from Sunday Herald, 26 April 2009
A long-running and intricate web of covert police attempts to spy on peaceful activists and infiltrate legitimate protest movements in Scotland has been uncovered by the Sunday Herald.
Citizens protesting against nuclear bases on the Clyde have been offered cash for intelligence by Ministry of Defence (MoD) police, it has been claimed, while environmental activists report similar offers from Strathclyde Police.
They all back up the revelation made yesterday that Strathclyde police offered to pay Tilly Gifford, an anti-airport protester with Plane Stupid, for inside information. She recorded two police officers making the offer.
The veteran anti-nuclear activist, Jane Tallents from Helensburgh, spoke about how she and five others arrested for blockading the Coulport nuclear armaments depot on Loch Long were offered money. They were all invited one by one for “cosy chats” with two female MoD police officers, she said.
They were taken from their cold police cells on 7 September 2005 to a warm room, and asked if they would like to help by supplying information. “They wanted to know who we were working with and asked if we could come to an arrangement,” Tallents said.
“It was pretty clear they were offering to give us money. I remember coming out and shouting to a friend that they were offering to pay us. We laughed about it.”
According to Tallents, police spies and informers were an occupational hazard for the anti-nuclear movement. She recounted how a woman later unmasked as an MoD policewoman had regularly visited the Faslane peace camp in the 1980s.
“She came and drank tea and asked questions. We liked her. But there were some things we didn’t talk about with her.”
Police spies used to be easy to spot by their shiny shoes, Tallents said. “Now they can look the part, but they are still easy to spot because they can’t talk from the heart.”
Tallents’ account of being offered money in 2005 was supported by another of those arrested at the time, Angie Zelter from north Norfolk. She also recalled the interviews and the offers of cash.
A spokesman for the MoD police said last night: “We can neither confirm nor deny the specifics of the allegations but the MoD police have a responsibility for the protection of MoD assets from terrorism and unlawful interference.”
He added: “This is a responsibility it take very seriously and it uses all available legal powers to carry out these duties. All such activities must be proportional to the criminal threat presented.”
Other activists from the protest group, Plane Stupid, also spoke yesterday of approaches they’d had from Strathclyde police. One, who declined to be named, described how he met with police officers in a garden centre in January.
He was asked a series of questions about the activities of Plane Stupid and at the end of the conversation he was given £20. “Then they asked me to sign a receipt using a false name,” he said.
Another Plane Stupid protester, Kate Mackay, a 20-year-old student at Glasgow School of Art, said that she had been left a hand-written letter on Strathclyde police headed paper asking for a meeting. But when she tried to follow it up she couldn’t trace the officer named.
Last night Strathclyde Police Assistant Chief Constable, George Hamilton, defended the police’s action. “Officers of Strathclyde Police will, from time to time, engage with members of the public and protest groups to gather intelligence which will enable them to discharge that duty effectively,” he said.
“This responsibility is discharged in a manner which safeguards the identities of individuals who are prepared to provide such intelligence and is audited and monitored in accordance with the relevant legislation.”
He added: “Officers from Strathclyde Police have been in contact with a number of protesters who were involved with the ‘Plane Stupid’ protests including Aberdeen Airport. The purpose of this contact has been to ensure that any future protest activity is carried out within the law.”
Opposition politicians called for a full explanation of what had happened from the Justice Secretary, Kenny Macaskill. “What action will ministers take to prevent this kind of outrage in the future?” demanded the Green MSP, Patrick Harvie.
A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “There is a requirement to balance the protection of individual civil liberties with ensuring the safety of the wider public. The Justice Secretary has discussed the matter with Strathclyde Police’s Assistant Chief Constable and is satisfied the force has acted proportionately and legitimately.”
Other reactions
Liberal Democrat justice spokesperson, Robert Brown MSP, said:
“People expect police to be working in local communities tackling crime, not interfering with peoples' freedom of speech and right to protest. The Justice Secretary, Kenny MacAskill, must now provide Parliament and the public with a statement on the full facts surrounding this issue.”
Scottish Labour’s justice spokesman, Richard Baker MSP, said:
“I am writing to Kenny MacAskill to ask him to look into this issue so Parliament can be reassured the steps taken by police in this instance were appropriate.”
Director of Liberty, Shami Chakrabarti, said:
“People hearing this story will be rightly alarmed and sceptical of the proportionality and legality of this tactic. They will wonder whether these sources are being recruited to report on trouble at protests or stir it up.”
Former commander of Scotland Yard's Flying Squad, John O'Connor, said:
“In police terms, this is called cultivating a potential informant. It didn't seem a particularly sophisticated approach but that's normal police practice. The police don't just sit in their ivory tower and expect the phone to ring and be given intelligence information. They go out actively to gather it.”
Glasgow Green MSP, Patrick Harvie, said:
"It's clear that some in Strathclyde Police think that intimidation, infiltration and bribery are legitimate means of policing non-violent protest. We deserve a better police force than this.”
Director of WWF Scotland, Dr Richard Dixon, said:
“The reality is that they are using bully-boy tactics reminiscent of Cold War Eastern Europe and applying terrorism legislation to legitimate protest. Any threat to our right to peaceful protest is a threat to democracy.”
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