Salmon, Peter

The Pitchford public inquiry into undercover policing continues its frustrating, meandering path, bogged down in procedural issues.

The honest picture is that very little is coming out of the inquiry at the moment. To the alarm of many involved, we are being told that evidence is unlikely to be heard until mid-2019. That is five years after the inquiry was first announced, nine since undercover police officer Mark Kennedy was first exposed.

Much of the work done to date…

Metropolitan police apology

The end of November saw the assistant commissioner of London’s Metropolitan police, Martin Hewitt, offer an apology and settlement to seven women who had been targeted by undercovers – a victory following four years of obstructive tactics by the police. The apology acknowledged the inexcusable behaviour of the undercovers though he refused to specifically confirm that a number of the individuals were actually police or give any details as to why the…

The last few months have seen a constant stream of pressure applied to the police as campaigners mobilise ahead of the Pitchford Inquiry into undercover policing. In an unusual turn of affairs, those seeking answers and justice appear to have the upper hand following some high-profile resignations and debates. The response: the police have demanded that sir Christopher Pitchford holds the inquiry in secret.

An unusual demonstration in January saw socialists, animal rights…

Peter Francis, who infiltrated anti-racism and trade union groups in the 1990s, has been at the forefront of exposing a secretive undercover unit, that targeted campaigns since 1968. It is now known that hundreds of officers from the Special Demonstration Squad were deployed across the political spectrum, many using the identities of dead children, and not a few having relationships with those they were targeting.

One officer in…