Kaden Blake - Deceased Brother's Identity Theft

Full transcript

00:22:57 e e

00:23:55 um before Miss Blake is sworn may I say to anyone in the room uh the usual rules apply uh when uh we don't have uh reporting restriction orders uh so that um uh those who have got electronic

00:24:08 um uh those who have got electronic devices may use them to transmit what is going on in the hearing room but not to record or

00:24:10 record or photograph thank

00:24:20 you good morning can you still hear me yes good I'm now going to take you through the affirmation if you could repeat after me I'll take it line by line I do solemnly I do solemnly sincerely and truly

00:24:32 I do solemnly sincerely and truly sincerely and truly declare and affirm declare and affirm that the evidence I shall give that the evidence I shall give shall be the truth shall be the

00:24:43 give shall be the truth shall be the truth the whole truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth and nothing but the truth thank

00:24:55 you yes

00:25:03 good morning Miss Blake my name is a r Jones I'm going to be asking you some questions on behalf of council to the inquiry today firstly can you give us your full name please Kaden

00:25:15 your full name please Kaden bloke Miss Blake just before we begin I'd like to confirm that the person sitting next to you is your partner and he's sitting next to you to support you in your evidence today but he's not going to be taking any part in giving that evidence is that right no yeah

00:25:29 that evidence is that right no yeah that's correct thank you Miss Blake you provided the inquiry with a witness statement consisting of 28 Pages dated the 13th of September

00:25:40 the 13th of September 2024 and uh a document that's signed by you is that witness statement true and accurate to the best of your knowledge and belief yes it is and do you want that to stand as your evidence before

00:25:52 that to stand as your evidence before the inquiry today yes I do and alongside that witness statement you've also provided a number of exhibits MH so that witness statement and all of the exhibits have now been entered into

00:26:06 exhibits have now been entered into evidence will be considered by the chair in full and published on the inquiry website in due course yeah Miss Blake the evidence that you give today orally is a chance for you to amplify whatever you consider to

00:26:19 you to amplify whatever you consider to be particularly important about the life of your brother Matthew Raina and the impact on your family of his identity being used by the officer we know as

00:26:30 being used by the officer we know as hn1 if you need need a break at any time please just let us know and we'll make sure that we take one for you mhm thank you Miss Blake is it correct that you are one of four children of your parents

00:26:44 are one of four children of your parents marriage I am yes can you tell us please the order of your siblings um I have a an older brother and then there is

00:26:57 brother and then there is myself another brother younger than I and then then Matthew it's the last

00:27:04 child and what's the age gap between you and

00:27:06 and Matthew I

00:27:08 Matthew I was roughly nine I believe when he was

00:27:18 born Miss Blake I'm going to ask that one of the exhibits you provided to this inquiry exhibit kb1 is brought up on the screen that's control number ucpi 37 32

00:27:33 4 and so that's A2 in your

00:27:45 bundle can you see that Miss Blake yes my father my brother yes thank you so I was going to ask you who's in that photograph your father and your brother your and that's your brother Matthew is it it

00:27:54 it it is how would you describe Matthew um as a young

00:27:56 a young child he was um very Placid child um a calm baby um not

00:28:11 baby um not fractious um even when he was Ill he was

00:28:17 um it wasn't demanding

00:28:19 demanding um it was such a lovely little lad um perfect child really um I could say not demanding not um so

00:28:32 not um so easygoing delightful really and what was your relationship like with him as an older sister

00:28:49 H well it was just lovely to have around and to play with so easy interested in everything and um you know I liked helping him on with it which I had

00:29:01 which I had done with my other brother who was slightly older than Matthew

00:29:06 Matthew so I loved helping out my mom and looking after him um just watching him play uh I said the whole family felt like that about

00:29:17 like that about him

00:29:23 him um Miss Blake we know from your written evidence that there came a time when Matthew became poorly H do you remember how old he was when he first became unwell um not

00:29:34 unwell um not exactly um it must have been too and Beyond um I couldn't say exactly because I wasn't really aware of anything until

00:29:51 I wasn't really aware of anything until later on I don't know if my parents kept until he had a diagnosis anyway I don't know if they kept that from us for a while um and that diagnosis is it correct that it was a diagnosis of emia yes that's

00:30:07 correct whilst Matthew was receiving treatment was he staying in hospital he had short stays in hospital

00:30:15 hospital um but uh my father particularly wanted to him to be at home as much as possible

00:30:26 to him to be at home as much as possible to try and keep things normal for him um so yes he did have short stays in

00:30:35 hospital and how were the family impacted by his illness and the treatment he was receiving um well gratefully my father was self-employed and so obviously he couldn't work as frequently as he had

00:30:55 couldn't work as frequently as he had done and my mother still had the rest of us to look after as well um so it was very difficult um

00:31:07 initially we the rest of the siblings we didn't know how ill he was but obviously my parents did so it must have been an incredible strain on them

00:31:15 um and it was difficult to see that it was difficult to live around that as a child and um you know we were aware that he wasn't eating or getting enough proper sleep and so it affected

00:31:28 proper sleep and so it affected everybody you know we had to be aware of that all the time uh and and the stress on my parents

00:31:37 parents um so it was it was very difficult and do you remember specifically how you felt um at the time seeing that

00:31:57 happen it was horrible because although we knew how ill he was and at my age I I hadn't necessarily processed in my mind that it would you know that he would die um going to

00:32:08 know that he would die um going to hospital and and having treatment at the time I just

00:32:20 uh I I that wasn't in my mind I just thought it would get better I I I don't know if I blocked it out um and obviously my parents probably shielded us a bit from that

00:32:31 shielded us a bit from that but you know over time obviously I did realize that he was getting progressively ill just looking at him you could see that um it difficult to concentrate at school CU she didn't know what situation would be like when you

00:32:48 what situation would be like when you got home from school so it was difficult and it was difficult to have a normal childhood in the fact of uh normal childhood playing with friends enjoying you know that time of your life because it was always in the back of of your mind that this this was happening for

00:33:02 mind that this this was happening for your parents and this was going on in the

00:33:09 household thank you can we take that um document down please miss Blake in your witness statement you say that um in early

00:33:26 statement you say that um in early 1972 after many unsuccessful treatments that had increased Matthew's suffering there came a time when your father or your parents decided that enough was enough um and when the hospital suggested a further treatment that would have extended Matthew's life by a few weeks that may have involved continuing his suffering with side effects your

00:33:49 his suffering with side effects your parents made the agonizing decision to bring him home instead yes can I ask that um exhibit kb2 document ucpi 37325 that's A3 is brought up on the screen

00:34:00 Miss Blake I think this is a painting that you created yes and you've said that this painting um shows the end of your brother Matthew's life in your father's

00:34:10 father's arms yes it's the last time I saw Matthew alive although seriously ill it was just shortly before he died I have

00:34:23 was just shortly before he died I have had to make this up myself this painting from various photographs it's not from an actual photograph um but it was a lasting image that I had for my father bringing him home for the last time shortly before he died

00:34:41 last time shortly before he died um and it was an image I didn't even want to think about really although after I've had um several Psychotherapy sessions I and they took me back to that image um I then was able to see it as a loving

00:34:56 um I then was able to see it as a loving image rather than an image I didn't want to remember because it brought such pain um and that's why I was able to do a painting of it um in the past few years so it means a lot to me and my

00:35:19 brothers thank you Miss Blake Matthew died on the 25th of January of 1972 when he was 4 years old in your family home yes Miss Blake in the period immediately after Matthew's

00:35:32 immediately after Matthew's death I think that you and your family left the family

00:35:37 home yes

00:35:45 um uh my father stayed in the family home and he was still uh obviously running his business to provide for us

00:35:57 running his business to provide for us but whatever reasons we it they did most met my father's decision my mother wasn't capable really at that point in time of making any much decisions

00:36:09 time of making any much decisions um that we should move out of the home uh and yeah we moved away and six months stopped in several bedsits

00:36:23 and we did we did find that sort of strange but it must have been the way my father intended to cope with things I think and this moving around in that

00:36:36 think and this moving around in that period of Time how how did this impact you and your surviving Brothers well um schooling was very difficult

00:36:58 difficult um losing friends making new friends um different subject matter at school but also underneath all that um a feeling of being I'm not I don't I don't say unwanted but out of the picture out of

00:37:13 um the true aftermath of grieving I think

00:37:17 think and at the time it was difficult to process because of my age and the feeling of being I don't know about I'm trying to describe it as pushed out of

00:37:32 trying to describe it as pushed out of the way but not involved in the G ging process perhaps um as if moving away would make it like it hadn't happened you know it is a difficult thing to understand from a parents side but that is how it felt in a way that

00:37:46 but that is how it felt in a way that perhaps if you moved away from actual Family Home and and the city that

00:37:55 um a different situation might make you not think about it perhaps I don't know

00:38:10 not think about it perhaps I don't know it it was strange at the time and um it didn't make it any less painful I must say were you um as a family able to attend Matthew's cremation no we knew nothing about it um I didn't know whether it had been a burial or cremation or when it happened

00:38:26 burial or cremation or when it happened or any Arrangements were uh I know that my P my father took it extremely personally Matthew's death he tended to

00:38:41 personally Matthew's death he tended to him a lot uh towards the end of his life reading to him all the time um I know how hard hit he was

00:38:46 was um and he perhaps thought he was saving us from any more pain um but so it was like we almost never got to say goodbye in a way

00:39:09 and what are your memories of the impact on your mother in these six months and how she dealt with the loss of Matthew she [Music]

00:39:15 [Music] was devastated isn't a good enough word it's not she adored she adored any babies let alone her own her own babies and children and

00:39:37 she she was she was never ever the same again which I don't suppose anybody's in that

00:39:38 that situation

00:39:45 situation but we were always constantly aware of trying not to hurt her and upset her again and I remember distinctly her saying that she didn't feel that she could ever laugh or again

00:39:58 or again um that's how she felt at the time and now I understand it but hearing that as a child as well made you feel totally inadequate as as the remaining

00:40:11 inadequate as as the remaining children I know that wasn't her intention at all and that was her grief speaking but at the time that that was quite painful to

00:40:22 quite painful to hear can we take that document down please did you did you as a family talk

00:40:33 please did you did you as a family talk about Matthew after he died or after you returned home from after those six months no we didn't dare um shortly um after he died we did look through some photographs together

00:40:48 through some photographs together um uh and my mother was obviously we were all upset looking at them but to see the pain that my mother was going through we we all we we didn't dare mention his name really it we just

00:41:05 dare mention his name really it we just wanted to save her from any more pain if we could even though we knew it was there all the time um so we we spoke very little of him

00:41:19 really miss Blake I think in the early 1990s there was an incident at your home where there was a burglary um and did you become aware that the burglars had taken anything particularly important in relation to

00:41:30 particularly important in relation to Matthew no um at the time I was I wasn't living you know I'd married and moved away but I was visiting my parents quite frequently and obviously then I was made aware of the

00:41:44 aware of the burglary um and I I just thought it was um small valuables that had been taken um I think in general my father's Bureau had been broken open and and virtually cleared

00:41:55 cleared out uh and then I I can't remember how long after B It could only have been a few days there was a very small um cardboard box

00:42:06 cardboard box labeled left on the property just out uh near the gate to my parents property and apparently that was my brother's ashes that had been must have been cleared

00:42:19 that had been must have been cleared with the other you know things that my dad held

00:42:20 dad held precious um and whoever took them obviously realizing what it was at least had the lency to return them um but I had no idea that my my father

00:42:33 um but I had no idea that my my father had kept them still I didn't know what had happened to two of them but that was quite um upsetting my father had actually passed by

00:42:44 actually passed by then uh but my mother was still

00:42:56 alive thank you Miss Blake I'm now going to talk to you about the use of Matthew's identity by an undercover police officer we know that Matthew's identity was used by the officer who is known within this inquiry as officer

00:43:08 as officer hn1 and he used Matthew's identity has his cover identity during his deployment into the animal rights movement in London between 1992 and 1996 hm1 has provided a witness

00:43:22 1996 hm1 has provided a witness statement which we'll come back to in due course and we will look at some details of his deployment but first of of all I want to talk to you about how you came to know that this had happened do you remember when it was that you

00:43:38 do you remember when it was that you first found out that Matthew's identity had been used by an undercover police officer yes yeah it

00:43:46 was between six six and a half years ago I

00:43:46 I believe

00:43:52 um and there was an official gentleman at my door who um told me

00:44:05 um and uh sorry no you go on um I remember listening to it and thinking sort of listening to it it difficult to process and it felt unreal I didn't

00:44:16 I didn't know what reaction to give I'd never heard anything like this before I didn't you know I uh it's not something you

00:44:29 you know I uh it's not something you expect to hear somebody turning up your doorstep and giving you this information

00:44:37 um uh yeah really really surreal it was yeah

00:44:49 yeah really really surreal it was yeah and then I had to I didn't have to but I informed uh one of my brothers who then informed my other brother um which was it's quite difficult cuz I had to pass on that information myself yeah um and what was your brother's reaction to

00:45:06 what was your brother's reaction to hearing the news when you told him well it was it was very similar he was sort of in disbelief he couldn't he' never heard of anything of the like

00:45:11 um

00:45:21 uh yeah he my old older brother was very upset

00:45:27 um and he told his he killed his children and he he broke down actually they hadn't realized how much all these events in our lives had affected us and still

00:45:43 do is it right that when you were informed of this six and a half years

00:45:54 informed of this six and a half years ago both of your parents had passed away by this time yes how do you feel about the fact that they did not know that Matthew's identity had been used by Officer hn1 um um my mother would have taken it really badly um my father was strong stoic

00:46:08 badly um my father was strong stoic person so his reaction could have been different could have been quite angry actually but my mother would have been mortified so at least she was spared

00:46:26 that as I assume she would have been a approached before anybody else but yeah at least she was spared

00:46:37 that in developing the cover identity hm1 chose Matthew's identity from the register of births and deaths going to ask that we bring up document MPS 07480

00:46:47 07480 N5 which is the witness statement that officer hn1 has provided to the inquiry and so that's A1 in your hn1 bundle and ask that we go to page

00:47:02 ask that we go to page 24 and I'm going to read paragraph 47 first of all

00:47:37 0748 095

00:48:10 page 24

00:48:21 please I'm just going to read paragraph 47 I adopted this name by going to the registry of births marriages and deaths and finding the death certificate of a child of roughly the same age as me I

00:48:32 child of roughly the same age as me I found a few options and submitted them to the detective sergeants in the back office they would do checks to make sure you had not selected a person whose

00:48:47 you had not selected a person whose parents were tracable or otherwise posed a risk of detection once approved the name was used as a Cornerstone of documentation I'm going to ask that we move um to page 25 and I'm going to read paragraph 50 and 51

00:49:05 paragraph 50 and 51 I am asked why I chose the identity of a particular deceased child it is because this identity met the criteria in the guidance and then we have a gist hm1 discusses the process of identifying the cover identity he would use throughout his SDS

00:49:15 his SDS employment I think I returned from the registry with a few options which I would have shared with SDS managers the other options were eliminated by the office as being for some reason

00:49:26 office as being for some reason unsuitable and it is for this reason that I came to use Matthew Edward rainer's name as part of my cover identity this deceased child was born in Sheffield I went there for a day but it was part of my backstory that I had

00:49:39 was part of my backstory that I had moved from Sheffield whilst still very young so I did not remember the

00:49:52 young so I did not remember the city me take that down please miss Blake how does it make you feel reading about how hm1 came to choose Matthew's identity and use it as his own

00:50:10 emotionally sick really and my parents were easily chasable so I don't understand that part of it um morally outraged that they had to go to such lengths and not just make up false identity

00:50:30 as part of the cover identity hm1 used Matthew's datee of birth as his own

00:50:37 um in your witness statement you mentioned that you'd read an article written by members of the public who've done their own research into undercover officers I'm going to ask that we bring that article up now it's ucpi

00:50:51 3477 I think you might have a hard copy with

00:50:57 you and we go to the second page please please this article presents what the authors had discovered about the officer using your brother's name in the course of their research I just want to um

00:51:10 of their research I just want to um highlight the very first two lines the top of the page it says of hm1 he always celebrated his birthday often at the famous three

00:51:22 his birthday often at the famous three kings Pub in the Fulham West Kensington area and as a result his date of birth was known this would later prove important in confirming that he had used a false identity

00:51:37 Miss Blake do you have any particular thoughts about H in one using Matthew's uh birth date and celebrating his

00:51:50 birthday yes it's it's very very unpleasant um that he was I'm assuming over a number of years

00:51:56 in celebrating birth of of what my brother who was

00:52:08 brother who was dead and he should have been celebrating himself whereas somebody would assumed his name was celebrating in instead

00:52:16 and um it feels so wrong it it

00:52:34 so it should that should have been a family occasion for the real family not for somebody pretending to be him thank you can we take that document

00:52:48 down um now I'm going to ask that we have up document MPS 07461

00:52:54 07461 69 which there is bi I6 in the hn1 bundle

00:53:12 Miss Blake this document sets out details of hm1 cover identity um including a personal history and a kind

00:53:26 including a personal history and a kind of um it's almost like a CV to the cover identity of the false Matthew Raina if we just look at the top we can see uh Matthew Edward Raina the name and the date of birth born 16th of September 1967 and then details of his parents

00:53:43 1967 and then details of his parents father Alan Alfred Raina a date of birth um and his job son of Alfred Raina and Emily Elizabeth Raina made in name Nixon are these in fact the real details of your father and your father's parents

00:54:08 yes yes that's all correct yeah and and secondly of your mother Matthew's mother Florence Jee Raina made named Smith her date of birth uh and the details of her parents her father his occupation and

00:54:19 parents her father his occupation and her mother are those the real details of your mother and her parents

00:54:26 yes and then it says all Grand parents now deceased father is now retired and both parents now live at thorganby House thorganby North Yorkshire yes now assuming this document was written sometime before hm1 was deployed or or

00:54:40 sometime before hm1 was deployed or or possibly just after it would seem to be dated sometime around 1991 or 1992 was it correct that at that time in real life your grandparents were deceased and your parents were living at the address that is noted

00:54:58 the address that is noted there uh yes grandparents deceased yeah yeah my parents were living there yeah and if we can just zoom out include the first line number

00:55:09 the first line number one in that which says of Matthew born on 16th September 1967 in Sheffield and

00:55:21 on 16th September 1967 in Sheffield and lived at 44 Suter Lane Sheffield is that the correct dress that Matthew was born at

00:55:24 at yes thank you Miss Blake you heard me read out earlier the part of hm one's witness statement where he said that the detective sergeants in the back office would do checks to make sure that you'd selected

00:55:39 checks to make sure that you'd selected a person whose parents weren't traceable and you commented that that's not true that your parents were traceable how do you feel about that suggestion that they choose someone whose parents weren't traceable in light of this document which contains details

00:55:51 of this document which contains details which were true and correct at the time of

00:55:58 of writing um well the took no notice of that no heed um which I think with all this knowledge now could have have put my parents

00:56:15 now could have have put my parents at emotional great emotional risk of of you know if things had had been found out if anybody had had approached them speaking about somebody with my brother's name

00:56:36 um there' have been another particularly she she wouldn't have been able to comprehend such a

00:56:50 situation the details that we can see on this document um if we zoom out and just have the first section up again obviously include the details of your grandparents mat these grandparents those are details that wouldn't normally be included on a birth certificate in

00:57:05 be included on a birth certificate in fact we um you have exhibited Matthew's birth certificate um that's document

00:57:14 37328 I said that's A6 within um Miss Blake's

00:57:26 bundle and on this birth certificate as all birth certificates we can see uh Matthew's name and your mother's name and your father's details and the address but of course it doesn't contain details of your

00:57:43 details of your grandparents um so how do you feel about the fact that H in one um had that information even though it wasn't readily available in the register of births and deaths um well it feels very invasive that it went to Such Great Lengths I mean I couldn't um I I remember now but if

00:57:59 couldn't um I I remember now but if prompted at the time I couldn't have told you my um uh

00:58:04 um uh grandmother's uh maiden name the Davidson one I I now remember hearing it once or twice but if prompted you know

00:58:15 once or twice but if prompted you know off cuff I couldn't have remembered it myself so it feels extremely

00:58:30 invasive than you can take that down and the last part I read out of hm1 uh statements paragraph 51 he said that part of the work to develop his cover identity he traveled to Sheffield for a day do you have any thoughts about this uh when I did hear that yeah I

00:58:41 this uh when I did hear that yeah I thought that felt really strange and sort of creepy and then I was wondering if it'd been to the house 44 Sal to

00:58:54 if it'd been to the house 44 Sal to Lane um and any schools or anything I didn't know how far we'd taken it I know he said he only went there once but to think that he possibly went to the actual house where we were living at Matthew's death is

00:59:06 Matthew's death is is

00:59:13 is um very unpleasant to think about that and then I also started thinking well did you know did he find out what schools we all went to did he mention our names you know the siblings all my siblings names as well in in

00:59:24 siblings names as well in in conversation which doesn't actually occur if you're talking to somebody you say have you any brothers and sisters um and that felt

00:59:38 really creepy really creepy that's the only way I can describe

00:59:48 that Miss Blake I'm going to move briefly now to some of the actions that hn1 undertook in the course of his deployment um in Matthew's name which you've commented on in your witness

01:00:00 you've commented on in your witness statement I'm going to ask if we can first of all bring up document MPS 0526

01:00:02 0526 755 which is um bi i34 in the h& one

01:00:18 bundle move to the second page please

01:00:31 so miss Blake this document is entitled Branch note arrest of SDS undercover officer dsh hn1 and this would have been an internal note written by a manager which relates to the arrest of hm1 I was going to read the top part of the

01:00:43 the top part of the document on Saturday the 12th of August 1995 hn1 was arrested and charged with a public order offense while on duty taking part in disruption of a grous shoot in North Yorkshire at no time was

01:00:57 shoot in North Yorkshire at no time was his role as an undercover police officer revealed or compromised he was charged at North Allon police station as follows on Saturday the 12th of August 1995 at Stang Forest used threatening

01:01:10 1995 at Stang Forest used threatening abusive or insulting words or behavior or disorderly Behavior within the hearing or sight of a person likely to be caused harassment alarm or distress thereby contrary to section 51 of the public order act

01:01:21 public order act 1986 and he was bailed to appear at a Magistrate's court around a month later and uh there's a notes there that the offense if convicted carries a maximum penalty of a

01:01:35 penalty of a fine what impact does it have on you knowing that hn1 was arrested and charged with a criminal offense in your brother's

01:01:41 brother's name um it's that's horrible disgusting and I don't know what press was given at the time to that but I'm assuming the

01:01:52 the time to that but I'm assuming the name could have been um mentioned in or on the Press and although there will be other people with that name

01:02:07 other people with that name it's um it's horrible to think of that name being associated with with being arrested

01:02:17 and because and also this person I assume didn't have the views of the the groups that he

01:02:29 of the the groups that he was he had infiltrated so it to for totally false reasons

01:02:39 um can we take that document down and bring up MPS 07

01:02:44 32480 which is bi i39 so

01:03:07 and I just want to so this document if we just highlight the top um is another internal management document referring to that arrest of hn1 that we've just talked about and actually um if we could go to the second paragraph um that begins this incident presents us with no particular

01:03:25 difficulty this part of the note says this incident the arrest we've just spoken about presents us with no particular difficulty the officer has maintained his cover and is none the

01:03:37 maintained his cover and is none the worse for his short incarceration indeed we may well acrew longer term benefits from his arrest in terms of contacts made and intelligence

01:03:46 gleaned how do you feel upon seeing that hat how and SDS manager had felt the arrest had in fact benefited hn1 and his deployment well it it's it's like an approval like yeah that's okay that

01:03:58 approval like yeah that's okay that everything's fine you know in fact it's like a pat on the back um that's what it sounds like to me

01:04:17 me um you know and and somebody was with my brother's assum name had a criminal record I assume then so

01:04:26 um it's it's it's very not Pleasant at all to hear that and miss miss Blake how does it make you feel reading that this arrest and this incident took place in North Yorkshire which is the same county as

01:04:44 Yorkshire which is the same county as where your parents were living exact yes exactly it was very close to home very you know

01:04:53 um I think it did it could have put my parents at risk of of

01:04:55 of of my mother particularly of of great upset um and all of us to to up to a point but of course we were all very

01:05:08 point but of course we were all very protective with my mother because of her Devastation um so thinking about that and and possible scenarios that could have happened because of that is

01:05:21 unpleasant thank you we can take that one

01:05:29 down uh Miss Blake there are some other reports relating to hm1 which I I don't propose to bring up on the screen but which refer to a search and an arrest which was carried out as part of an investigation into allegations of

01:05:40 investigation into allegations of criminal damage and threatening behavior attributed to animal rights activists and it said in these documents that hm1 had come under some suspicion from an animal rights activist and that the

01:05:51 animal rights activist and that the managers had come up with a plan to include hin1 in these real police investigation search and arrest to enhance his credibility amongst other activists and indeed in his witness statement hn1 says that the raiding of

01:06:06 statement hn1 says that the raiding of his cover fat was staged by the police in order to avoid him coming Under Suspicion is there anything you want to say about this so again it's

01:06:21 say about this so again it's it's um not just a pat on the back it's affirmation of what he's doing is fine and U glorifying it to my mind you know by the the higher Powers you know who

01:06:37 are um I could say affirming his actions and

01:06:39 and um

01:06:41 um facilitating what he was

01:06:55 doing hm1 also appeared in court as a defense witness during his deployment giving Ence using Matthew's name do you have any thoughts about this

01:07:05 practice I'd like to wash his mouth out with soap but [Music]

01:07:15 um yeah yeah it's it it's another just to me it's just another kicking the teeth um the whole thing it's piling more

01:07:30 more hurt more indignation more anger in a way um at what's being carried out unto my mind

01:07:45 unnecessarily as you are aware Miss Blake and you've referred to in your witness statement hm1 entered into a relationship with a woman Denise Fuller whilst he was under cover and and throughout this time he was reporting um

01:07:57 throughout this time he was reporting um on on Miss Villa is there anything you'd like to say about your reaction when you found this out and the impact it's had on your memory of your

01:08:09 on your memory of your brother yeah it's again another sullying of my brother's name um when I realized that um that sort of thing had been going on I felt extreme

01:08:21 thing had been going on I felt extreme Sympathy for the ladies involved being duked into relationships um on on somebody believing that somebody um with my brother's name

01:08:39 um again the only person who should have had my brother's name was my brother uh and not somebody pretending to be him and and carrying out actions that I'm

01:08:58 and and carrying out actions that I'm I'm practically sure he wouldn't have uh as a real person you know as a a living adult

01:09:00 adult um so it's doubly painful that that he yeah did what he did but

01:09:07 did but also

01:09:16 um duped the you know that women would would well yeah yeah they were duped and in my brother's name uh but it's

01:09:27 and in my brother's name uh but it's very very a real thing to think about actually

01:09:33 um because if my brother lived he should have had a proper relationship with somebody you know I'd have had nephews and nieces hopefully you know and a sister in law but that was obviously

01:09:45 sister in law but that was obviously never to be Matthew never got the chance of

01:09:58 that going to ask that we pull up um the witness statement of hn1 again

01:10:01 again 0748

01:10:10 095 and I'm going to ask that you go to paragraph 53 I don't actually have a page reference

01:10:17 [Music]

01:10:23 but got probably around page 25 or

01:10:56 26 yes this is the one paragraph 53 um which I'm just going to read out this is about hm one's explanation about the use of your brother's identity in his witness statement he says I've been asked whether consideration was given to the

01:11:07 whether consideration was given to the particular personal circumstances of the bereaved family and the likely consequences for them if the use of their loved one's identity became known to them or to others this consideration

01:11:20 to them or to others this consideration did not feature in my conversations with the back office outside the confines of this inquiry I did not and do not know of any occasion when a deceased child's family found out I'm further asked whether consideration was given to any risks that were being brought upon

01:11:33 risks that were being brought upon bereaved families through the Reliance on their loved ones identities the leadership team in the back office would know if this was considered but I do not the technique

01:11:47 considered but I do not the technique was widely used at the time but I accept that it would be better to find another way Miss Blake when you read that initially what was your

01:11:55 reaction right it well is it it is you obviously they say loved ones identity well I hope he realizes what that means as in loved ones and I accept now that there's a better

01:12:16 and I accept now that there's a better way to find out you know a better way to do it why not at the time a better way to do it and also the back room team mentioned twice as if there no culpability themselves as to whether they use that a DEC child's name or not um they still have the right I

01:12:30 or not um they still have the right I would assume to make up a false identity themselves um but also at the end of the day the back room whatever that

01:12:44 day the back room whatever that is know exactly what's going on and are condoning it

01:12:57 all hm1 in his statement says that he he learned how to create this cover identity from a deceased child's identity from some guidance documents that he had seen whilst he was preparing to be deployed um and I'm going to ask

01:13:09 to be deployed um and I'm going to ask that we bring up your witness statement um ucpi

01:13:17 37323 um and go to page 13 for paragraph 2.50 where um you miss Blake in your witness statement have referred to to a document page

01:13:34 document page 13 yes so if we look at paragraph 2.50 and then we'll go on to the next page thank you so you refer to this document um MPS 05 27597 entitled special demonstration

01:13:50 05 27597 entitled special demonstration Squad tradecraft manual um and I'm just going to read the bit that you have reproduced in your statement by tradition the aspiring SDS officer's first major task on joining the back office was to spend hours and hours at St Katherine's house leaping

01:14:02 hours at St Katherine's house leaping through death registers in search of a name he could call his own on finding a suitable ex person usually a deceased child or young person with a fairly

01:14:15 child or young person with a fairly Anonymous name the circumstances of his or her untimely demise was investigated if the death was natural or otherwise unspectacular and therefore unlikely to be findable in newspap

01:14:29 unlikely to be findable in newspap papers or other public records the SDS officer would apply for a copy of the Dead person's birth certificate further research would follow to establish the respiratory

01:14:41 follow to establish the respiratory status of the Dead person's family if any and if they were still breathing where they were living if all was suitably obscure and there was little chance of the SDS officer or more importantly one of the wearies running into the dead person's parents or

01:14:53 into the dead person's parents or siblings Etc the SDS officer would assume squatters rights over the unfortunate identity for the next four years and I should just be clear that that emphasis um added is of course your

01:15:10 own Miss Blake it might be difficult to say but can you tell us how you felt when you read this

01:15:15 document

01:15:25 um like my brother's memory was abused and all our grieving meant for nothing [Music]

01:15:29 [Music] um and some of the some of the words used are

01:15:31 used are extremely callous I think

01:15:42 um and the thought that they went oh you know they looked at so many death certificates of children did it not tweak

01:15:59 any emotions in them of what they were doing that they were looking at people's utter grief and that that didn't matter

01:16:00 matter [Music]

01:16:02 [Music] um because although these children are dead they've had such impact on on the relatives remaining that doesn't go away it

01:16:15 away it it affects the rest of your life your behavior your selfworth everything it affects and

01:16:30 affects and it it just sounds so such a callous way of doing things and like I've said before for such

01:16:40 a I'm not saying invaluable reason but very low value reason I

01:16:47 think thank you we can take that

01:16:54 down Miss Blake I think in your witness statement you say that when you were first informed about what had happened about Matthew's identity being used by the undercover officer you were offered

01:17:05 the undercover officer you were offered a written apology from the police if you agreed to accept it and you say in your witness statement that you did not accept it as you felt it would not mean anything more recently in the opening

01:17:16 anything more recently in the opening statement to tranch to phase one of this inquiry which was published in June of this year Metropolitan Police made the following statement I'm going to read it Metropolitan Police Service accepts

01:17:30 it Metropolitan Police Service accepts that the managers of the SDS failed to recognize the hurt distress and anger that the use of deceased children's identities would cause the families of the children and the public concern that would result if the practice had been revealed it apologizes unreservedly to

01:17:43 revealed it apologizes unreservedly to the families for this it also wishes to acknowledge that their distress will have been compounded by the Revelation that some SDS officers behaved indefensibly while using their children's names

01:17:55 children's names how do you feel about this apology now do you feel any differently to how you did when you initially found out about the use of Matthew's identity no I I feel it's worthless and it is only you

01:18:07 feel it's worthless and it is only you know in hindsight that they've issued it and it was a blanket apology I assume it wasn't anything personally written to each person um it's like oh we were sorry we got

01:18:21 um it's like oh we were sorry we got found out that's what it sounds like to me

01:18:23 me um the human human beings surely oh we didn't real I'm assume they're saying we didn't realize the hurt that it would caused until after we were told the hurt

01:18:36 caused until after we were told the hurt that it caused um any human being surely has compassion and has the ability to put yourself in the situation what if that was one of my siblings that had

01:18:52 that was one of my siblings that had died and that was happening to me at the time it's a natural human thing to do I think it's extremely C

01:19:04 thing um not to be able to put yourself in in somebody else a situation especially grief that's what makes us

01:19:12 human thank you Miss Blake those are all the questions that I have for you we're going to take a break

01:19:23 have for you we're going to take a break now and then we will come back to see if there is anything further um to ask you okay Miss BL think we will um adjourn for 15 minutes um would you be ready to resume after that 15 minutes have gone there may be some questions asked of you

01:19:39 there may be some questions asked of you but I trust not too many yes I will yeah thank you very much okay 15

01:19:53 minutes

01:31:22 e e

01:32:15 Mr BR Jones I understand there are no questions that's right sir yes

01:32:28 um May I express my personal thanks to you for undertaking the difficult task of producing written and now personal oral evidence it brings to life what the

01:32:42 oral evidence it brings to life what the use of a technique which I think all now accept should never have been used by a police officer can have on real

01:32:54 police officer can have on real people um two further things if I may uh if you want to hear the evidence of of Liz Fuller and the police officer who used your brother's name on present expectation it will be given on the 6th 7th and 8th of

01:33:13 will be given on the 6th 7th and 8th of January next year um that may change if it does change the inquiry will uh I trust notify you of any change

01:33:23 yeah secondly this I'm conscious of the fact that

01:33:33 the in the fact that the inquiry alerted you to the use of your brother's name itself has caused distress um had you never known about this you would not have been put through the unquestionably um difficult time

01:33:48 the unquestionably um difficult time that you have been put through my terms of reference require me to investigate the use of deceased children's identity which is why you and others whose identities were used the families of

01:34:03 identities were used the families of those of other children's identities we used uh have been notified by the inquiry and I hope you understand that I don't ask for a response um but uh part

01:34:20 don't ask for a response um but uh part of my task is to get to the truth about what happened which I do understand I fully understand and appreciate and thank you for those words

01:34:27 thank you very much and um I I repeat my gratitude to you for undertaking the difficult task that you have yes and it has been difficult but

01:34:42 have yes and it has been difficult but necessary thank you thank you uh today's hearing is now concluded we will resume at 10: tomorrow thank

01:34:52 you

01:35:52 e e