by Bethany Rielly
AN UNDERCOVER officer was authorised by senior police to lie in court after being arrested and charged with public order offences at an anti-apartheid protest, the spycops inquiry heard today.
The officer, who used the cover-name Michael Scott, was told by managers to use his fake identity during the trial in order to bolster his credentials among campaigners.
He was convicted under his false name for public disorder.
The revelation is the first potential miscarriage of justice being scrutinised by the Undercover Policing Inquiry, headed by retired judge Sir John Mitting.
As part of the inquiry, which is examining the conduct of around 139 officers who infiltrated more than 1,000 protest groups over 40 years, Mr Mitting is tasked with finding out how many campaigners were wrongly convicted because their trials were corrupted by spycops.
Press Release from Hodge Jones and Allen: Leading anti-apartheid activists to accuse British police and security services of defending apartheid state actsa.org - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from actsa.org Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
‘Spy cops’ victims share ongoing data protection concerns
Under Cover Policing Inquiry will consider whether the extensive amount of personal data collected about left-wing activists by the Special Demonstration Squad was justified, as witnesses question whether information about them is still being collected
Share this item with your network: By Published: 23 Apr 2021 16:11
Undercover police officers collected and disseminated a “substantial volume of personal information” about left-wing activists, including women they deceived into intimate sexual relationships, in surveillance that was “clearly disproportionate and inappropriate”, a public inquiry has heard.
Established in 2015 to investigate the practices of undercover policing units – including the Special Demonstration Squad (SDS), which was created in 1968 to infiltrate British protest groups as part of the Met Police’s Special Branch – the Under Cover Policing Inquiry (UCPI) began its second phas