved and did well.
He was a good copper, a good bloke and a good thief catcher. Sadly his career was ruined by his ability to work well undercover. No-one had a bad word for him and it gave no-one any pleasure to see his departure from the job he loved and did well.
Edited by XMG5 on Monday 10th January 18:37
Flintstone said:
Derek Smith said:
'Going native' is a well-known phenomenon.
Stockholm Syndrome.With the 'going native', for want of a better phrase, the person starts off by being confident and secure in their beliefs. Once they begin to realise that their entrenched beliefs are wrong, either totally or partially, then they can react in extreme ways: becoming like them but more so or else wanting, and sometimes actually, to do something really nasty to them and justifying their actions to themselves using outrageous logic. Both extremes are 'unreasonable'.
I think it is more likely if the person is a true believer, a born again anti terrorist sort of thing.
I thought there were guidelines as to how long a person could remain in deep cover.
I wonder if anyone could suggest a police poster on here who should not go under deep cover with the Chelsea Cruise set.
Edited by Derek Smith on Monday 10th January 18:35
I think the Stockholm Syndrome is usually seen in hostage or long term kidnap scenarios? IIRC wasn't Pattie Hurst a famous young woman was kidnapped some years ago in the USA by an extremist gang and ended up taking part in an armed bank robbery with them? She was armed with a machine gun and played a later disputed role in the heist claiming her gun wasn't loaded?
Edited by XMG5 on Monday 10th January 18:50
Derek Smith said:
I wonder if anyone could suggest a police poster on here who should not go under deep cover with the Chelsea Cruise set.
Not Police - but SCP/RSS "expert" Steve Callaghan - despite a long history of misrepresenting facts and figures and falsifying his evidence, his photoshopping skills are non-existent.The original of me and my old 406 estate.....
and Puff the tragic's altered evidence....
Not many coal miners live up here... not since Scargill got them all booted out of their jobs anyhow!
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&...
Did they have undercover infiltrators then...?
Derek Smith said:
'Going native' is a well-known phenomenon. There's a lot of reports suggesting that once you start associating with certain groups of people then you can't help but get to like them. Part of the problem is the black and white issue. Officers are told that they are going against the worst type of criminal in the world and how they are the most horrible of all kinds and then they meet them....
I think I'd manage to resist the urge to get to like a bunch of direct action climate change protesters very well.However, I think my ability to blend in would be limited.
"What's wrong with driving a Focus RS: it's green isn't it?"
The were many rumours of army infiltrators amongst the demonstrating miners. There were stories of persons being beaten by miners who believed them to be police/army. But there was never any confirmation at the time. I've heard from two sources since, both of which I trust, that there were 'infiltrators' from both the police and army.
Indeed, it would be the sensible thing to do. Certainly police 'evidence gathers' were (and still are I assume) sent in with the demonstrators. However, I can't see how any officers or squaddies could go into deep cover.
Before joining the police I was a printer and considered putting myself forward to infiltrate for the strikes in 86-87. Might have been a bit of fun. I'd just transferred to Sussex from London, dropping a rank, and approached my inspector but he told me I'd be put in for promotion that year and I needed the increase in pay. I'd been a sergeant for 4 years already so had the benefit of the increments. A big increase.
They were a bit violent I seem to remember.
Indeed, it would be the sensible thing to do. Certainly police 'evidence gathers' were (and still are I assume) sent in with the demonstrators. However, I can't see how any officers or squaddies could go into deep cover.
Before joining the police I was a printer and considered putting myself forward to infiltrate for the strikes in 86-87. Might have been a bit of fun. I'd just transferred to Sussex from London, dropping a rank, and approached my inspector but he told me I'd be put in for promotion that year and I needed the increase in pay. I'd been a sergeant for 4 years already so had the benefit of the increments. A big increase.
They were a bit violent I seem to remember.
Wasn't somebody killed by a lump of concrete dropped from a bridge.. a taxi driver taking miners to work during the strike I seem to remember.
No wonder undercover operatives would have been desirable! Not sure printers ink would be a good substitute for coal under the fingernails though Derek!
I don't suppose you were at the Grunwick dispute...?
No wonder undercover operatives would have been desirable! Not sure printers ink would be a good substitute for coal under the fingernails though Derek!
I don't suppose you were at the Grunwick dispute...?
Puff the magic.. said:
Mill Wheel said:
berg1 said:
Should have sent Von in.
He's not easily turned.
But could he have blended in with the crowd...?He's not easily turned.
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