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Peter Macdiarmid / Getty Images
Protesters holding banners and placards take part in a Climate Justice march on December 3, 2011 in London, England.
News analysis
LONDON – From Occupy protesters popping up worldwide, to students marching against tuition fees, to the anti-nuclear movement – people are angry and social activism seems to be on the rise.
But now in the U.K. there is a question on the lips of many activists: Whom can we trust?
Their suspicions stem from stunning revelations in Britain about the infiltration of activist groups by undercover agents working for the police.
Imposture activist
For seven years Mark Stone lived and breathed the cause of British environmentalism. He was known as “Flash” because he usually drove a van, and seemed to be never short of cash. Over the years he became close to a key group of activists, attended rallies with them, traveled across Europe and appeared to wholeheartedly support their causes. He also developed personal relationships with several female protesters.
And yet, his true identity was in fact very different: He was an undercover police officer, real name Mark Kennedy, tasked with infiltrating environmental activist groups. He was unmasked when a fellow activist discovered his passport containing his real name.
A string of prosecutions based on evidence Kennedy had gathered (like recorded conversations) have since collapsed after it became clear the evidence was not offered to lawyers defending the activists, even though it may have had an impact on their ability to establish their innocence.
So what was the purpose of the seven-year assignment, and the many thousands of taxpayer dollars spent on it?
Who else is being watched?
The case has raised questions about how many undercover operatives there are, and what sort of causes they are infiltrating. There are now at least a dozen investigations into police infiltration of the protest movement in the U.K.
Kennedy himself estimates that he knows of about 10 underground police officers who have infiltrated the environmental movement in the U.K.
But climate change campaigners are quick to ask: Why? They insist their movement is peaceful. The green activists say this level of police activity and intrusion would be fitting for terrorists – and that they do not pose a comparable risk.
Issues regarding the police operatives’ behavior have also raised concern. Undercover officers are strictly forbidden from entering into sexual relationships with their targets – and yet this seems to have happened on several occasions with Kennedy. And are they permitted to break the law while acting with their groups? And what accountability is there if they do overstep the mark?
There seems to be little clarity about what other protest organizations might have been selected for infiltration and why. While the public asks how these activities can be justified, the protesters themselves are increasingly looking over their shoulders and asking who among them may in fact be an undercover officer.
Leave a Comment:
Trust no one from the government.
Subversives have always been infiltrated.
What's "subversive" about environmental issues? Maybe the corporations are afraid of having to lose a little profit? And if it is a corporate profit issue, then what is the govt. doing being involved?
Groups like this are what they are infiltrating.
If the "activists" are not breaking the law, they shouldn't worry if there are undercover police in their midst. Only eco-terrorists need fear being seen by those tasked with watching out for acts of terrorism.
JohnCarter-428979
Whats good for the goose is good for the gander.
If there were more undercover work monitoring some of these mega corps. You probably wouldn't have protesters.
Those who would give up an ounce of liberty in the name of safety deserve neither (sic)
Benjamin Franklin
Amen to that Brother
@JohnCarter:
"If the "activists" are not breaking the law, they shouldn't worry if there are undercover police in their midst. Only eco-terrorists need fear being seen by those tasked with watching out for acts of terrorism."
Ah- the refrain of fascists everywhere. Then I guess it's OK to have a police video monitor in your house, car and workplace. Or to have the government monitor your e-mail and phone conversations. After all, if you're not doing anything illegal, you have nothing to worry about. And it's OK for the police to put plants in political groups, unions and social groups. After all, law abiding people have nothing to worry about.
How about prosecuting CRIMINALS instead of monitoring people exercising their right of protest?
I am sorry JL
Chasing actual bad guys is very dangerous. It is so much better for police morale to sit in strip bars, harass prostitutes, smoke pot with the neighbors and then have them arested.
God forbid that we should do what the Constitution says. STOP THE VIOLENCE.
I guess that I missed a memo where it was decided that cops are to be unidentifiable in riot gear without so much as police on their outfit. They are skinheads, 'roided up crazies who are dying to beat someone, taze someone, or kill someone.
These guys are not your fathers police force.
Oldest trick in the book...."Moles, Snitches, Narcs, Undercover Agents" used by all levels of Governments to infiltrate groups to spy on and to destroy a movement by the people 99% from within...
You cant have the people 99% figuring out a percentage of their Elected Officials are Criminals running their Government and their only purpose is to fleece the 99% and re-distribute the booty to the 1%..
Too bad it took so long for the people to figure out they had a mole in their midst...
Back in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s, the FBI considered civil rights groups (including Dr. King), environmental groups and other peaceful causes to be subversives! So much for respecting the First Amendment....
Glad the democrats didn't get their way and block the civil rights movement in the 60s.
@JL-1887631
The problem are the protesters that see fit violating my rights or other people's right, for example when it comes to freedom of passage when I want to go from point a to point b. Like blocking sidewalks or streets. Or the the entrance of my favorite store.
Having the right to protests does not give you the right to go beat-up someone that disagrees with you; nor does it gives you the right to destroy someone's property. This activist have been doing that a lot. And yes they are breaking the law & violating other people's rights. There was a Hispanic man selling hot dogs when suddenly he was surrounded by protesters. These people demand free hot dogs, so the poor guy trying to avoid trouble did comply but he has a little business to work on. He stopped handing out free hot dogs and the activist started chanting "Nazi! Nazi! Nazi!" Then went right ahead & beat him up while others destroyed his little hot dog cart & robbed his money.
These activist that are supposedly protesting on my behalf, well they forget that their right ends the moment someone else's rights began. All they care is about themselves demanding: "I wanna! I wanna! I wanna! I wanna! Gimme! Gimme!Gimme!Gimme! Me! Me!Me!Me!Me!" as they stretch their hand to the government for handouts.
And if you disagree with these "activists", they employ their favorite tactic by calling you fascist. One thing I learned about this protesters, they don't know the meaning of that word. They think it is just a bad word to insult someone.
Please, would you be kind enough to provide the source of the hot dog story?
thanks in advance.
In any activist group there's going to be moles, it's a given.It's the groups job to stay alert and weed them out!
So true...I visited the Occupy LA site a few weekends ago to interview people about the then-impending shutdown. I spoke to two guys that we're obviously plants. They tried to blend in, but it was obvious. A trained plant going underground for 7 years though!?!? That would virtually impossible to root out.
Did anyone really think that the police were not doing this? It seems like the logical thing for them to do. If the group isn't doing anything wrong no problem if they are planning something that effects other people and their rights then they can be prepared or can prosecute.
It seems like the logical thing for them to do.
I don't see it that way.
But since you do. Would not agree that they should be doing it to the company's being protested just as much if not more so? If they had undercover agents in B.P, maybe we could have avoided the gulf oil spill. Or least know for a fact what happened and why. They don't seem to be to interested in investigating the company's be protested. But there sure interested in the protesters. Imagine that.
Actually the companies are investigated through audits, SEC and federal departments such as the energy department..........but you should have known that. Your apples to oranges comparison doesn't hold much water. What police department do you want to investigate the gulf of Mexico (where the spill happened)? There are several federal and state investigations that were and are involved in the BP spill.
@ gtouch - You really think the SEC really does anything?? BWAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!! Wow, you must be high. If the SEC actually did its job, there might be no Occupy protests because the people responsible for our economic collapse would be in prison. And what state or federal department was in charge of cleaning up the oil spill? Oh yeah...BP. And if memory serves correctly, no one went to prison for that either, as a matter of fact, BP is still allowed to build oil platforms.
Instead of persecuting the Occupy movement, maybe we should try prosecuting Wall Street.
The people themselves should take responsibility in participating of the economic collapse too. As of today, people I knew who bought 3 or 4 house, i have asked this question: "Did a loan officer charged out of his office & at gun poined forced you inside the loan office & forced you to sign for that loan? Despite the fact other loan companies told you you didn't qualify but still wen hunting for a loan until you bumped with a shady one? Despite that I also told you that applying for a variable interest rate loan is a bad idea & explained why? But you still signed for 3 or 4 or 5? Now you are complaining calling yourself a victim?
They refused to answer me when I asked them, alas we are no longer friends & even a few felt I was some "insider" or something, calling a Zionist (I'm hispanic... can you believe they still dared called me Jew?). Blaming me for their problems they caused unto themselves. Well their gone, loosing their houses & having to move away. I may have to sell my house with a loss, what they did is now affecting me.
The hell with it...
Moles will have no trouble infiltrating the occupy movement. That bunch of lemmings will follow anyone or anything with a bullhorn and a goatee.
Esperanza, if that is really a picture of you it is too bad you are such a hateful person. That is all for now.
Ahah Tonglen, you noticed too. Esperanza you're a man baby and that's not your picture. Just like you advise to others, why don't you hang yourself so we don't have to suffer your negativity? Thank you.
Hey SaveTheEnvironmentHoax - most likely you are one of "those" concerned with over population. Maybe you should help the world and follow your own advice.
Stop reading/watching the right wing talking points, Covicik. 99% represents virtually everyone. The 1% is more homogenous. So while you might have unsavory elements in the OWS movement, there are plenty more that have way more class than you obviously do.
The 99% represents the 99% of the morons sleeping in tents. Quit thinking you're representative of most of the country. The bulk of the country just wants to live their lives and be happy. We don't care if the rich get richer. That is what everyone wants. That's what the goal is of work. I don't see anyone that wants to work hard so someone else gets more wealthy.
That is just a silly thing to say,of course everyone would like to be rich,but most know they won't.So folks would be happy with enough to meet their needs.That is why the people are in tents,there are many more that agree with them,but are too old for tents.
So what was the purpose of the seven-year assignment, and the many thousands of taxpayer dollars spent on it?
And we wonder why the protesters are angry.
When Rupert Murdoch runs the scotland yard anything is possible, and considering rupee's take on the environment, I am not surprised that environmental activists and occupiers have been listed as terrorists.
Actually, they are. You've never heard the term 'environmental terrorism'? You need to brush up on your current affairs, this has been a legal term for almost 10 years!
The undercover operation has already served at least one purpose. Now the protesters are mistrustful of their own people.
I liked the question "Who else is being watched". The answer from experience is everyone. Even the watchers are being watched. And if you have nothing to hide or be ashamed of, Who Cares.
But how do you know you have nothing to hide? The watchers often have to find something to justify their own existence.
Why look for infiltrators? Look at the Organizers!
Intelligence nets work by pulling information from a wide range of sources, sometimes only tenuously connected to their primary targets. The Brits may be concerned about some unlawful behavior occurring in these Enviro-oriented groups, but they're probably also looking for crossover contacts with other groups at the far end of the socialist spectrum in which they have a more direct interest. Some people who hate the establishment may not limit their activities to environmental causes - they may also participate in anarchist movements or other anti-government movements as well. There's always the friend of the friend connection, too.
It wasn't that long ago that they had a full-on riot on their hands involving anti-government interests. The government managed to make quite a few arrests for unlawful behavior that occurred, some of those arrests being made quite a while after it was over. I would guess the government's intel net already knew who some of these people were and the composition of their cells prior to them acting out on their passions. As I understand it, Britain is the most heavily monitored society in the industrialized world.
sig hiel
Wow that sounds like something that old J. Edgar would have done.
The "if you not doing anything wrong you have nothing to fear" is a traitor's argument. If you or your group is a thorn in the side of the government, corporation or some lobbyist group you better believe they will find something on you. If they can't find something good they will make something up. Just ask Tommy Chong about how the government will entrap you if they can't make a case any other way. Tommy didn't even commit the crime, he just co-owned the business. They went after him will full swat team and they threatened his family and his holdings if he didn't take a plea bargain. I use him as an example because I recently watched the documentary on his trial. What about those kids in Memphis? Or the number of people who have been convicted or even executed for crimes that science proved later they did not commit. Speaking out , or acting out against corrupt corporations, political groups and governments is not a crime, it's your God given OBLIGATION as an American citizen. The government can screw with you anytime it wants.
& if during a "peaceful protest" an "undercover terrorist" (also infiltrating the movement) detonates a bomb, police would then be criticized for failing to aniticpate terrorist movements...bummer!
Here is a list of the people doing the most damage to the United States.
Rupert Murdoch, Grover Norquist,The Koch Brothers,Rush Limbaugh,The Tea Party and a president that won't fight back.
You have that wrong the list is ( obama , pelosi , reed , mexican illegals , & liberals in general ). the real problem comes from us going from a republic to a democracy . P;S; why are you ashamed to use your own name not jhmc0302 ?
jhmco302 -
You forgot Roger Ailes, the guy who directs Fox News' ideology.
you forgot george soros and oboma( he is part of the problem)
It's more of a problem when they're agitators, trying to get the group in question to do something stupid, violent and always counter productive. They play the same game as many egoists in groups - "Lefter than Thou" - never productive, only trying to make themselves look important.
MSNBC asks: "So what was the purpose of the seven-year assignment, and the many thousands of taxpayer dollars spent on it?"
The question the article raises is indeed an important question in any country but it overlooks the more immediate question: why was the government of the United Kingdom paying undercover police spies in U.S. currency?
The Hells Angles and the Outlaws and other biker gangs are just as peaceful well meaning as most of these so called enviromental groups!
Just like DHS isnt a terrorist organization.
My hat is off to anyone honest enough to state their real agenda. Thus I say, kudos to Mike Cavar (see his comment above).
Like many others who are less honest, He supports unrestricted surveillance of opposition to government policies, because he fears and opposes democracy itself.
the outlaws and hells angels are motorcycle clubs not gangs the crooks in washington are the gang
Our Corporate Government has already decided 90% of the united states population are criminals the other 8% are janitors and 1% is admin and the remaining 1% is the illeats. Now all they have to do is start rounding us up how dare anyone speak out against our corporated government. You will be silenced, now bow before you corporate masters.
Me, they can lick my butt i will never bow.
you sound a bit edgy, maybe some nice tea will calm you down.
I almost wish someone would start a war somewhere. Whenever governments become idle without wars, they start targeting their own citizens, it seems. Maybe we should finally do something about North Korea?
I think we should attack britian have you seen their teeth?
The US has been at war officially since September 20, 2001, with President Bush's address to the joint session of congress.
The only problem is, with the passing and subsequent expansions of the Patriot Act, the average citizen is increasingly becoming the designated enemy combatant.
U of C Student - Are you really as stupid as you sound? If that's what you believe, then you need to do yourself a favor and quit school now and save yourself some money, because higher education obviously isn't doing you any good.
"Duh....huh huh....let's go ruin other people's lives so our own won't be affected....huh huh...." You disgust me.
BTW - The US Senate just voted to make the America a battlefield in the fictitious 'War on Terror', including military detaining, trial, and possible executions of American citizens.
http://www.opencongress.org/articles/view/2438-Read-the-Military-Detention-Bill
...........I think you may lack a certain type of humor found in the midwest. I was issuing an insult, not a suggestion.
Also, not sure what decade you grew up in, but today college is about science and math.
Just as in history and now....."a government that corrupts, corrupts absolute!! Period!! Don't believe it? Say Baaa Baaah and welcome to the rendering plant!
Mike Cavar, first name is John and 0302 is my MOS .Go to Big Guns Of Camp Carroll and you can get me.
We need to guard our secrets closely. It does not harm anyone to have a little inside information so we can protect you. If they weren't doing something wrong they would not feel so guilty. Live right and guilt will go away.
The police have infiltrated the nice peaceful movement!!!! Many of these peaceful movements are really are a bunch of radical crooks who destroy because they can. They have nothing and will always have nothing. Because they have nothing they have no pride in themselves. They demand their rights but show no responsibility. They destroy the property of everyday people who have worked and saved to get something. They are continually trying to drag others down to their low level of depravity but give their cause a name to justify their sub society/human actions. Most are grubby, unclean, dope using individuals who will never hold a job or pay tax but expect to be kept by those who do pay taxes.
Can I hire you to paint my house? With a brush that broad, I'm sure you can have it finished in just 4 quick strokes. But then again, it will take me a year to clean up all the drips and runs.. Naaaaaa.. Nevermind.