Three powerful opening statements on behalf of women spied upon by the Special Demonstration Squad (SDS). The testimony exposes unlawful surveillance of peaceful political activists, sexual relationships initiated by undercover officers, and surveillance of justice campaigns following Blair Peach's death. These statements detail fundamental violations of rights and the institutional failures that allowed such abuse to continue for decades.
00:09:12 miss gilroy good afternoon
00:09:19 can you hear me sir i can indeed and i'm inviting you to resume so um i'm turning now to the um opening statements of two women who were spied on um by the sds in trash one
00:09:32 on um by the sds in trash one um one is diane langford and the other one um
00:09:40 one um is known to the inquiry as madeleine so uh their their experiences exemplify um uh what went wrong with surveillance um by the sds in my submission
00:09:51 in my submission and also demonstrate the unlawfulness of its activities so
00:09:57 so dianne has given a detailed account of her political activism her principled political activism from 1967 onwards in her evidence and in her previous openings that evidence records the non-violent
00:10:16 that evidence records the non-violent profoundly democratic way in which she sought to transform the social and political system using debate protest and lawful means of community organization and persuasion as she explains in that evidence she was mother of the chapel that is a
00:10:32 she was mother of the chapel that is a shock steward for the union the society of graphical and allied trades at the press association for 18 years between 1974 and 1996 and it is clear both from her evidence
00:10:44 and it is clear both from her evidence and from the evidence of the undercover officers who spied on her and that to quote her in her statement i have never been involved in any criminal activity
00:11:02 been involved in any criminal activity all my activism has always been open and through the usual democratic means from lobbying the government to attending demonstrations i have never been arrested for a criminal offence the evidence also shows that diane's activities pose no threat to public order at sea um a paragraph two to eight of her
00:11:16 a paragraph two to eight of her statement and she has never been involved in any violence despite this the disclosure made to her by the inquiry shows that she was the subject of detailed surveillance by
00:11:28 subject of detailed surveillance by undercover officers posing as fellow political activists for nearly five years between july 1968 and february 1973.
00:11:45 1973. six undercover officers infiltrated her private life in various capacities and reported on her during that period the surveillance was detailed and intrusive with undercover officers regularly entering her home attending private social gatherings and political meetings and recording
00:12:01 political meetings and recording detailed information about her political views family arrangements marriage and employment they then stored and shared this private information with other police officers and the security service their reporting was often accompanied by inappropriate personal commentary on
00:12:13 inappropriate personal commentary on diane's views and family arrangements so i've already set out the applicable rights at common law and under the convention in the cat h
00:12:24 convention in the cat h oral and written openings diane relies on on those rights which are also summarized in her own written statement and i won't repeat them what i do want to spend a little time
00:12:36 what i do want to spend a little time doing is summarizing the evidence that has already been induced which shows that diane's political activities as already explained were the subject of intense and long-term surveillance
00:12:49 surveillance the surveillance and reporting of two of these officers hn 348 and hn45 was particularly intense hn 348 infiltrated diane's life for two years
00:13:03 years and hn45 for three with both attending private meetings in her home and the homes of fellow activists and compiling dozens of reports with detailed private information about her political views that of her husband
00:13:18 that of her husband and about their private family life sandra davis who is hn 348 confirmed that the meetings of the women's liberation front she attended were often held in private homes she was invited in her undercover
00:13:30 she was invited in her undercover identity and she attended the meetings and she told about she told her senior officers what she was doing and she confirmed in her evidence there was no suggestion i should not attend because
00:13:48 suggestion i should not attend because the meetings were held in people's homes nor was she given any guidance not to report private or personal details that she observed
00:13:54 now the groups that um sandra davis infiltrated were involved in hosting meetings leafleting and demonstrations they were all activities within the bounds of the law and as she herself um acknowledged the
00:14:06 and as she herself um acknowledged the political ideology they were promoting did not spill over into what they were doing
00:14:14 doing in other words there was no violence there was no threat sandra davis was not aware of any criminal activity and there's no record
00:14:26 criminal activity and there's no record of public disorder by diane or any other wlf members nor were there any of them arrested
00:14:31 arrested that's also what sandra davis says and she observed um in her words that wlf were more talk than action for the entirety of her two-year deployment she did not see any
00:14:43 deployment she did not see any subversive or disruptive or violent extremist behavior and she explains that she was tasked to observe them because special branch did not know much about them and wanted to find out what was really happening
00:15:01 now what she herself says about her undercover policing was that um it wasn't worthwhile and she queries whether police officers should be undercover at all
00:15:10 hn45 was given the broad task of infiltrating maoist groups which groups were a matter for him and he had fluid membership of lots of groups
00:15:18 groups that's his evidence the sds he says was trying to find out whether these groups posed a risk to public order and the security services also had an interest in gathering
00:15:31 also had an interest in gathering information about any risks posed to state security his evidence was that there was no clear next step once an officer got connected with a group they were expected to use their
00:15:42 they were expected to use their initiative discretion and judgment but he claims he would not have reported on matters that did not fall within my broad remit he knew
00:15:54 he knew what that broad room it was which was to gather as much intelligence as he could on his target groups and pass it back to the sds
00:16:01 the sds so he reported on names occupations addresses positions of all members on the groups he infiltrated without selection
00:16:13 selection and he says that one of his main jobs was to find out about membership of protest groups now he also confirms in relation to the maoist that they were generally not violent he doesn't remember them being engaged in public disorder
00:16:24 engaged in public disorder he says they were subversive in the sense that their whole purpose was to subvert the political system but they could not actually achieve this as they did not have the means to do so and were largely pretty ineffective
00:16:39 largely pretty ineffective as for this mi5 or the security service he says they were interested in everything and you did not ask questions about why they wanted certain information now broadly speaking the amount of
00:16:50 now broadly speaking the amount of evidence from the managers which you're um about to hear in oral uh here oral evidence from confirms this uh evidence that the tasking was extremely broad brush that managers within the sds had very
00:17:01 that managers within the sds had very little involvement in decision making and targeting and tasking of undercover officers that undercover officers were often left to direct or determine
00:17:13 often left to direct or determine targeting themselves based on their own judgment and discretion and were expected to know what to report without guidance and instinctively and it can
00:17:29 and it can it confirms exactly what hn45 said um was happening and h and sandra davis the manager's evidence also confirms that the violence associated with the march 1968 demonstration in groban square was not repeated to the
00:17:40 groban square was not repeated to the same degree in october 1968 and there was thereafter overall very little crying disorder or intelligence about real risks to democracy the evidence largely showed an absence of risk
00:17:54 largely showed an absence of risk despite this the ongoing need for the sds's operations was never properly reviewed so it is um diane's position
00:18:06 reviewed so it is um diane's position um turning back now to the principles of law that i set out earlier on in the cat h opening
00:18:19 opening that the sds's operations in respect of diane breached all of those principles the authorizations to conduct the operations were broad brush speculative and did rely heavily on the discretion of officers
00:18:31 heavily on the discretion of officers thus as described hn45 was given a broad task of infiltrating mourish groups which groups were a matter for him sandra davis was tasked to observe wlf because special branch didn't know much about them and wanted to find out what was happening that is simply not a lawful approach
00:18:46 that is simply not a lawful approach to search and seizure powers or their equivalent in the undercover context secondly there was no pressing social need maintaining public order as i've explained by reference to the wilson judgment
00:18:59 the wilson judgment could rarely if ever justify the use of highly intrusive powers and certainly not where the main purpose was effective allocation of police resources now both hn 45 and sandra regularly visited diana's home and the homes of
00:19:15 visited diana's home and the homes of others they were trespassing and they reported on highly personal and confidential matters as for investigating subversive activity diane's political activities were lawful no criminal offences were being
00:19:27 no criminal offences were being committed and no serious threats to the realm were ever identified
00:19:37 the fact that intrusive powers were being used covertly rather than overtly meant that it was more not less important that they could be strictly justified
00:19:42 justified and
00:19:44 and since they couldn't ever have been justified this kind of intrusive surveillance or intrusive investigation into someone's home in an overt police operation they
00:19:55 in an overt police operation they obviously could not be justified in a covert operation there's no evidence at all in diane's case of the strict justification required
00:20:06 justification required in all these circumstances diane um
00:20:07 um agrees that the surveillance of her and the groups with which she was associated was clearly unlawful and unjustified she agrees with the next steps suggested by cat h
00:20:21 cat h and agrees with the themes that they have identified should be explored uh in the next phase of evidence now so finally in relation to
00:20:34 now so finally in relation to diane um i want to turn to rule 9 questions and disclosure i won't repeat everything that's in the written statement but i want to emphasize um that she she was asked a lot of questions about her political views in the course of
00:20:48 her political views in the course of this inquiry and as she explained she answered those questions about her history her political views her family life in the spirit of cooperation but she wants to emphasize that she should
00:20:59 she wants to emphasize that she should never have been put in that position of having to explain in a public forum matters that are no business of the state the police's surveillance of her was unjustified they had no right to be in her home they were trespassing there
00:21:20 in her home they were trespassing there was no crime to investigate and they had no lawful authority they shouldn't have recorded details of her family life or her views expressed in the privacy of her own home or the homes of others there was no pressing need to do so their action was for them to justify at the time and they haven't uh justified it
00:21:35 uh justified it and on the question of disclosure diane wants to observe that she has assisted the inquiry to the best of her ability on the basis of the documents with which she's been provided but she wishes to
00:21:47 she's been provided but she wishes to highlight that the disclosure to her has been limited she's not received all the documents relevant to the surveillance of her or the groups of which she was a member or her family or even all those held by
00:22:00 or her family or even all those held by the inquiry in which she's named for the transgender period and she understands there are reasons for that as she's explained she was lately late designated as a core participant not her fault but that late uh designation occurred and at that stage tranche won documents had
00:22:13 that stage tranche won documents had already been reviewed and tagged but she does as she says in the written statement want to highlight that she could have if she'd been provided with more relevant information have been more uh provided more evidence relating to
00:22:25 uh provided more evidence relating to the lawfulness and justification of the relevant deployments as well as the extent of intrusion into her life and she does
00:22:36 she does respectfully request that that material is now provided um so both she and the inquiry can assess the full extent of police wrongdoing in respect of her her family and the groups of which she was a member
00:22:51 so that's um the opening in relation to diane langford and obviously i rely on the written opening as well
00:22:55 as well and i now turn to madeline
00:23:02 sir in madeleine's evidence and previous openings she has detailed the political activism which began in her early teens and continued into her 20s
00:23:16 and continued into her 20s inspired by her parents experience of extreme poverty and of war and their strong anti-fascism she's explained the beliefs which led to her joining the international socialists
00:23:27 her joining the international socialists and later the socialist workers party at 14 or 15 years old in order to create a fairer and more equal society she's also told how as a bus conductor
00:23:38 she's also told how as a bus conductor in her twenties she was a trade unionist in the transport and general workers union sitting on a regional women's subcommittee after that her political activities waned she retrained as an artist teaching in schools and community groups so it is plain from her evidence and
00:23:50 so it is plain from her evidence and from that of the ucos who spied on her that madeleine has never been involved in any violence was never arrested and never convicted for a criminal offence despite this the evidence shows that in
00:24:04 despite this the evidence shows that in 1970 when still a child of 16 madden had a special branch registry file by the age of 23 an sds undercover police officer vincent harvey was
00:24:15 police officer vincent harvey was infiltrating her home and private life in his covert identity for the next two years while frequently attending public socialist workers party meetings and private gatherings at her home
00:24:32 home harvey produced regular secret reports relating to her and others which were shared with the security service the reports included physical descriptions of her and details about her family relationships her political beliefs and her occupation worst of all
00:24:43 worst of all in 1979 by the time madeleine was 25 vince miller as half he was then known started a sexual relationship with her which lasted around two months
00:24:58 which lasted around two months the relationship had a deep emotional impact on madeline for some time and it was one of four sexual relationships that he has admitted to while undercover after
00:25:07 after vince harvey was withdrawn from his deployment in the autumn of 1979 pretending to have gone to the united states of america he went on to assume senior roles in the police force
00:25:19 senior roles in the police force including leading operation pragada an investigation into child abuse at
00:25:30 investigation into child abuse at lambeth children's services and becoming national director of the national criminal intelligence service in her evidence madeleine has expressed shock and at
00:25:38 and at his role in both of those police institutions
00:25:46 in the light of what he did to her now madeleine has read and agrees with and adopts the oral uh and written opening statements of the cat h called participants and also the law set out in darren langford's statement
00:26:03 langford's statement and she relies on without repeating um the legal framework summarized in and attached to those statements and she also relies on the summaries of the evidence and themes identified for exploration with witnesses um i i want to
00:26:15 um i i want to highlight a few um
00:26:20 um relevant aspects of the evidence in her case
00:26:26 the the that evidence shows that vincent harvey had not been tasked to infiltrate either the swp or the branches that madeleine was a member of or madeleine herself
00:26:42 of or madeleine herself he was asked to observe and then became involved in an active subversive group that were of interest to his special branch in other words he chose the targets of his operation himself and used his own judgment about what to report
00:26:52 report his role was to gather both information and intelligence regarding potential public order problems and activities
00:27:04 public order problems and activities defined as a subversive by the security service he wasn't provided without any other information about the intended targets of his work now it's important that his tasking was not changed or refined at any point during his three-year deployment
00:27:18 during his three-year deployment he worked seven days a week 14 hours a day and earned substantial overtime that's his evidence and he viewed his position as treasurer of swp committees and branches as a fantastic opportunity and used this position of trust to gather financial
00:27:30 position of trust to gather financial information on members including bank details addresses occupations and living arrangements and i know that this is a common practice across at the sds
00:27:41 common practice across at the sds he then reported this information to the sds expecting that it would be of use to the security service he reported information about children and because the swp had youth branches
00:27:56 and because the swp had youth branches and he thought it would be useful to the mi5 and special branch
00:28:09 and so as i've already explained the branches um of the swp that madeline was involved with engaged in entirely open and lawful political activities his central aim was to create a fairer society they held weekly public meetings sold newspapers in public attended demonstrations in public and some
00:28:20 demonstrations in public and some members joined trade unions they didn't support violence and was strongly opposed to any form of terrorism that's her evidence and julia poynter who has reduced evidence in this last phase um having been uh identified um
00:28:34 having been uh identified um in the course of this inquiry was a fellow activist in the same group and she's confirmed madeleine's evidence about this as well as other matters in
00:28:45 about this as well as other matters in relation to their her relationship with vince harvey
00:28:50 the evidence suggests that disorder and violence
00:28:51 violence involving the swp when it occurred was instigated by the national front it took place at events organized by them and
00:29:02 place at events organized by them and was basically as a result predictable where violence was envisaged in self-defense against the national front by the swp there was
00:29:09 there was in the evidence of hn 354 vince harvey himself often a great deal of rhetoric and language that was much stronger than action that followed
00:29:22 than action that followed and as far as the issue of revolution which came up um in in evidence in relation to the swp uh madeleine and her fellow swp members did not believe revolution was imminent
00:29:33 revolution was imminent as she explained they did not think they could overthrow any part of the state um there was an awful lot talked about um says vince harvey and very little action they were far more interested in
00:29:45 action they were far more interested in building the working-class movement and that
00:29:46 that was vince harvey's evidence himself they were seeking to raise awareness in the working class and build a mass movement through their campaigning activities including selling papers
00:29:57 activities including selling papers trade union activities and protests
00:30:05 now on the sexual conduct the evidence shows that vince harvey said he had four sexual encounters and he's changed his evidence uh about this um he initially said they were all
00:30:17 um he initially said they were all sometime after he'd split up with a previous long-term partner but he wasn't sure about the timing of these encounters and his memory of that time is not that clear
00:30:29 of that time is not that clear but he has now accepted that two sexual encounters took place at the start of his deployment when he was still in a relationship
00:30:40 relationship vince harvey met madeleine in 1977 he visited her house um
00:30:42 um madeleine recalls their relationship starting at the beginning of summer sorry at the end of summer 1979 and continuing for two months and she makes clear that her feelings grew stronger
00:30:55 grew stronger while he started to withdraw blaming a past traumatic relationship he soon disappeared altogether and she was very upset
00:31:02 upset madeleine's account is corroborated by julia poynter who had not until recently seen her
00:31:08 seen her for 30 years
00:31:19 now hn 354bits harvey's recollection is that he had sex with madeleine only once but in the uh in the um light of all this other evidence and his poor recollection it's clear that that is incorrect
00:31:25 incorrect um
00:31:28 um he was single he says and in my 20s at the time had to mingle and network socially and consume alcohol in order to maintain his cover he says he was living a strange double life and did not think
00:31:40 a strange double life and did not think he was putting anyone's feelings at risk and he says and this is important when it comes to um questioning managers he says as a single man in his 20s it would have appeared odd to have acted otherwise people would expect you to
00:31:53 otherwise people would expect you to have some kind of relationship and he's obviously right about that but he also says that he did not tell his managers or anyone else about the what he describes as the one-night stands he had while undercover he says
00:32:07 stands he had while undercover he says that was because and i quote he didn't attribute it much importance and again that is a significant um a revelation about the way he felt
00:32:18 um a revelation about the way he felt about relationships like this he didn't conceal it and because he was ashamed he just didn't think it was very important he finds it very difficult to answer
00:32:31 he finds it very difficult to answer whether sexual activity in his cover identity was permitted so
00:32:34 so he he's not in a position to say whether it was permitted or not he doesn't recall guidance for sexual relationships and he suspects it was left to his own judgment how far to become involved in the private lives of those met undercover
00:32:53 undercover he does say that hn34 that's jeffrey craft had told him not to start a relationship with julia poynter um
00:32:54 um and in that he didn't he's have a relationship with julia poynter in in the event
00:33:01 the event he accepts it was morally questionable for him to have a sexual relationship with a member of the public over a long time um and he also accepts madden would not have had a sexual relationship with him had she known he was an officer he says stricter guidance and pharmacy
00:33:16 he says stricter guidance and pharmacy provision would have led to him making different decisions on sexual relationships as far as contraception is concerned he says he didn't use it because and i
00:33:29 says he didn't use it because and i quote my perception was that as a full feminist socialist supporter if there was any need for protection then she would have mentioned it this was a member of the women's movement and things like that he also did not use contraception with the other three women he had sex with for the same reasons
00:33:43 for the same reasons he doesn't um say that madeleine's evidence about the length of the relationship is is not genuine he just says he has a different recollection but as um
00:33:53 as um but also accepts the deficiencies in his recollection
00:34:00 so he says the sds was a club within a club and ranks were not particularly important he called in and spoke to managers every morning and attended meetings with them in safe houses twice a week
00:34:08 a week when he was withdrawn from his deployment it wasn't because the deployment had come to an end or being had been reviewed it was simply because he was promoted
00:34:20 sir it is clear from this summary of the evidence when
00:34:26 when considered alongside the legal principles that i've set out um earlier on today um that the actions of the sds and vincent harvey in respect of madeleine
00:34:38 vincent harvey in respect of madeleine and the swp branches of which she was a member were unlawful they violated a wide range of her most fundamental rights at common law and international human rights law and she highlights the following
00:34:54 highlights the following no general authorization may be given to the police or the security service to search individuals or property for evidence of wrongdoing and yet vincent harvey was sent into the field to posing as an activist and operate undercover for four years that was his original
00:35:10 for four years that was his original length anticipated without even having a target organization to infiltrate still less an identified individual he was left to exercise his own judgment on who and what to report on when and where to
00:35:21 and what to report on when and where to conduct his surveillance and how much or how little to interfere into private lives and homes for three years his deployment only ended because he was promoted
00:35:33 in terms of the justification required for trespass to land and and
00:35:34 and property and the person and the justification required for interference with private and personal lives there was no pressing need for any invasive surveillance either madeleine
00:35:48 invasive surveillance either madeleine or her fellow swp branch members still less a pressing need for invasive surveillance of this depth and length she had not been identified as a target nor had her branch she had not committed any crime nor did she pose any imminent
00:36:00 any crime nor did she pose any imminent threat a breach of the peace which could justify the deployment into her life and home
00:36:05 home and once deployed harvey's surveillance confirmed this lack of criminality and lack of any imminent threat of violence and yet the invasive surveillance continued
00:36:21 the use of covert powers by the police as already mentioned this morning is itself a danger to democracy and subject to a particularly strict necessity test a40 orion this strict test was not met in the case of madeleine and
00:36:35 madeleine and the wolfenstein wet latent branches of the swp
00:36:36 the swp given the lack of any proper justification for the surveillance in the first place the risk of sexual abuse by police officers to which she was exposed for at least three years and possibly longer and the lack of any steps to avert that
00:36:49 and the lack of any steps to avert that risk amounts to a particularly egregious violation of her rights and that risk of course eventuated in harvey's behavior
00:37:00 course eventuated in harvey's behavior and his casual and contemptuous use of her body and her emotions for his own ends as he explained he didn't attribute it much importance was inhuman and degrading treatment of her by him and all those responsible for
00:37:14 her by him and all those responsible for his deployment which can of course never be justified madeleine agrees that the critical question for this inquiry is how and why these serious breach of fundamental rights were allowed to occur in the
00:37:28 rights were allowed to occur in the first place approved by senior police officers and ministers who must have known that the sds's practices conflicted with centuries of law and practice
00:37:34 practice she also wishes to highlight that it is a direct as a as a direct result of the departure from basic common law and human rights principles that she was put at risk
00:37:44 at risk had the sds's invasive tactics being
00:37:56 had the sds's invasive tactics being reserved for serious crime or imminent violence she would have been saying had harvey been given proper times proper targets and tasking she would have been safe had there been tight boundaries clear guidance and adequate supervision she would have been saying had there been no trespass into the home
00:38:08 had there been no trespass into the home she would have been saying the decisions of senior officers and ministers to send young male male undercover police officers out into the field for years at
00:38:19 officers out into the field for years at a time on invasive surveillance missions which amounted to vast fishing expeditions conducted in accordance with the uco's own judgment and discretion
00:38:31 the uco's own judgment and discretion not only conflicted with all applicable laws it put members of the public at risk
00:38:32 risk it was unforgivable and madeleine also agrees with the cathage call participants that the next critical question is how and why the unlawful conduct persisted for so long
00:38:47 unlawful conduct persisted for so long it is particularly shocking to her that the risks to which she and other women were exposed in the 1970s continued for four decades without any discernible attempts to stop the practice or protect women
00:39:03 women the consequence was that harvey's sexual relationship with her was followed by many examples of male undercover officers using sex with female members of the public to enhance their legends obtain sexual gratification and or access better sources of intelligence
00:39:24 so again on rule nine questions and disclosure um i refer to the points made in the written opening statement and again i want to emphasize that madeleine has not received full disclosure of all the documents relevant
00:39:37 disclosure of all the documents relevant to her surveillance by harvey and others for the decade in which she was apparently subject to police surveillance she's not received all of harvey's reporting from the period um of her surveillance or all the reporting of phil cooper who i followed him
00:39:49 phil cooper who i followed him she has not been given her registry file created at the age of 16 and she emphasizes the consequences for her she's uncertain about the full extent of and responsibility for the unlawful
00:40:01 of and responsibility for the unlawful inroads into her fundamental rights and she also says and explains that it means she cannot assist the inquiry as well she might otherwise do to assess the veracity and accuracy of harvey's reporting and she said points out
00:40:15 said points out that that is a matter of considerable importance given his self-confessed lapses of recollection and she can't assist the inquiry to interpret the significance of contemporaneous events or identify links between undercover
00:40:27 or identify links between undercover officers or chains of responsibility beyond harvey himself and just to give one simple example uh which is
00:40:35 which is she's given evidence about in her latest witness statement she can't address reports about events which she attended including at her home which do not mention her and cannot suggest reasons why her name might have been omitted
00:40:49 why her name might have been omitted and for those reasons she agrees that further
00:40:53 further disclosure should be made
00:40:58 so that that is the opening statement oral opening for madeleine um unless there is anything else you would like me to address um there's nothing else that i invite you to address there are two things i
00:41:12 you to address there are two things i would like to say about the remarks that you have made on behalf of both of your two clients first specifically in relation to madeleine
00:41:19 madeleine that she has received all that the inquiry has retrieved as you know our source of intelligence reports at this time is principally that which we have recovered from the security service and may or may not
00:41:34 security service and may or may not therefore omit uh reports that didn't go to the security service or which have been misfiled there or which have simply got lost i i we we've done our best is
00:41:49 got lost i i we we've done our best is all i can say and she shouldn't expect us um to produce anything significant for her for the future um we have not routinely gone to the registry files of all of those who are mentioned in the reports that task would be
00:42:04 reports that task would be uh gargantuan and it's it's not not a good use of public money or our time and resources which are limited um
00:42:13 um secondly and perhaps of greater importance of for both clouds
00:42:18 clouds they have both observed that
00:42:21 the inquiry has no right to know or investigate their reviews their views political views in particular or to record them
00:42:34 record them i of course accept that the inquiry has no right to ask i have made it perfectly clear from the start
00:42:39 start but
00:42:42 but insofar as the inquiry seeks evidence from
00:42:46 from non-state core participants it does so on the basis that any information that they provide is voluntarily provided by them and i do not intend to
00:43:03 to use statutory powers to compel them to provide any uh such material it follows from that
00:43:14 it follows from that that the inquiry has no right to demand it uh self-evident from what i've just said it does have a follow that um if
00:43:18 if they do provide evidence about their views for example that the inquiry is by statute obliged to keep
00:43:26 to keep what it is received from them as part of its records
00:43:32 the purpose of asking questions about views and activities at the time which they are perfectly entitled to keep themselves is to try and test the accuracy of the undercover officers reporting on them if
00:43:46 undercover officers reporting on them if there are glaring errors that may or may not be a significant fact i hope that both of your clients and anyone who may be asked similar
00:43:59 anyone who may be asked similar questions in the future understands what position is i hope i have explained it clearly and and accurately well that's very helpful um sir and um i i will they will obviously be listening and
00:44:08 and we will discuss that but i i think it is helpful to know the basis on which those questions um are asked and obviously there is a relationship between the
00:44:19 the comments that are made under rule nine and what we say is the legal framework because and that's drawn expressly in those comments which is that um both diana madeline and the cat h core participants are saying the these
00:44:38 participants are saying the these operations were obviously unlawful uh in the first place and they cannot be justified by anything that either they um may say or that the it may be alleged in these um reports um but that will be a matter for further uh discussion but that is the and argument in due course
00:44:55 that is the and argument in due course um i i suspect um but that is the basis on which um uh they are concerned to emphasize that their their views are not relevant to the question of justification
00:45:16 that is ultimately something that i will have to think about and i'm not willing to give you an off-the-cuff answer now um i've heard your submissions on that they are forceful and
00:45:28 forceful and well-founded but i must think about them before reaching any final view i'm grateful i'm very grateful to you for your opening statements and um we will now
00:45:39 opening statements and um we will now adjourn 15 minutes thank you thank you
00:59:06 mr green
00:59:10 thank you sir this opening statement is given on behalf of lord peter hayne and professor jonathan
00:59:16 jonathan rosenhead almost exactly 50 years ago today on 12th of may 1972 a protest took place at the star and garter hotel in richmond
00:59:26 richmond during that protest activists sought to delay the departure of the british lions rugby team on their tour to apartheid south africa amongst the demonstrators who were
00:59:39 amongst the demonstrators who were arrested that day was an undercover police officer working in the sds hn 298 mike scott in the subsequent criminal trial hn hn298 went on to deceive the defense
00:59:50 hn298 went on to deceive the defense prosecution and court as to the nature of his role fourteen activists including hn298 mike scott himself were convicted what is striking is that this was done with the full knowledge and
01:00:02 with the full knowledge and encouragement of the management within the sds
01:00:07 the sds lord peter hayne and professor jonathan rosenhead who i will refer to as the core participants welcome the chair's referral of the star and garter demonstration to the panel considering miscarriages of justice arising from the evidence considered by the inquiry
01:00:20 evidence considered by the inquiry the basis of the referral included concerns that the prosecution constituted an affront to justice they endorsed the chair's comment that i quote the prosecutor and the court were deliberately misled
01:00:36 and the court were deliberately misled about his that's hn 298's identity and role in the events which it was considering end quote in many regards the approach taken by the sds to the star and garter prosecution is the first instance of willful abuse of the criminal justice system by those engaged in under cover
01:00:51 system by those engaged in under cover policing that became a repeated pattern in the years that followed in order to assess the true extent of the failings of the sds in relation to the involvement of undercover offices and criminal prosecutions it is
01:01:05 and criminal prosecutions it is imperative to examine the role of managers within the sds what emerges is the following one a lack of proper policies and guidance two
01:01:12 two a lack of concern for the integrity of the criminal justice system and three an overriding need to preserve the total secrecy of the sds and to prevent
01:01:24 secrecy of the sds and to prevent reputational damage to the police these themes are also echoed in other areas of concern to the core participants including one the targeting of political groups two the indiscriminate collection of information
01:01:38 information and three undercover officers taking on active roles within target groups some of these concerns have already been articulated in previous opening statements on behalf of lord hayne and
01:01:50 statements on behalf of lord hayne and professor rosenhead in relation to the actions of the undercover officers themselves i will try to avoid repeating the same
01:02:01 i will try to avoid repeating the same material but the inquiry is now asked to examine these issues insofar as they relate to sds managers turning to the star and gather prosecution itself the core participants have a number of
01:02:12 the core participants have a number of concerns over the actions of hn 298 at the star and garter demonstration and the subsequent prosecution firstly the factual innocence of the defendants due to the location of the arrest those prosecuted were not in fact guilty of the offense charge and this was known to hn-29
01:02:26 was known to hn-29 secondly the lack of prior authorization the actions of agent 298 in participating in a demonstration leading to his arrest and prosecution were not sanctioned in
01:02:38 and prosecution were not sanctioned in advance thirdly the lack of disclosure at no point was the existence of an undercover officer amongst those arrested disclosed to the defendants arresting officers prosecution or the court the court was therefore misled on a fundamental issue rendering the prosecution tainted
01:02:49 prosecution tainted fourthly breach of legal privilege during the preparation for trial hn298 became aware of confidential and privileged discussions between the defendants and their laws this was included in reports sent to the sds
01:03:04 included in reports sent to the sds such information should not have been obtained or passed on by the police the above matters are sufficient to render the convictions of activists at the scar star and garter demonstration the core participants hope that the miscarriage of justice panel will act
01:03:20 miscarriage of justice panel will act swiftly to allow steps to be taken to quash the convictions there has been enough delay already however the court participants also asked the inquiry to examine the role of sds management in the decisions that led to the star and god of prosecutions
01:03:35 to the star and god of prosecutions turning now to the involvement of sts management even a curse for examination of the evidence shows that the matters referred to above were done with the full knowledge and even encouragement of the sds management
01:03:47 sds management details have been given in the recent name
01:03:48 name but in summary firstly sergeant david smith hn 103 an sds manager was present at the first
01:04:02 sds manager was present at the first court appearance on the 15th of may 1972 for those arrested at the star and gaza demo
01:04:03 demo when each defendant pleaded not guilty and trial dates were set this shows that sds management were monitoring the case closely
01:04:11 closely second
01:04:14 second and again details are set out in the written opening but the documents clearly confirmed that within days the mata was communicated to the highest levels of special branch a memo from deputy commissioner ferguson smith
01:04:30 deputy commissioner ferguson smith confirms the assistant commissioner was verbally briefed on the matter third
01:04:32 third the senior management were strongly supportive of the actions of hn298 commander roger states that hn298 acted with quote refreshing initiative his recommendation is that quote rather
01:04:47 his recommendation is that quote rather than have hn298 withdraw from this field we should take advantage of the situation to keep abreast of the activists intentions similarly the deputy assistant commissioner stated my quote we have discussed the problems
01:05:02 quote we have discussed the problems posed by dch and 298's arrest which i regard merely is one of the hazards associated with the valuable type of work he is doing there is absolutely no criticism of the officer fourth the potential court proceedings
01:05:15 fourth the potential court proceedings were considered by sds management at an early stage a memo dated the 16th of may 1972 from hn 294 to commander operations states the decision on which i should be
01:05:27 the decision on which i should be obliged for your guidance is whether dchn 298 should continue in his attempt to learn more of them that is the activist
01:05:35 activist to do this he will probably have to apply as they are doing for legal aid and attend meetings with all those arrested to discuss tactics etc
01:05:46 arrested to discuss tactics etc whilst i am reasonably confident that dchn298 could and i emphasize with assistance carry this off there is of course the potential of embarrassment to the police if his true identity should ever be disclosed
01:05:58 ever be disclosed it is clear that sds management contemplated providing assistance to hn298
01:06:05 hn298 in participating in court proceedings under a false identity the only concern that is raised is embarrassment to the police
01:06:14 police the documents demonstrate that the management at all levels within the sds and the higher ranks of special branch water were not only aware of but approved of and assisted with the
01:06:28 approved of and assisted with the proposed plan for hn298 to participate in criminal proceedings without disclosing his true identity there is no evidence of any concerns raised over one misleading the court two reaching legal privilege or three for any other
01:06:43 privilege or three for any other consequence beyond reputational damage to the police
01:06:48 i turn now to later prosecutions of undercover officers because the star and garter prosecution appears to set a template for the policy of total secrecy around
01:06:59 for the policy of total secrecy around the involvement of undercover officers in the criminal justice process the policy against disclosure and the lack of concern for legal privilege also appears to have been embedded in the tradecraft manual
01:07:10 tradecraft manual similar concerns about a lack of disclosure to defence and prosecution can be seen in the prosecution of hn13 desmond or barry loader in 1977.
01:07:25 hn 13 infiltrated the communist party of england marxist leninist and was arrested on a number of occasions at counter demonstrations against the far right
01:07:34 right he was arrested on the 17th of november 1977 during a confrontation outside a police station on a demonstration from ilford to barking documents describe the incident as follows
01:07:48 follows hm13 and i quote who has been who had been marching with his comrades was knocked to the ground whilst trying to shield two young children and was somewhat battered by police prior to his arrest for insulting behaviour under the public order act in quote
01:08:03 public order act in quote hn13 faced trial alongside seven others for public order effects charges against hn13 were dismissed but others were convicted he was also arrested on the 15th of
01:08:17 he was also arrested on the 15th of april in 1978 three days after the first trial had in fact finished he was arrested on a demonstration this time at loughborough school during the brixton by-election on this occasion hn13 was found guilty
01:08:33 on this occasion hn13 was found guilty of threatening behavior under section 5 of the public order act 1936 he was issued with a fine and bound over three co-defendants were also convicted on both occasions no disclosure was made to the defense or prosecution that an
01:08:44 to the defense or prosecution that an undercover officer was involved in the case in any way a quote court official appears to have been told that hm13 was quite an
01:08:57 been told that hm13 was quite an informant whom the police wish to quote safeguard from a prison sentence however
01:09:00 however seeking a reduction of sentence for an informant on the basis presumably of assistance given to police assistance which the court may have thought did not relate to the matter directly before it
01:09:16 relate to the matter directly before it is very different from disclosing to the court that a defendant currently facing trial alongside others is in fact an undercover officer telling the court that hn13 was informant does not remedy the integrity of the trial process again the fact that an undercover
01:09:29 again the fact that an undercover officer was facing criminal proceedings was communicated to various senior managers within special commander watts met h1013 personally within five days of his arrest
01:09:41 his arrest the arrest of hn13 was communicated to deputy assistant commissioner commissioner robert bryan within four days of his arrest who in turn informed the assistant commissioner c
01:09:53 c who then informed the commissioner of the metropolitan police to ensure secrecy deputy assistant commissioner brian a sword assistant
01:10:06 commissioner brian a sword assistant commissioner c that he kept the relevant pace paperwork in his personal safe at all stages the only concern has appears to have been for the well-being of agent 13 and to maintain secrecy over the sds operations
01:10:18 the sds operations there is no mention of any concern over the right co-defendants who on the face of it appear to be facing charges arising from incidents involving excessive force from uniformed officers
01:10:28 officers nor are any concerns expressed for the integrity of the criminal justice system such findings were mirrored in the review of possible miscarriages of justice carried out by mark ellison
01:10:44 justice carried out by mark ellison queen's council and allison morgan in 2015 which criticized the policy of total secrecy for the lack of consideration of its impact on criminal prosecutions the events at the star and garter therefore provide the first instance of
01:10:56 therefore provide the first instance of the issues that are raised in subsequent prosecutions and considered in the ellison regime the policy of total secrecy shown in the star and data demonstration and picked up as policy by the sts had the capacity to erode faith
01:11:10 the sts had the capacity to erode faith in the criminal justice system it should be a central concern of this inquiry given the manner in which the star and garter and hn13 prosecutions were dealt
01:11:25 garter and hn13 prosecutions were dealt with it is clear that sds management at all levels were swiftly made aware of undercover officers facing criminal charges they actively promoted and supported the policy of total secrecy without any regard for the impact beyond the sds itself
01:11:36 the sds itself it is in this context that this the core participants asked through the actions of sds management in tranche 1 phase 3 are examined
01:11:49 move on now to the topic of tasking and supervision of undercover officers many of the concerns underlying the approach of the sds to undercover officers involved in criminal prosecutions the lack of proper policies and training the lack of sufficient
01:12:00 and training the lack of sufficient oversight by sds managers and a lack of concern for the rights of those spied on by undercover officers are echoed in other areas in particular these features had an adverse impact on the selection of
01:12:12 adverse impact on the selection of targets for undercover officers and their actions in taking on active roles within target groups the annual reports of the sds show that those campaigning on anti-apartheid
01:12:26 those campaigning on anti-apartheid matters were targets of sts surveillance right from its inception the anti-apartheid movement or aam itself was identified as a target for surveillance in the first annual report
01:12:43 surveillance in the first annual report of this what was then termed the special operations squad later the sts in 1969 and the aam regularly features in reports going forward at least some of the undercover offices are explicit they were directed to target the anti-apartheid movement as
01:12:55 target the anti-apartheid movement as the witness statement of hn 339 stuart goodman confirms he was tasked by hn294 and phil saunders throughout his deployment he states quote i was initially directed towards the am
01:13:05 the am i think my involvement with aam was preparation for later becoming part of a more militantly effectively it was my training ground and allowed me to gain legitimacy and an activism background
01:13:18 legitimacy and an activism background and then move on to another group end quote
01:13:21 quote anti-apartheid sporting boycotts such as the stop the 72 were also targeted it is noted that even when the formal targets of the sds had moved on from the
01:13:35 targets of the sds had moved on from the anti-apartheid campaign the aam remained of interest to the security service who requested information from the sds on the anti-apartheid movement up to the night the early 1980s it is also of note in relation to the
01:13:47 it is also of note in relation to the participants that i represent that the young liberals were recorded as of an or group that were of interest to the security services in 1972.
01:14:01 security services in 1972. many sts managers state that decisions on tasking came from outside the sts either from c-squad and special branch or directly or indirectly from the security services
01:14:15 security services as former sds manager jeff kraft states quote the branch was the legs of the security service it is clear that such interests went well beyond any sort of public order missions this raises very significant
01:14:26 missions this raises very significant concerns over the politicized nature of the work done by the sts the influence of tasking from those outside the sts also appears to have had an impact on the nature of the
01:14:39 an impact on the nature of the information collected by undercover officers
01:14:40 officers the inquiry has already received evidence about how personal information irrelevant to public order concerns was collected and passed on to the security services
01:14:52 services for example undercover officers reported the presence of peter haynes younger sisters both still children at the time at meetings of the young liberals at his parents home
01:15:05 parents home there does not appear to have been any consideration of the legality of this action by the sds at any level the attitude of undercover officers towards their managers in relation to collecting personal information may be seen in the oral evidence of hn298
01:15:20 seen in the oral evidence of hn298 referring to the views of quote the office admin and people in charge towards his attending meetings in the front room of peter haynes family home hn298 said the following i think and i'm quote i quote from his
01:15:35 i think and i'm quote i quote from his uh oral evidence i i think probably this kind of thing they're actually too frightened of these things they happen and they're confronted with them and they don't really want to make waves and this is how these things work they don't want you to make waves but
01:15:48 they don't want you to make waves but when they're confronted with it they're in a set in essence obliged to go along with it
01:15:57 with it the picture presented is of sds managers that are unable to exercise proper control over undercover officers sts management taking a reactive approach and are obliged to go along with decisions that undercover officers make
01:16:12 decisions that undercover officers make for themselves for fear or quote making waves
01:16:14 waves the role of managers in overseeing the intrusive and disproportionate nature of infiltration by undercover offices is therefore critical to the inquiry
01:16:32 in conclusion many of these concerns expressed in this opening statement over the indiscriminate recording and retention of information by undercover officers were reflected in a paper prepared by
01:16:43 were reflected in a paper prepared by the home office on special branches in october 1980 the home office paper notes that some of the information that had historically been collected was quote may not easily be justified in quote
01:16:57 may not easily be justified in quote the paper goes on to state that because officers were collecting information on behalf of others there was a danger that quote there will be a premium on
01:17:08 that quote there will be a premium on recording information rather than not doing so end quote the default position appears to be to include rather than exclude personal information acting on a just-in-case basis
01:17:19 acting on a just-in-case basis the home office paper recognises that issues relating to disproportionate data collection were directly connected to the need for a clearly defined role for policing in politically sensitive areas
01:17:36 policing in politically sensitive areas but that this did not alleviate the need for an independent review of what data was collected and retained the authors of the paper wrote as follows
01:17:41 follows the nature of information stored by special branches is in many respects secondary to the question of what special branches are there to do the more clearly the proper extent of their interest in subversion is defined for
01:17:56 interest in subversion is defined for example the more easy it should be for officers to judge what they should record and what not but they may also be a case for taking more positive steps to ensure that forces procedures for
01:18:10 ensure that forces procedures for judging what to record and for weeding out or disposing of irrelevant information are satisfactory the home office paper also noted that and i quote the importance of effective supervision and training are arguably
01:18:21 supervision and training are arguably greater in special branch than in other areas of police police work then the core participants will in due course invite the inquiry to conclude that the supervision and
01:18:36 conclude that the supervision and training provided to undercover offices in the period under review was wholly inadequate so unless i can be a further assistant that concludes my opening state thank you very much indeed and we will
01:18:47 thank you very much indeed and we will now adjourn again for a quarter an hour to enable
01:18:56 to enable the rooms and equipment to be set up for our next and last speaker mr jacobs thank you
01:33:51 so
01:34:08 mr jacobs good afternoon sir i i give this opening statement on behalf of celia stubs instructed by simon creighton of that murphy solicitors would it be possible to have on the screen and doc 020 please
01:34:34 while that is being done you are perfectly free to sit down if you prefer i don't mind thank you sir i think it's ah thank you celia stamps was the partner of blair peach who was killed by a police officer striking a blow to his head during a
01:34:47 striking a blow to his head during a protest against racism in south hall in april 1979 blair peach is pitched in the photograph on the screen the circumstances of the tragic death of blair peach
01:35:03 blair peach and the sustained cover-up that followed it is told in celia stubz's statement and was summarized in her opening statement for part two of this tranche of the inquiry in that opening statement we said as follows
01:35:13 follows celia stubbs has always been a law-abiding citizen as was blair peach she is here for answers and for accountability she is not of course under any
01:35:26 she is not of course under any obligation to explain why she should not have been the subject of surveillance it is for the state to justify why it engaged in such significant and covert intrusions into the private lives and act and activities of her and others
01:35:46 act and activities of her and others involved in the campaign for justice for blair peach it is for this inquiry to forensically test the justifications being put forward it has always been apparent that policing public disorder could not
01:35:58 policing public disorder could not provide justification for the intrusion into the peaceful campaigns pursued by celia stubbs nearing the close of the evidence of this tranche of the inquiry sir it is unsurprising that the disclosure has not revealed even the faintest suggestion
01:36:12 revealed even the faintest suggestion that celia stubbs has been involved in anything other than important and lawfully pursued campaigns not only in relation to the death of blair peach but also in founding inquest which continues its invaluable work today in assisting
01:36:27 its invaluable work today in assisting greed families four decades after it was established it would also be fanciful to suggest that the intelligence gathered by undercover officers on senior stubs and the blair peach campaign was simply incidental to reporting on political
01:36:41 incidental to reporting on political activists who were involved in public disorder and included only in a hoovering or indiscriminate approach to intelligence gathering that could not explain the maintenance of covert and intelligence on celia
01:36:58 of covert and intelligence on celia stubs and the campaigns with which she was associated with over a period of decades
01:37:02 decades it is also undermined by the emerging evidence as to the uses to which covertly gathered intelligence was put whether or not the sds was conceived as a response to concerns relating to
01:37:17 a response to concerns relating to public disorder it quickly morphed into a source of information to serve the interests of special branch more generally and of the security service and it is evident that special branch had a keen interest in intelligence regarding campaigns which sought to
01:37:31 regarding campaigns which sought to ensure that police fully account for their conduct in public that interest was not to protect the public from harm it was to protect the police themselves
01:37:46 it was to protect the police themselves from having to account for their actions special branch wanted to stay one step ahead of the legitimate and understandable concerns of celia stubs and we're willing to make use of covert policing and to do so
01:37:57 policing and to do so the photograph can be taken down in our thank you
01:38:03 thank you so i address um tasking in respect of the blair peach campaign and in a slightly shorter format to that um in our written opening the managers who have given written evidence generally deny any knowledge of why the blair peach campaign was
01:38:15 why the blair peach campaign was reported on or the extent to which information provided by the sds was further to specific tasking that in part is unsurprising as to date the inquiry has not been given any
01:38:30 the inquiry has not been given any coaching explanation as to how tasking took place generally it is clear at least in general terms that the motivation for the undercover
01:38:41 that the motivation for the undercover policing in the air in the sds and the tasking was far broader than public disorder and satisfied a range of interests across the various parts of special branch the home office and the security service it is also clear from the recently disclosed transcripts of the closed
01:38:52 disclosed transcripts of the closed hearings that directions were being given to undercover officers directly by the security service
01:39:02 one of the managers angus mcintosh insists that those who campaigned in relation to the death of blair peach quote were not reported on because they were seeking to discredit and criticize
01:39:14 were seeking to discredit and criticize the police but because they were people who were or would have been identified by the ucos as being activists on the public order scene unquote however he also says that he could not remember what public order problems arose in connection with blair peach's death
01:39:27 connection with blair peach's death that insistence that the reporting on the campaign was motivated motivated by concerns relating to public order is
01:39:38 concerns relating to public order is undermined by the fact that the campaign was not associated with disorder moreover although angus macintosh offers a general denial of the interest in the campaign being anything other than public disorder when it comes to explaining the reporting on the funeral of blair peach
01:39:52 reporting on the funeral of blair peach he says that he would not have known to what use such information would have been put but his understanding is that it was for the security service and for vetting and identification tracing
01:40:05 vetting and identification tracing it clearly had nothing to do with public disorder
01:40:12 disorder that there was specific tasking relating to the blair peach campaign has been confirmed by the evidence of hn 21. in his closed evidence he indicates a recollection that one of the management asked him to attend blair peach's
01:40:23 asked him to attend blair peach's funeral and it could have been jeff kraft
01:40:26 kraft ultimately sir there remains a gaping hole in the evidence about the reasons why undercover officers were tasked to report on the blair peach campaign that there still exists such a whole raises serious questions about the
01:40:37 raises serious questions about the ongoing refusal of the metropolitan police to be open and honest about his actions
01:40:45 actions the absence of documentary evidence on tasking does not of course indicating indicate that such tasking did not take place
01:40:52 place we know that tasking sometimes took place orally but more fundamentally we also know there are huge gaps in the documents
01:41:03 documents mark ellison qc in his review of claims by pr peter francis that he was tasked to find intelligence that could be used to smear the family of stephen lawrence came to the view that the destruction of
01:41:18 came to the view that the destruction of documents meant that little weight could be attached to the fact that no record can be found to confirm any relevant aspect of sds activity so we invite you to take the same approach
01:41:32 so i i returned to the reporting on celia stubbs and the blair peach campaign and its content we have seen in the evidence that it commenced in the 1970s
01:41:43 commenced in the 1970s and continued at least into the 1990s it followed not only her campaign in respect of the death of blair peach but also her involvement in other justice campaigns including in founding inquest and her involvement in the hackney
01:41:56 and her involvement in the hackney community defense association and colin rhodes centre since the hearings for part two of this tranche celia stubbs has received
01:42:07 tranche celia stubbs has received documents disclosed by the metropolitan police in response to a subject access request
01:42:08 request they are primarily special branch documents and it appears likely that at least some of the disclosed documents recite information from undercover officers although were not obtained or disclosed by this inquiry
01:42:20 disclosed by this inquiry we say that should be of significant concern to you sir and worthy of further investigation by the inquiry team indeed
01:42:33 investigation by the inquiry team indeed one of the documents a report of 10th of april 1989 on a meeting of the blair peach 10th anniversary committee is stated to be from quote a secret and reliable source unquote which indicates an undercover officer
01:42:47 so if it would help to see the document is it
01:42:50 is it doc072 which can be brought up on the screen
01:42:54 screen um this is a document which you obtained from the metropolitan police on the subject access request that's correct
01:43:08 subject access request that's correct we've been rejected by them there's been no um participation by the inquiry and the reduction of this document that's correct sir um and
01:43:09 and if you
01:43:10 if you look for example over to the next page
01:43:18 you will see that the entirety of it is redacted
01:43:21 redacted clearly if it had been obtained or provided to the inquiry then the approach to reduction might be very different
01:43:36 so that can be taken down and although heavily redacted the reports give some further insight we say into the interests of special branch which as has become increasingly clear
01:43:49 which as has become increasingly clear to the inquiry was served generally by the sds
01:43:50 the sds they help answer the question as to why information was gathered on celia stubs
01:44:02 information was gathered on celia stubs and the campaign campaign with which she was associated and they are appended as i can see you have sir to our opening statement
01:44:04 statement if doc
01:44:06 if doc 073 could be brought up on the screen this is a document of 11th of october 1974
01:44:17 1974 and it appears to us to have been the first photograph and detail of celia stubbs and this is likely when her registry file reference was created
01:44:28 registry file reference was created and you will see sir that it includes details of her passport her marriage and her children
01:44:38 a special branch report of 1978 noted details of blair peach's car and relationship um with celia stubbs if we could have up on screen doc 075
01:44:58 so you will see that this is a special branch report again provided in response to the subject access request which describes an incident of celia stubbs wearing an anti-nazi league lapel badge
01:45:07 badge and being assaulted by two members of the national front and suffering bruises and lacerations um to her face you may note sir that this is the only incident in the documents in which
01:45:19 incident in the documents in which celia stubbs is associated with an incident of disorder and it is her um being a victim of a vicious attack um by two members or supporters of the national front yes
01:45:31 national front yes and forgive me interrupting you again but for the avoidance of doubt for those looking at these documents these are all retrieved from the metropolitan police under this subject
01:45:43 metropolitan police under this subject access request and there is nothing in the text of this document to indicate that it had anything to do with the sds uh
01:45:50 uh so this
01:45:55 so this in relation to this document yes we were saying relates to the da last document where it says secret and unreliable source i i wasn't making that point in relation to that document but uh you you
01:46:07 relation to that document but uh you you have produced some documents which um uh look as though they had something to do with the sds but i think i'm right in saying the majority of those that you have from this source aren't so that that's right what we would say is that the the evidence we do have
01:46:23 is that the the evidence we do have relating to the sds is that it serve the interests of special branch generally so where the documents indicate what is of interest to special branch then a reasonable inference can be made that it's likely also a matter of interest to the sds
01:46:36 a matter of interest to the sds that that is a pattern that may or may not be right all i was trying to do and i would invite you to do it if we're looking at further documents is to
01:46:47 looking at further documents is to indicate whether or not you say they do
01:46:51 do may have or do not originate from the sds
01:46:52 sds so
01:46:53 so of course thank you um
01:46:56 um the vast major that document can be um taken down um the the vast majority of reporting on senior stuffs followed the death of blair peach and then continued
01:47:09 death of blair peach and then continued um for the next two decades and could we have a document 0 76
01:47:24 so while we're waiting for that to be brought up and it's a special branch report of 19th of june 1979 and it certainly doesn't indicate on its face that it's an sds document or
01:47:36 face that it's an sds document or originates from the sds but what it does say
01:47:37 say is that the report concerns those persons known to this branch who have made written statements to police concerning the death of blair peach during an anti-national front
01:47:49 during an anti-national front demonstration at southhall on the 23rd of april 1979. so at paragraph 2 you can see it says appendix 1a shows a list of all persons who have made statements to police concerning this
01:48:03 statements to police concerning this matter appendix attached shows a list of those persons who have been positively identified as having previously come to the notice of this branch together with the personal details they gave to police and a brief resume of information
01:48:18 and a brief resume of information concerning the individuals recorded in this branch and this branch being special branch so we can see so it's a collation of the key information held by special branch on all individuals giving evidence in
01:48:29 on all individuals giving evidence in respect of blair peach's death and the the information itself the appendix is redacted we don't see it um in our submission it's likely sir
01:48:48 um in our submission it's likely sir that information gathered by um the sds would have been would have fed into it because the evidence tends to suggest that the
01:48:51 that the intelligence gathered by the sds simply fed into the general pool of intelligence held and used by um special branch
01:49:01 branch so the document does not spell out why special branch was collating and reporting information it held on all
01:49:12 reporting information it held on all individuals who had given statements to the police but in our submission it is difficult to see any motivation other than that it was looking for opportunities to discredit accounts given of police brutality which resulted in blair peach's death and that can be taken down thank you
01:49:24 and that can be taken down thank you so we had previously observed in our opening statement for part two that in april 1980 another special branch memorandum recorded a meeting with the deputy assistant commissioner of
01:49:37 deputy assistant commissioner of operations of the metropolitan police regarding the friends of blair peach committee and consideration being given to applying for a high court injunction to prohibit the further publication of the names of the special patrol group
01:49:50 the names of the special patrol group officers allegedly involved in peach's murder
01:49:52 murder so we say that these documents show that his intelligence was used and by special branch and that would have included sds intelligence
01:50:03 intelligence not for responding to public disorder but for responding to the campaign
01:50:14 so we also say that much of the special branch reporting reveals the prejudices and the disdain that the metropolitan police and special branch held towards those seeking to hold police to account for their conduct
01:50:26 for their conduct could we have on screen dot zero seven eight
01:50:27 eight zero seventy eight
01:50:32 so this is
01:50:40 this is thank you this is an undated report it describes celia stubbs um first coming to notice in 1976 um sir if you look in the body of text and in particular in the middle you'll see a sentence beginning following the death
01:50:57 beginning following the death and it says following the death of blair peach celia stubbs became a useful propaganda tool for the left-wing publicity machine since 1980 she does not appear to have been involved in any public order incidents
01:51:06 incidents she would appear to be a member of the pressure group inquest purely because of her association with peach
01:51:17 her association with peach sir celia stopped his partner had been killed by a police officer and the circumstances of the death were known to the metropolitan police but concealed until the cast report was published in april 2010
01:51:32 april 2010 though she never did achieve justice for blair peach her campaigning was valiant and it was dignified to special branch however as we suspect this document to be she was a mere propaganda tool for the left-wing publicity machine
01:51:43 left-wing publicity machine we say it reveals the utterly misplaced disdain for justice campaigns that drove this policing it was this institutional mentality or mindset which left the sds and special
01:52:02 mindset which left the sds and special branch more broadly willing to engage in the gross invasions of privacy that it was committing to obtain information that had no legitimate purpose
01:52:10 so a similar tone is evident evident in the in
01:52:14 the in doc 079 and if that document could be brought up please.079
01:52:23 this is a special branch report of the first of february 1982 of a 12 purse meeting of inquest and i'm happy to indicate sir that it's special branch rather than
01:52:40 special branch rather than sds as far as we know um although it is a meeting a report of a very small meeting of just 12 persons um the author of the report observes and if we can go to the next page so zero seventy nine and two
01:52:56 at paragraph nine so towards the bottom of the page it says there seems to be little doubt that inquest has sprung out of celia's stubs desire to keep the blair peach affair in the public gaze
01:53:09 affair in the public gaze she realizes that interest has waned and has hit upon the idea of reviving it by linking up with other notorious cases of recent years most of the others involved are merely looking for a cause to adhere to
01:53:23 looking for a cause to adhere to without stubs the group simply would not exist however they are articulate and committed types and it does not seem beyond the bounds of possibility that they could eventually achieve the quasi-respectable status of groups such as nccl
01:53:33 as nccl so you'll be aware that that was the national council for civil liberties and now liberty so we say that the special branch narrative is disturbing it is important to note as background
01:53:45 it is important to note as background the consistent role that the nccl had played in promoting better policing and
01:53:57 played in promoting better policing and the close attention given given to it by special branch from its inception in relation to south hall itself the nccl has contributed to the unofficial committee of inquiry that investigated the events and subsequently published two reports one of which
01:54:10 published two reports one of which focused directly on blair peach's death the commissioner of police at the time david david mcnee was invited to cooperate with the unofficial inquiry but refused his invitation and a public inquiry never took place
01:54:23 inquiry never took place to special branch however it appears that persons victimized by police who went on to campaign in an effort to hold police to account were to be regarded or perceived as subversive we also say that as evidence in the
01:54:40 we also say that as evidence in the annual report from 1979 which disparages those embarking on campaigns around the events in southall the portrayal of the campaigning of celia stubs as opportunistic is disturbing and it provides valuable
01:54:51 disturbing and it provides valuable insight into the reasons why undercover officers were tasked to report on her that report was written 40 years ago and today inquest the organization that celia stubs helped to found helps
01:55:05 celia stubs helped to found helps hundreds of bereaved families each year seek justice for their loved ones who have lost their lives in police and prison custody immigration detention mental health settings and involving multiple agents to fail things and that document can be taken down
01:55:19 notwithstanding that inquest simply assists families through the legal process of an inquest and is and is not and never has been remotely subversive
01:55:33 and never has been remotely subversive it was the subject of frequent special branch reporting including reporting from sds offices one apparent front sheet which again we suspect to be special branch has the basic details of inquest under the heading police accountability groups
01:55:44 accountability groups it appears then that special branch had perhaps still has a file with its collated intelligence from overton covert sources on police accountability groups
01:55:55 celia stubbs believes that this brings into focus an especially important point for you sir to assess and to conclude in your report
01:56:06 your report it should be made known publicly through this inquiry that during the time which with this chance is concerned special branch collated intelligence on police accountability groups such as inquest in an apparently determined and coordinated
01:56:19 an apparently determined and coordinated coordinated coordinated fashion and that the sds fed into that it was not because such groups posed a threat to security but because they sought properly to call police to
01:56:30 sought properly to call police to accounts and achieve legal address for wrongdoing
01:56:37 the inquiry's terms of reference challenge it to determine what were the motives for undercover policing it is apparent that in very substantial parts the sds served the broader
01:56:48 parts the sds served the broader interests of special branch and other agency agencies such as the security service
01:56:49 service without disclosure and inquiry into those matters the ability of the inquiry to shine a light on the motives of undercover policing are in truth limited however we say that the following key
01:57:00 however we say that the following key points emerge as to the uses to which information gathered on celia stubs and the campaigns with which she has been associated was put
01:57:19 first there is no evidence that it such intelligence was used in any meaningful way to address concerns of public disorder
01:57:20 disorder in fact there was no indication that such concerns even existed other than on the perverse and self-serving basis that anyone who seeks to hold police to account for their wrongdoing and insist
01:57:37 account for their wrongdoing and insist they act in accordance with the law must necessarily be a threat to public order second and as i've already referenced her it appears that sds information was used in april 1980 to assist the deputy assistant commissioner of operations of the mps in considering seeking an
01:57:55 the mps in considering seeking an injunction to prohibit the blair peach campaign publishing the names of the officers suspected of having been involved in his killing third and against her as i have referenced special branch information was collated on all individuals who
01:58:08 was collated on all individuals who provided a statement in respect of the killing of blair peach fourth
01:58:16 fourth information on justice campaigns appears to be placed in the special branch file reserved for police accountability groups
01:58:18 groups so we say that where there is evidence as to how information was put to use it is all concerned with responding to campaigns for justice
01:58:31 so what conclusion should you draw from these matters the inexorable conclusion we say is that the motive for covert policing of celia stubs and the groups with which she was associated was not public disorder it
01:58:42 associated was not public disorder it was assisting the metropolitan police and responding to and staying at a step ahead of campaigns that sought to require the police to account for their
01:58:56 require the police to account for their actions in public and to achieve justice these campaigns use lawful methods and pose no risk of public disorder sir i turn um as a final topic to missing documents um and the closed hearings
01:59:12 and the closed hearings paragraph 44 to 51 of celia stopped his opening statement to part two addressed the fact that the sds reports were prepared as a matter of course before and after large demonstrations
01:59:25 before and after large demonstrations and are available for events such as the 56-page report for the battle of lewiston
01:59:27 lewiston however
01:59:28 however for
01:59:29 for the protest at red line square and for southall nothing has been produced to the inquiry that is for those events which saw the deaths of kevin gately and blair peach
01:59:45 deaths of kevin gately and blair peach the reports appear to have gone missing they must have existed and the transcripts of the closed hearings make it clear that one undercover officer hn 41 reported extensively on the events
01:59:56 41 reported extensively on the events preceding southall and what occurred on the day itself celia stubbs notes the steps taken by the inquiry to locate the missing documents as described in council to the inquiry's second addendum disclosure
02:00:10 inquiry's second addendum disclosure note she is however disappointed that the inquiry has not been willing to search what is required as the significant number of non-special branch files available to review the disclosure note describes the steps it has taken to identify relevant material as being proportionate
02:00:27 material as being proportionate we say that these reports are crucial to understanding in accordance with the inquiry terms of reference the contribution made by undercover policing towards the prevention and detection of crime and also the effect upon
02:00:38 crime and also the effect upon individuals and the public in general of undercover police operations the relevance goes not only to the role played by the sds in advance planning for large-scale protests but also whether the sds was subsequently
02:00:52 whether the sds was subsequently complicit in conceding information and police misconduct as is clear from the evidence to date there was a revolving door of information between the sds special branch uniform policing and outside agencies such as the security services
02:01:08 agencies such as the security services it is obviously possible we say that the reporting could exist other than in the special branch files the use of the term proportionate in this context should not distract or deflect from the inquiry's duty to amount of thorough and
02:01:20 amount of thorough and effective investigation into all of the uses made
02:01:23 uses made of the reports generated by undercover policing
02:01:32 policing of significant interest is that hn 41 in his closed evidence described that sds managers did not want undercover officers to attend the rally at southpaw that is because it was known to the sds
02:01:47 that is because it was known to the sds that uniformed officers were planning to quote clamp down on the demonstrations unquote and dangers were more than normal
02:01:48 normal that increased danger posed by the uniformed officers would have been faced by members of the public and undercover officers alike and that was obviously a concern for the sds
02:02:00 concern for the sds hn 41 also described the quote disastrous mistake unquote in public order planning of closing down part of southall
02:02:10 southall that offers a glimpse into the information likely within the report that may have been profoundly important in exposing the approach approach of the police to the rally and
02:02:22 approach of the police to the rally and the violence which resulted in the death of blair peach it reinforces the belief of celia stubs that the reasonable influence from such
02:02:33 that the reasonable influence from such reports going missing is that they were considered damaging to the police and have been deliberately destroyed further it is evident from h 1041's account being smuggled into scotland yards to give a statement as the murder squad had heard of his
02:02:44 the murder squad had heard of his presence at southall that the officers investigating blair peach's death were well aware of the sds presence and likely knowledge of events but that knowledge was never revealed in the inquest
02:02:59 it is concerning we say that this evidence was dealt with in closed hearings and is now only available in redacted form not least because it is the only direct evidence from undercover police officers in relation to the events of southpaw and the subsequent
02:03:10 events of southpaw and the subsequent investigation into blair peach's death it provides confirmation that there was an advanced intelligence from the sds liaison with undercover officers present
02:03:25 liaison with undercover officers present at the demonstration and liaison between the sds and other departments after the event in relation to the investigation into the death this evidence raises many more questions we say which could be put to the witness um hm41 and underscore underscores the concerns
02:03:36 underscore underscores the concerns raised by celia stubbs and other core participants about the extent of their ability to participate effectively and we would invite the evidence to be revisited
02:03:48 revisited this inquiry is not of course the first instance in which such reports were required to be disclosed but have not been
02:03:54 been reports of the type referred to by undercover officers and sds managers to this inquiry would have fallen to be disclosed in the coronal inquests into the deaths of kevin gately and blair
02:04:06 the deaths of kevin gately and blair peach and also to lord skarma's public inquiry into the events of redline square the requirement for disclosure may have placed the metropolitan police
02:04:19 may have placed the metropolitan police in somewhat of a dilemma as it wished to keep the existence and role of the sds concealed
02:04:20 concealed however the metropolitan police had no authority to respond to such dilemmas by withholding obviously relevant and potentially crucial documents so you'll be aware that there were
02:04:34 so you'll be aware that there were similar failures to disclose undercover reporting to the mcpherson inquiry say that there appears ultimately to have been to size to the deployment of undercover officers as a means of
02:04:46 undercover officers as a means of managing reputational damage to the metropolitan police first there was reporting on the activities of groups which sought to hold officers to account for their
02:04:57 hold officers to account for their actions for the purposes of being able to effectively preempt or respond to them
02:04:58 them second there was the destructional withholding of evidence undercover officer and sds reports that would have been reputationally damaging and of
02:05:09 been reputationally damaging and of assistance to those groups in their campaigns
02:05:13 so i i turn to our conclusion
02:05:23 nearing the end of the evidence to this tranche of the inquiry it is clear that there was never any justification for the covert policing in respect of celia stubs and the blur peach campaign that is no revelation as it is known
02:05:34 that is no revelation as it is known that celia stubbs is and always has been a law-abiding citizen whose life was turned upside down by the conduct of
02:05:45 turned upside down by the conduct of officers serving within the metropolitan police who took the life of her partner as he campaigned peacefully against racism
02:05:52 racism a more fundamental question is why the metropolitan police pursued these activities as in the inquiry's terms of reference to examine the motivation for undercover police operations in practice the answer is that the motivation in
02:06:04 the answer is that the motivation in respect of the covert policing of celia stubbs was to enhance the ability of the metropolitan police to respond to the blair peach campaign and resist its
02:06:15 blair peach campaign and resist its legitimate demands that officers be held to account for their actions that conclusion will only become clearer as the inquiry moves to its next charge and it becomes apparent that the reporting on celia stubs was only the first of very many instances of covert
02:06:28 first of very many instances of covert policing of peaceful justice campaigns
02:06:35 celia stubbs hopes that the inquiry will understand how traumatic it has been for her to discover the extent and nature of the undercover reporting on her over the years that she pursued this campaign
02:06:47 years that she pursued this campaign her trauma is made worse by the steps taken by the metropolitan police to obstruct access to the relevant material it is the task of this inquiry to understand and highlight the extent of
02:06:58 understand and highlight the extent of the harm caused by all of these aspects of undercover policing it is therefore appropriate for the final words of this opening statement sir to be directly from celia stubs and what she says is this
02:07:12 following the disclosure of the cast report in 2010 i with other friends from the campaign felt that it had run its course it was then i had legal advice that there was a case for the inquest to be
02:07:27 there was a case for the inquest to be reopened now we had information that had been hidden from us at the original inquest in 1980 i declined this as i just could not face the publicity that this would engender since i have learnt about the
02:07:39 since i have learnt about the surveillance the sds and special branch have carried out on me stretching over nearly 30 years and how i have been held up as a propaganda tool i have felt more distressed but also angry to put it bluntly police officers took my
02:07:51 bluntly police officers took my partner's life and then concealed the truth the concluding job of this inquiry is to uncover the truth so that's our opening statement thank you
02:08:02 you thank you very much may i make just one observation and you rightly say that the inquiry should look for documentary evidence
02:08:17 documentary evidence about the use to which sds intelligence was put
02:08:21 was put in advance of major demonstrations such as that at lewisham and at southall they're known in the trade language i think is threat assessments inquiry has sought these documents the
02:08:32 inquiry has sought these documents the metropolitan police have not been able to find them i don't
02:08:40 i don't know at this stage what if any other documents
02:08:45 documents might have existed or if they did could now be recovered other than threat assessments which might illuminate this part of the story we're able to make any suggestions
02:08:56 we're able to make any suggestions sir our understanding from the the note provided by um council to the inquiry is that there had been a review of um
02:09:07 a review of um files specifically held under special branch but that there are quite a number of other
02:09:14 of other available files which
02:09:17 which haven't been uh perused and the rationale given is that it would it would not be proportionate on the basis that um
02:09:26 that um it's suspected that the document probably isn't in in those files anyway our concern would be that actually given the
02:09:37 given the the revolving door of information as we put it between special branch between uniform branch and so on it's actually not unlikely it appears to us that in respect to the significant event such as southall
02:09:54 southall the relevant reports did find their way beyond special branch and might be in those files that haven't been searched
02:09:56 searched well
02:09:56 well all i can say is what my understanding at present is of the manner in which sds reporting on these major events was dealt with it was sanitized by
02:10:11 it was sanitized by a special branch unit then put into a threat assessment which collated information gathered from a wide variety of sources
02:10:23 of sources and informed the a8 or uniform police response to the forthcoming demonstration and um
02:10:28 and um the inquiry has a mammoth task in looking for documents
02:10:36 documents wants to obtain them in collating them and seeing they're properly redacted uh in saying that they're shown to those to whom they need to be shown and there is a finite limit on what we can do
02:10:49 can do and the general troll through police records crosses that limit i fail
02:11:00 we we have um conscientiously looked for specific bits of information from
02:11:03 from in metropolitan police records i'm not talking necessarily about the matters i've just mentioned but uh it has been a very time consuming and problematic task and um
02:11:15 and um i'm afraid there has to come a point at which
02:11:16 which we
02:11:17 we simply have to say unless someone can point us to a specific place where a specific document is to be found we can't do it
02:11:33 thank you in any event and i'm grateful to you for concluding your opening remarks uh within the time that you said you would and the time it is available thank you you'll adjourn until tomorrow at 10.
02:12:14 you