Freedom News

What is the Undercover Policing Inquiry?

The public inquiry into Britain’s political secret police – the Undercover Policing Inquiry, or UCPI – is finally beginning this summer. Here’s a bit about what we know and what to expect. The Undercover Policing Inquiry is an independent, judge-led inquiry into undercover policing in England and Wales. Its main focus is the activity of

Former undercover joins victims in boycott of Spycop Inquiry

Former spycop turned whistleblower Peter Francis has declared he won’t have anything more to do with the Undercover Policing Inquiry’s anonymity applications from his former colleagues. Francis, who infiltrated anti-racist groups in the 1990s and spied on the loved ones of murdered teenager Stephen Lawrence, says the public inquiry is protecting the guilty and concealing the

Spycops Inquiry: An ugly picture has emerged

Freedom’s recently uncovered links to the scandal of Metropolitan Police officers infiltrating and manipulating peaceful radical groups are just part of a series of major revelations and events swirling around the Undercover Policing Inquiry over the last week. The probe into police spying against over 1,000 organisations over a 40-year period has seen multiple new

Scottish Government Refuses Spycops Inquiry

The Campaign Opposing Police Surveillance reports on the Scottish government decision yesterday that it will not probe the political undercover policing scandal. The announcement by Justice Secretary Michael Matheson came hours after he finally published a report into undercover policing in Scotland. The review had been conducted by HM Inspectorate of Constabulary in Scotland. It had

New spycop inquiry chair set to cover up names, warns watchdog

Researchers for the Campaign Opposing Police Surveillance (COPS) warned today that, following the first major release of papers by controversial new spycop inquiry chief Sir John Mitting, it looks like the Met may be successful in hiding the names of officers linked to their disgraced undercover operations team. COPS has finished analysing a large release of papers

Calls rise for full Scottish spycops inquiry as police admit holding secret files

Police Scotland has confirmed the existence of 1,168 files linked to the policing of protests in 2005 against the G8 in Scotland, including one described as holding “intelligence briefings” on spycops — prompting campaigners to raise new calls for a Scottish inquiry. A full inquiry into abuses carried out by the disgraced National Public Order Intelligence Unit

Peterborough Mayor bans public from meetings over spycop councillor protests

Having suspended a chaotic council meeting last week amid noisy protests demanding the resignation of former spycop (and current councillor) Andy Coles, Peterborough Mayor John Fox closed today’s planned meeting to the public entirely today fearing “equally disruptive” actions. Mayor Fox, who was himself a former police officer with the Cambridge force for 23 years

John Dines joins list of confirmed police spies

After months of putting a survivor of police human rights abuses through the legal wringer at taxpayers’ expense, the Met police have failed to stop the Pitchford Inquiry on undercover policing from confirming that John Dines, now a police training officer in Australia, did in fact operate for them as an undercover police officer under the alias of