02-08-2016, 05:03 PM
Pitchford Inquiry into undercover policing 'set up to fail' - http://www.heraldscotland.com/News/14655..._/?ref=rss 22 hrs ago
A probe into undercover policing in England and Wales is doomed "to fail before it begins" after the UK Government confirmed its remit will not extend to Scotland, inquiry participants have warned.
Fifteen people who have been called to give evidence to the Pitchford Inquiry into undercover policing in England and Wales say the decision is "a snub to Scotland".
The Scottish Government, which has been urged to launch its own inquiry, said it "will now consider how best to take this matter forward".
Pitchford, set up by Prime Minister Theresa May in one of her final acts as home secretary, follows revelations about the activities of undercover officer Mark Kennedy, who admitted having "intimate relationships with a number of people while undercover".
The London-based National Public Order Intelligence Unit worked with forces in Scotland and Mr Kennedy was used in or visited Scotland 14 times, a review by HM Inspector of Constabulary (HMIC) found.
However, Policing Minister Brandon Lewis has now confirmed that Pitchford's terms of reference apply solely to "undercover police operations conducted by English and Welsh police forces in England and Wales".
In a letter to Labour MSP Neil Findlay, he said: "For a number of reasons, it is not possible to expand the geographical scope of the inquiry without formally amending the terms of reference."
The inquiry could be accused of "acting outside of its powers" if it considered evidence outside of these jurisdictions, Mr Lewis said.
Lord Justice Pitchford has granted "core participant" status to 199 people affected by the undercover police units, including some who say they were spied on in Scotland.
In a joint statement, 15 participants said disregarding evidence from Scotland will "prevent the inquiry from dealing with a significant part of its remit" and "sets the inquiry up to fail before it begins".
Participant Merrick Cork said: "The police admit English officers committed human rights abuses against citizens on Scottish soil.
"It's absurd to expect public trust in police when abuses of power are swept under the carpet, and it's a snub to Scotland to say it doesn't matter there."
The participants have called on the Scottish Government to set up its own independent inquiry.
A Scottish Government spokesman said: "The Scottish Government is extremely disappointed that the UK Government has indicated it will not extend the remit of the Pitchford Inquiry to consider the activities of undercover Metropolitan Police units in Scotland.
"We continue to believe that a single inquiry across the UK is the most effective approach to provide a comprehensive and coherent investigation into these matters.
"This narrower approach risks doing a disservice to people in Scotland affected by the activities of a force which falls under the oversight of the Home Office. We will now consider how best to take this matter forward."
Mr Lewis has said Pitchford will be restricted from forwarding its evidence on to other organisations during its deliberations, unless it uncovers a crime or miscarriage of justice.
However, he said all of the material will be lodged with the National Archives once the inquiry has concluded.
ENDE
Germany asks UK to widen undercover policing inquiry
Berlin wants Home Office to extend inquiry into activities of undercover British officers in Germany - https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2016...rk-kennedy
Philip Oltermann in Berlin @philipoltermann
Saturday 11 June 2016 14.30 BST Last modified on Tuesday 14 June 2016 10.40 BST
The German government has written to the British Home Office asking for the Pitchford inquiry into undercover policing to be extended to covert operations by British police in Germany.
The inquiry, which was set up following the revelation that former Metropolitan police officer Mark Kennedy had infiltrated protest groups and entered intimate relationships under false pretences, is currently only set to cover Kennedy's activities in England and Wales.
But with Germany now following the Scottish government in submitting an official request to be involved in the investigation, pressure is growing to extend the inquiry beyond English and Welsh borders.
The German request also coincides with a letter, published on Friday, in which campaigners threaten legal action unless the Pitchford inquiry is extended to Northern Ireland.
Jason Kirkpatrick, an anti-globalisation campaigner and filmmaker who met Kennedy in Belfast, told the BBC: "Unless the public inquiry's remit is broadened, for anyone living outside England and Wales, the Pitchford inquiry is nothing but a painful whitewash."
British police have admitted that undercover officers have infiltrated at least 460 political groups since 1968, including in Germany. Undercover officer Kennedy is known to have been active for several years in a number of German cities including Berlin, where Kennedy then calling himself Mark Stone was arrested for attempted arson but never charged.
According to Left party MP Andrej Hunko, one of the parliamentarians who have been calling for the German government to investigate the Kennedy case, British officers were deployed to infiltrate leftwing activist groups such as Youth Against Racism in Europe and Dissent!, a network that mobilised against the 2005 G8 summit in Heiligendamm.
"The British Home Office must disclose which other German groups and movements were investigated and on whose orders," Hunko said in a statement in which he also called for similar inquiries in Germany.
"We also need a committee of inquiry here in Germany in order to assess all these incidents and closely investigate the operations of undercover agents. This includes German police authorities collaborating within two international police networks working on undercover operations, which have become established outside of official scrutiny."
Undercover police officers engaged in covert missions abroad currently enjoy a certain degree of immunity from prosecution. While any criminal act they are involved in would be investigated in the country where it is committed, the authority that commissioned the officer is responsible for disciplinary action.
Peter Francis, a former police spy-turned-whistleblower, has said that police officers sent abroad received "absolutely zero schooling in any law whatsoever".
"I was never briefed, say for example, if I was in Germany I couldn't do, this for example, engage in sexual relationships or something else."
According to Francis, information obtained on a covert mission abroad was frequently shared with the Met's local equivalent.
A probe into undercover policing in England and Wales is doomed "to fail before it begins" after the UK Government confirmed its remit will not extend to Scotland, inquiry participants have warned.
Fifteen people who have been called to give evidence to the Pitchford Inquiry into undercover policing in England and Wales say the decision is "a snub to Scotland".
The Scottish Government, which has been urged to launch its own inquiry, said it "will now consider how best to take this matter forward".
Pitchford, set up by Prime Minister Theresa May in one of her final acts as home secretary, follows revelations about the activities of undercover officer Mark Kennedy, who admitted having "intimate relationships with a number of people while undercover".
The London-based National Public Order Intelligence Unit worked with forces in Scotland and Mr Kennedy was used in or visited Scotland 14 times, a review by HM Inspector of Constabulary (HMIC) found.
However, Policing Minister Brandon Lewis has now confirmed that Pitchford's terms of reference apply solely to "undercover police operations conducted by English and Welsh police forces in England and Wales".
In a letter to Labour MSP Neil Findlay, he said: "For a number of reasons, it is not possible to expand the geographical scope of the inquiry without formally amending the terms of reference."
The inquiry could be accused of "acting outside of its powers" if it considered evidence outside of these jurisdictions, Mr Lewis said.
Lord Justice Pitchford has granted "core participant" status to 199 people affected by the undercover police units, including some who say they were spied on in Scotland.
In a joint statement, 15 participants said disregarding evidence from Scotland will "prevent the inquiry from dealing with a significant part of its remit" and "sets the inquiry up to fail before it begins".
Participant Merrick Cork said: "The police admit English officers committed human rights abuses against citizens on Scottish soil.
"It's absurd to expect public trust in police when abuses of power are swept under the carpet, and it's a snub to Scotland to say it doesn't matter there."
The participants have called on the Scottish Government to set up its own independent inquiry.
A Scottish Government spokesman said: "The Scottish Government is extremely disappointed that the UK Government has indicated it will not extend the remit of the Pitchford Inquiry to consider the activities of undercover Metropolitan Police units in Scotland.
"We continue to believe that a single inquiry across the UK is the most effective approach to provide a comprehensive and coherent investigation into these matters.
"This narrower approach risks doing a disservice to people in Scotland affected by the activities of a force which falls under the oversight of the Home Office. We will now consider how best to take this matter forward."
Mr Lewis has said Pitchford will be restricted from forwarding its evidence on to other organisations during its deliberations, unless it uncovers a crime or miscarriage of justice.
However, he said all of the material will be lodged with the National Archives once the inquiry has concluded.
ENDE
Germany asks UK to widen undercover policing inquiry
Berlin wants Home Office to extend inquiry into activities of undercover British officers in Germany - https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2016...rk-kennedy
Philip Oltermann in Berlin @philipoltermann
Saturday 11 June 2016 14.30 BST Last modified on Tuesday 14 June 2016 10.40 BST
The German government has written to the British Home Office asking for the Pitchford inquiry into undercover policing to be extended to covert operations by British police in Germany.
The inquiry, which was set up following the revelation that former Metropolitan police officer Mark Kennedy had infiltrated protest groups and entered intimate relationships under false pretences, is currently only set to cover Kennedy's activities in England and Wales.
But with Germany now following the Scottish government in submitting an official request to be involved in the investigation, pressure is growing to extend the inquiry beyond English and Welsh borders.
The German request also coincides with a letter, published on Friday, in which campaigners threaten legal action unless the Pitchford inquiry is extended to Northern Ireland.
Jason Kirkpatrick, an anti-globalisation campaigner and filmmaker who met Kennedy in Belfast, told the BBC: "Unless the public inquiry's remit is broadened, for anyone living outside England and Wales, the Pitchford inquiry is nothing but a painful whitewash."
British police have admitted that undercover officers have infiltrated at least 460 political groups since 1968, including in Germany. Undercover officer Kennedy is known to have been active for several years in a number of German cities including Berlin, where Kennedy then calling himself Mark Stone was arrested for attempted arson but never charged.
According to Left party MP Andrej Hunko, one of the parliamentarians who have been calling for the German government to investigate the Kennedy case, British officers were deployed to infiltrate leftwing activist groups such as Youth Against Racism in Europe and Dissent!, a network that mobilised against the 2005 G8 summit in Heiligendamm.
"The British Home Office must disclose which other German groups and movements were investigated and on whose orders," Hunko said in a statement in which he also called for similar inquiries in Germany.
"We also need a committee of inquiry here in Germany in order to assess all these incidents and closely investigate the operations of undercover agents. This includes German police authorities collaborating within two international police networks working on undercover operations, which have become established outside of official scrutiny."
Undercover police officers engaged in covert missions abroad currently enjoy a certain degree of immunity from prosecution. While any criminal act they are involved in would be investigated in the country where it is committed, the authority that commissioned the officer is responsible for disciplinary action.
Peter Francis, a former police spy-turned-whistleblower, has said that police officers sent abroad received "absolutely zero schooling in any law whatsoever".
"I was never briefed, say for example, if I was in Germany I couldn't do, this for example, engage in sexual relationships or something else."
According to Francis, information obtained on a covert mission abroad was frequently shared with the Met's local equivalent.
Martin Luther King - "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere."
Albert Camus - "The only way to deal with an unfree world is to become so absolutely free that your very existence is an act of rebellion".
Douglas MacArthur — "Whoever said the pen is mightier than the sword obviously never encountered automatic weapons."
Albert Camus - "Nothing is more despicable than respect based on fear."
Albert Camus - "The only way to deal with an unfree world is to become so absolutely free that your very existence is an act of rebellion".
Douglas MacArthur — "Whoever said the pen is mightier than the sword obviously never encountered automatic weapons."
Albert Camus - "Nothing is more despicable than respect based on fear."