An alliance of people spied on by Britain's political secret police
Although we only have information on less than 10% of officers who worked for Britain’s political secret police units, it’s clear that trade unions were a main target.
Special Demonstration Squad whistleblower Peter Francis has confessed to spying on members of five trade unions. His colleague Mark Jenner, spying under the name Mark Cassidy, is known for his roles in anti-racist campaigns. But he also spied on trade unions, joining picket lines and even becoming a member of construction union UCATT.
Special Branch files released under freedom of information show detailed spying on the News International Wapping dispute of the 1980s.
When the Information Commissioners Office raided the construction industry blacklisting firm The Consulting Association in 2009, they didn’t just find files on over 3,000 people who were being denied work for their political activity. They found information in the files that can only have come from the police and security services.
The Independent Police Complaints Commission – a body hardly known for unnecessarily challenging police – admitted that it was likely that every constabulary’s Special Branch had supplied personal details to the blacklist.
This is not police officers upholding the law – it is officers breaking the law to uphold corporate profit.
Unite The Union is hosting a public meeting on spycops and trade unions.
Speakers:
John Lang – Wapping Striker
Matt Wrack – Fire Brigades Union general secretary
Helen Steel – Police Spies Out of Lives
Mark Metcalf – political activist and editor of the Unite Rebel Road and book of the month projects.
Chair: Jim Kelly – Chair of London and Eastern Region of Unite