SOCIALIST PARTY REPLIES TO THE OBSERVER
The disgraceful article in yesterday’s Observer (14 March 2010) claims to ‘expose’ how “an officer from a secretive unit of the Metropolitan police” was “working undercover among anti-racist groups in Britain, during which he routinely engaged in violence against members of the public and uniformed police officers to maintain his cover.”
No-one from The Observer contacted present or previous representatives of the anti-racist group he refers to, Youth Against Racism in Europe (YRE) for our side of this story. At the time we were secretary and chair YRE, which was a democratic organisation of young people. Both supporters of the Militant Tendency (antecedent to the Socialist Party) we were elected to lead YRE which organised mass peaceful protests against racism, and in particular against the far-right thugs of the BNP and their ilk. YRE began in 1992 with the largest ever European-demonstration against racism, with 40,000 young people marching in Brussels.
During our campaigning YRE often faced violence from the far-right, and unfortunately also from the police. We also warned of the danger of police and state infiltration of the left which has now been proved to be correct not just by this report, but also in the ‘The Defence of the Realm – the authorised history of M15’. Democratic and peaceful left wing organisations were infiltrated by the secretive and unaccountable forces of the state.
Ludicrously the article refers to the undercover officer’s “key success” being the discovery that the 1993 demonstration against the BNP’s headquarters in Welling South East London was going to be “far larger than thought”. This demonstration took place after four racist murders, including of Stephen Lawrence, had taken place within two miles of the BNP Headquarters. As organisers of the demonstration, we repeatedly told the police that it was going to be very large. In the end it was 50,000 strong. We argued for the demonstration to be allowed to march peacefully past the BNP HQ. The response of the police, as the Observer’s film makes all too clear, was to refuse to allow the demonstration to march at all, and to carry out an incredibly brutal attack on unarmed and peaceful young people carrying out their democratic right to protest against racism.
It is surely not a coincidence that this ‘expose’ has taken place now, at a time when a new generation of young people are becoming involved in campaigning against racism and the far-right BNP. Yesterday, in Barking where Nick Griffin is standing for parliament, Youth Fight for Jobs – an organisation of young people with the backing of trade unions and of the Socialist Party – marched under the same slogan we adopted in the early 1990s - ‘Jobs and Homes not Racism’. The Observer would do better to report this kind of anti-racist campaigning rather than attempt to smear the movement which successfully marginalised the BNP in the early 1990s.
Lois Austin YRE chair 1992 – 1996
Hannah Sell YRE secretary 1992 – 1996
Really the cops could have saved themselves the time and money and just subscribed to the Militant, they would have got pretty much the same info!
Comment by Neil — 15 March, 2010 @ 12:27 pm
Good for Hannah and Lois - I am really appalled at this disclosure, not at the fact that the police “infiltrated” but it’s over dramatised and full of fantasy. I spent most of my 20s alongside Lois and Hannah organising the YRE and it was principled and not a violent organisation, though that does not mean we did not have to face violence. Lois Austen particularly was fabulous during those days and the role we played helped marginalise the BNP.
This article is a smear on the movement but I actually think they guy is just trying to build himself up as having to do something dangerous as opposed to infiltrating a movement which was challenging racism and racial deaths from a principled position. I hope he learnt more that he portrays. He might give off that what he did was not good and it is shameful but what is more shameful is trying to re-write history to make him look more exciting that he really was. He must have been underwhelming because I can’t remember him and considering he says he was the branch secretary for Hackney and Islington he passed me by.
Comment by cat — 15 March, 2010 @ 3:31 pm
What a laugh this article gave me over my Sunday breakfast. PC Mitty,W, reporting for duty.
More worrying is that a “quality” paper like The Observer seems to have been totally carried along by the hype. Poorest piece of “journalism” I have seen for a long time.
Comment by Andy BH — 15 March, 2010 @ 4:03 pm
OK, so let’s have the cop’s name (or at least the name he was using). It gives a fair description of who he is in the article and if anyone is sure of the person, they should name him (but not if just guessing). It is important that those involved in these events (such as myself) know when we were compromised.
It is also instructive, especially to the reformists amongst you, that this is the way that the state works. I was at Welling event and it was very violent - by the cops. It was one of the worst times I have ever seen them.
(The Welling event was also a lot broader than YRE. SWP members in particular were fingered by, I think, the Daily Hatemail, for the then new use of mobile phones to co-ordinate the protest, ‘Who is funding all these mobile phones, eh?’ screamed the Mail)
Whilst some far Lefts have got paranoid about state infiltration in a way that affected they way they work (e.g. the SLL/WRP) others consider following basic security as a joke. Comrades from the SWP may sometimes be correct in, as they will say, ‘not letting it get in the way’ but I suggest all activists wise up. Look at the long sentences passed on some of the recent protestors at the Israeli embassy; many who were young and I fear knew little about how to act and what not to say when arrested.
All should read some of the manuals that are produced (particularly by anarchists) and at least do the obvious - take out your mobile phone battery when necessary so it isn’t a tracking device (and the same in London about not using a registered Oyster card). If you are unsure about people, try feeding just them info, like we are going to X tonight, and see if the cops are there waiting if it is something tasty.
Militant/Socialist Party are not in anyway violent. When the revolution comes and guns deployed they will be arguing instead for a daily paper.
I recall a previous news report of when they were being spied on. There was an interview with a (former?) Special Branch cop on TV. His job (according to him) had been to sit under the stage at a Militant event (in Preston? in the 80s) and write down what they were saying. He was playing up his derring-do and said ‘that if they had found him, certainly some of them would have been violent towards him.’ If he had to sit that long through a Militant rally, provided he didn’t fall asleep (quite possible), he would have been lying.
He would have known that if the Militant had found him the first thing they would have done - would have been to try and sell him a paper, or ask for a contribution to the Fighting Fund. They would have also told him he was a worker in uniform and have been friendly towards him, not the reverse.
Wise up people. You may not be a revolutionary but, believe me, the state will always treat you like you are. We are all pinko commie scum to the pigs.
Comment by Southpawpunch — 15 March, 2010 @ 4:08 pm
I am in complete solidarity with comrades in YRE. Together the YRE and ANL organised some of the most important demonstrations against the BNP that eventually left the nazis demoralised and defeated for many years.
This so-called “disclosure” about the YRE appears intended to undermine the current anti-nazi movement against the BNP. It’s disgraceful that the media are attacking Muslims and anti-nazis but fails to report the clear links between the BNP and the EDL and the BNP membership of the ricin bombers.
The left needs to continue to unite against these attacks and expose the bias of the media. Media workers against the BNP has been set up as one way of doing this:
www.exposethebnp.com
Comment by Ray — 15 March, 2010 @ 4:21 pm
Having been at Welling, with a coach in which there were many members of Youth Against Racism in Europe, I’d say the whole idea that they were the ‘violent left’ is so off the wall that I can barely take it seriusly.
This smear, for that’s what it is, is a reminder that the state is pretty off-the-wall as well.
Comment by Andrew Coates — 15 March, 2010 @ 4:50 pm
I was at Welling and saw people who appeared to be agents provocateurs with covered faces throwing bricks towards the police which came dangerously close to hitting the protesters. That part of the story rings true at least.
Comment by Charles Dexter Ward — 15 March, 2010 @ 6:28 pm
My main recollection of Welling is how provocative the police were.
There was a group of heavily armoured cops banging their shields with their batons in the side street leading towards the BNP HQ. Some of them seemed to be spoiling for a punch up and reminded me of fascists themselves.
When the trouble occurred it was at a spot where the demonstrators could be most easily hemmed in and attacked by the thugs in helmets and shields and police horses. I could see it coming and was having flashbacks to Red Lion Square and Southall where they’d killed Blair Peach.
According to the “Observer” story, the police unit were orchestrating violent attacks. i.e. they were acting as agents provocateur - something that goes back to the Gordon riots and is therefore quite plausible. Ask any ex-Miner.
If the guy’s story isn’t a fabrication, I hope he’s named and the police unit respobsible is disbanded, just like the SPG was. This time it’s officers should face charges.
Comment by prianikoff — 15 March, 2010 @ 6:39 pm
The comrades from the Militant organisation at the time have worked out the individual involved, it’s been a good example of how many of the comrades involved at the time, some of who have left the CWI, others who have remained, have regrouped using social networking.
I dunno if any of those want to post something using a pseudonym or whatever, maybe ayes, maybes noes.
Comment by Eddie Truman — 15 March, 2010 @ 6:47 pm
Dunno why everyone’s getting their knickers twisted about this yre group ( could a comrade give a short history of this org, I’ve never heard of it and its site hasn’t been updated since 2002) I thought it was quite clear that the ‘violent’ group He’d joined was anti-fascist action…?
Comment by matt — 15 March, 2010 @ 7:27 pm
The left could never keep anything secret. Pillow talk etc. This guy would have come across more than just some tame student trots, he would have been getting goood intel on others like black youth etc that YRE were working along with. Southpawpunch is right - there is absolutely no security culture in the far left.
Comment by eamonn wright — 15 March, 2010 @ 7:28 pm
my take on reading the article, was that it was fairly sinister the MET deploying him in this role presumably in the knowledge that the Stephen Lawrence inquiry/ general shitstorm was approaching.
i suspect he was being played far more, and far sooner than he realised.
Comment by alibi — 15 March, 2010 @ 7:39 pm
I remember him well too…..
http://www.socialistparty.org.uk/articles/9009/15-03-2010/letter-to-the-observer-i-remember-officer-a-well
He liked prog. rock.:-( That says it all I guess.
Comment by red snapper — 15 March, 2010 @ 7:59 pm
Great letter.
Comment by Michael Rosen — 15 March, 2010 @ 8:05 pm
This is a good letter.
Ah he wasn’t in the Militant at all he was in the Revolutionary International League - the RIL, the most argumentive weird people I have ever met (and there is a competition in that) and there were about five of them. If he was balding and had a curly pony tail and into prog rock he was hardly gonna be in the Militant was he? Katy Tyrell had the best retort to the RIL at the YRE conference when they were going on about the “werking klas” when she told them “Working class I am the working class” you almost had to be there to get it. Ha ha ha ha but I remember thinking at the time that the RIL were state agents we even used to joke about it! They used to wear sort of rappa clothes and thought they were great. I can’t imagine any of the leading ladies of the YRE (and most of the leadership were female) would sleep with a prog rock fan with a pony tail and a bald head - give them some credit.
Matt - the YRE were an anti racist youth organisation organised in the main though not solely by the the Militant Tendency and SML. It was very effective and organised lots of young people against racism and fascism - Lois Austin and Hannah Sell as above have explained it, however all the yoofs involved including myself are probably now all in our late 30s and in our 40s
I don’t know if it is still on the go or not (though I think not). We would now be Middle Aged People Against Racism - which does not have such a good ring to it.
As for the left being lax about security and state agents what can you do? The idea that this big girl’s blouse got PSTD from being in the RIL and YRE is a disgrace - a sore head maybe but not PTSD. I hope he’s not trying to wangle more comp money for his trouble because really he should be donating any pension he gets to anti racism for behaving so shamefully.
Comment by cat — 15 March, 2010 @ 8:54 pm
The left is a skip it will take anything.
Comment by eamonn wright — 15 March, 2010 @ 9:01 pm
Cat is right. Doubt any female cdes in their right mind would have slept with him! Think he had personal hygiene issues as well! He was very useful with his car though being one of the few branch members who had one to take our material around.
There’s not a lot we can really do about security. These people will penetrate anything that they see as a threat with varying degrees of success. We just have to believe in what we do and stand for and the bigger and stronger we are the sooner they will be defeated.
Comment by red snapper — 15 March, 2010 @ 9:08 pm
#15
““Working class I am the working class” you almost had to be there to get it. Ha ha ha ha ”
yes sometimes you have to be there.
I remember gary Macfarlane once at NUS conference responding to a vitriolic attack on him by a white Socialist Organiser hack on how best to fight racism with “fuck off honkey”, and it was the funniest thing I have ever heard.
Comment by Andy Newman — 15 March, 2010 @ 9:12 pm
Great letter in response to an item more worthy of the News of the World.
Comment by ECOLEFTY — 15 March, 2010 @ 9:38 pm
I doubt gary macfarlane has ever said anything funny.
Comment by pmg — 15 March, 2010 @ 9:38 pm
Yup, outstanding letter to the Observer.
Comment by christian h. — 15 March, 2010 @ 11:24 pm
I’m very surprised to hear a claim he was in the RIL. I knew the RIL (although, as I recall, that was the name of their influential US based international affiliate, they were called something different).
And I really can not think of anyone, certainly leading members of that body, who would have met that description. Cat is correct that someone who liked prog rock doesn’t sound like your average Militant member but that’s also true for any other Left in 1993 (not 1983, maybe). The RIL were heavily youth; far from late hippies.
Also re-reading the article you can see things that the cop is lying about and he would also seem incompetent - feigning a liking for Yes and Genesis to get in with the Left!
I can see how the ‘RIL’ would have been the target of the cops; a leading Brixton based member of theirs undertook exemplary anti-racist work from an early age - from the Newham 8 and Newham 7 campaigns to being personally verbally attacked by that leading ‘every liberal’s favourite copper’, also from Lambeth (and whose name escapes me) for the comrade’s excellent work campaigning against the cops when people died at their hands.
The group was also connected with a few good stunts (directly at ministers) I can think of, as well. I just don’t think you would send a cop into that body; as can be surmised by what Cat wrote they were very antagonistic towards other Lefts (often correctly) and I would be surprised to hear that YRE would have allowed a member of that organisation to be a branch secretary. ’RIL’ membership would have keep you out of many negotiations. They were also very, very small, so maybe10% -15% of the organisation was paid for by the cops if true (which I still doubt)! Of course, it may be that a copper was placed somewhere and things developed elsewhere for which he was used. Or it may be lies by the cop or there are other Left orgns (I can think of one different by just one initial) that are being mistaken for the RIL
But all this may be academic, if Eddie and comrades have correctly worked out the name .I certainly think it should be given; especially as it would now appear to be common currency amongst some and I presume I would have known him (but can not think of anyone it could be).
I have just emailed the leading member of the British ‘RIL’ at the time and drawn attention to his post and have asked if he wants to make a comment. If necessary I may contact the US leader and most prominent person in that tendency to see if she may wish to say anything.
Comment by Southpawpunch — 15 March, 2010 @ 11:31 pm
OK, I should have read the letter first, sorry.
Indeed that college had a few ‘RIL’ members but it would appear that the SP are confirming he was a member of Militant at the time of Welling.
Comment by Southpawpunch — 15 March, 2010 @ 11:37 pm
I just heard about this story today from the journalist, and I understand I was a ‘target’ for this agent who probably quite quickly moved on realising there was nothing interesting there. I believe he was at Kingsway college and did hang around activities I was involved in for a short time. He certainly never joined the RIL, I can count the members we had on both hands and he was never one. He quickly moved on to other pastures.
All that is irrelivant though. I no longer have contact with the RIL, but respect the work of former comrades who fought racism, as I do those in the YRE like Hannah and Louis I worked wth closely. This should certainly not be use an occasion for finger pointing between the left. In my view the far more important story to is expose and chalenge the level of resources the state was prepared to invest in spying on anti-racist youth during that time. Those of us who were victims of this intrusionought in my opinion to be seeking disclosure of the information kept on us.
I would rather remain anonymous here, but have left my email address with the administrators if others out there who were targets are interested in seeking such disclosure, as I shall be pursuing it.
N.
Comment by N. — 16 March, 2010 @ 12:16 am
I have been in touch with N above (who is different to their leading British member I mentioned above).
I knew N. well and confirm that he was in excellent position to know about the membership and activities of the RIL. It is confirmed that the cop was never a member of the RIL.
I am also pleased to hear N. is pursuing the matter; he is in a good position to do so. I look forward to developments.
I would also not be surprised if the Observer follow up this story.
And I completely agree with N it is neither here nor there who he infiltrated; the cops can do that to anyone.
It is how we act and what is our view of the state - and also that we should seek to expose the thin nature of the democratic façade of the state in such cases.
Comment by Southpawpunch — 16 March, 2010 @ 12:44 am
I remember the BNP at Welling filming and taking photos of demonstrators. When demonstrators challenged the police to stop them doing this they completely ignored the request. This type of provocation was allowed by the police who eventually charged us on horseback. My friend and I were nearly trampled because we were trapped at the front of the march and had nowhere to escape to. The police were definitely up for a fight and some of the vicious attacks by the police that day were despicable. A number of demonstrators were jailed and the state really tried to undermine the campaign. Fortunately, the BNP had lost a lot of ground by then.
Comment by Ray — 16 March, 2010 @ 1:08 am
And just as a final aside, I was interested to see that Militant say (in the letter) he sold off the contents of his flat, before moving to ‘Greece’ and gave the proceeds to the organisation.
Sold off police property and gave it to Trotskyites! If only I knew a hapless Tory MP who would raise this as a question - state funding of commies! - and either get us more information about where they infiltrated and/or also cause damage to the cops.
Comment by Southpawpunch — 16 March, 2010 @ 1:11 am
I have found out some more information now from former comrades in the RIL at the time.
This character joined the Kinsway College Anti-Fascist group shortly after the Brick Lane incident, in which we and the YRE worked together towards over a period before hand. He never said or did a lot, and was only around for a couple of months or so. He certainly never joined the RIL and it is unfortunate that such an allegation has been made without checking, although I would not be surprised if this character may have claimed to have been in the RIL to his Militant comrades (as he may have claimed all kinds of things).
He came on the 16 October demo where a number of us, including myself, were acting as YRE stewards trying to protect the deomonstration from riot police by linking arms. Some months later, after he joined Militant, he publically deonunced me at a YRE meeting for walking or running away from the police. This was completely untrue and came as a surprise to us as we had worked closely with YRE comrades at the time and nobody had questioned each other in this way. In hindsight it is probably conduct consistent with an agent provocateur.
None of us had contact with him after that, and I did not know he was as involved in Militant as has now been suggested. I am surprised at the suggestion that he became involved in ‘black campaigns’ in South London after this. My former comrades were very involved on those and do not recall him attanding meetings.
N
Comment by N. — 16 March, 2010 @ 8:45 am
It’s my understanding that Hannah Sell (YRE national secretary 1992-96) will reply to The Observer “story” via The Guardian “Comment is free”, http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree a bit later today.
Comment by Marc Vallée — 16 March, 2010 @ 9:57 am
#18
Andy, I know someone who was actually in the room at the time, they say you definitely were not. McFarlane said “says you Honkey”- slightly less funny in itself and the context was significantly different and even less funny.
It wasn’t a vitriolic attack on McFarlane as far as I know- it wasn’t that sort of meeting. As I recall SO were actually trying very hard to broker a compromise deal on black sections that would avoid a huge division on conference floor.
McFarlane -and the rest of the SWP- changed their position on this for the duration of conference and then swung back again afterwards. I don’t remember which way round it was whether they opposed autonomous black sections and then were suddenly in favour of them for 5 days before reverting, or the opposite.
Although I’m sure your memory is much different to mine 20 years later, as young socialist delegate to NUS conference I was very confused as to why Militant and the SWP seemed to argue in conference for one thing, argue for something else in a one-to-one discussion and then write completely the opposite in their papers.
Comment by pauline ross — 16 March, 2010 @ 11:21 am
#18
“Andy, I know someone who was actually in the room at the time, they say you definitely were not. “
I was definitely in the room, I remember being there, I was a deleagte from Bristol Poly (we may have been UWE by then, I can’t remember) so the credibility of your witness is somewhat undermined. Indeed I think I spoke in that caucus, because the Soggies wanted to composite in the Bristol Poly / UWE motion with theirs, and we supported the SWP position
“As I recall SO were actually trying very hard to broker a compromise deal on black sections that would avoid a huge division on conference floor. “
Well that sounds a rather rosy eyed recollection of the role of Socialist Organiser / AWL; which was immensly divsive, and also one based upon positions in the NUS bureaucracy, rather than having support in the colleges.
It is hardly worth going over a 20 year old argument now, but it was funny.
Comment by Andy Newman — 16 March, 2010 @ 11:26 am
#31 I stand corrected. You are right, it was hugely funny for Gary to heckle like that.
Comment by pauline ross — 16 March, 2010 @ 11:46 am
Is there any reason why my post on this thread has been removed?
Comment by Paul Stott — 16 March, 2010 @ 12:51 pm
#33
libellous content
Comment by Andy Newman — 16 March, 2010 @ 1:38 pm
Let me put it another way then.
At a Yorkshire Anti-Fascist Action meeting footage was obtained, using a hidden camera, of activists discussing criminal actions against the BNP.
One of those present at the meeting has subsequently gone on to work for World in Action.
This has led to anti-fascists concluding that he was responsible for an outrageous breach of their trust.
The comment remains on my blog, unedited. If the person concerned wishes to sue me, I’ll see him in court.
Comment by Paul Stott — 16 March, 2010 @ 2:01 pm
SO/AWL have and had terrible politics. I remember them denouncing the rest of the left and for dodgy deals with the Union of Jewish Students, playing at student politics.
Comment by ECOLEFTY — 16 March, 2010 @ 4:11 pm
#30
“McFarlane -and the rest of the SWP- changed their position on this for the duration of conference and then swung back again afterwards”
This is bollocks. the issue was whether SWSS would support NUS black sections, IIRC, although I may be wrong after all this time
The SWP was not a particular advocate of black sections, but was not going to line up with those opposing them. This is hardly that difficult to understand, it meant tha SWSS would vote for black sections when the inititive was raised by someone else, but wouldn’t push that agenda themselves.
I also seem to recall that there was considerable bad blood between the NUS black caucus and the Union of Jewish Students, where to be honest there was fault on both sides.
Comment by Andy Newman — 16 March, 2010 @ 4:21 pm
I’m sure that we could spend a lot of time arguments who said what to whom.
But a few basic facts are worth recording in case Andy’s or ecolefty’s posts are seen as accurate accounts of the SWP/SO and indeed Militant relationships in the 80s and 90s.
1. the SWP got very worried about the growth of SO and wanted them out of the way - and after a period of supporting them against Labour Student candidates in NEC elections, supported NOLS against the left, helping them win various elections. They used two arguments to support this position: a. that SO was Zionist (and NOLS wasn’t?)and b. SO had no base in the colleges (a riff Andy does manages to remember). Now the SO ‘base’ was often in Labour Clubs, FE colleges and amongst unaligned leftists. Of course if your model of the ‘party’ is based on numbers of members, well you may have a point….. However despite this ‘lack of base’ SO organised an annual students demonstration of up to 15,000 people, organised countless occupations, campaigns and so on. So much so that SO was banned by the Labour Party.
2. The SWP was responsible for the worse examples of ultra-leftism I can remember in NUS - storming the conference stage/making crazy speeches about ‘real politics’ in the middle of debates about some tecnical, but important debate. The Chair -usually from NOLS- would take an SWPer or RCPer from the floor to ensure their position won
3. What deals did SO do with UJS?
Comment by pmg — 16 March, 2010 @ 4:38 pm
Sorry to revert back to the original story, but I had previously only read one of the articles in the Observer. I have now read the other which talks about his target in a college. All I can say this character was either involved in fabrication or is a fantasist or both. His account is ludicrously wrong. And the idea that the group in the college was one of the most violent in London and the leader a top target for the SDS absolute madness.
If any of this character’s storty about his role as an SDS officer is true - and he is beginning to come accross like a Waltyer Mitty now - desperate to be a political spy but judged not bright enough when young and now trying to impress - you have to wonder what information the police must have on many of us if they use people who appear to have some real level of mental instabilty who pass on exxegeratted and unreliable information.
Comment by N — 16 March, 2010 @ 5:27 pm
This is a new training video warning about strange men with ponytails:-
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q-2EDraQ9fk&NR=1
Comment by prianikoff — 16 March, 2010 @ 7:16 pm
Sorry don’t want to dis the RIL - but they were annoying at the time but were also quite good fun, this isn’t about a small group of comrades who worked hard in regards to anti racist campaigning.
This is about the SDS infiltrating into our movement and then nearly 20 years later re-telling their story in an over romanticed way for one of two reasons
(a) as a scare story to upset parents of young people getting involved in anti racist and anti fascist action to make it sound dangerous
and/or
(b) to make his life seem worth while by fantasising he was an edgy spy in a uber red left underworld of the radical 90 when really he was doing a disgraceful thing and hopes he can get an improved pension from the met. Either way his behaviour is disgraceful.
If this guy really believes that he was instrumental into stopping real campaigns to expose racism then he should have not over romanticed his pathetic life and should have spoken factually about the role of the SDS. But it’s not about that!
Comment by cat — 16 March, 2010 @ 8:24 pm
I agree with the latest comments from N and Cat. I also wonder whether a previous comment - is the guy up for a book deal; how I saved Britain from violent revolution menace whilst also preventing race war and shagging red women - is correct.
If so, I hope his publisher shows a bit more gumption than the journalist in seeing through the fables.
N has stated that the journalist involved contacted him, but AFTER the story and also no approach was made to those involved with YRE before publication. Clearly the contact details for N were with the hack.
I wonder if this was because the journalist realised that the story would soon fall apart if the facts were checked with those involved; clearly the cop was misleading his superiors or the journalist or, most probably, both.
And the journalist has subsequently mislead readers. As everybody knows Militant don’t do violence - Indeed ‘We will name, names’ as Sheridan and the other Guy in Militant scandalously said (in 1990, after the Poll Tax Riot, referring to the ‘rioters’).
Comment by Southpawpunch — 16 March, 2010 @ 8:51 pm
He was not doing anything disgraceful, he was doing his job as an agent of the state and the left should expect this and be prepared for it. He certainly didnt get the glamorous or edgy and dangerous stuff when he got this job penetrating Militant and the YRE, although i note he did two years previous to this job on the Irish Republican movement. He must have felt he had been demoted. Anybody put out his full fictitious details yet and is there any pictures of him? lol
Comment by eamonn wright — 16 March, 2010 @ 8:53 pm
Its all a bit of a backhanded compliment to Militant and YRE - some of the most pacifist and toytown revolutionaries ive ever met in my life although to be fair a minority including myself really did for a while believe that this mob were capable of developing a socialist revolution, i woke up at 20 to the reality.
Comment by eamonn wright — 16 March, 2010 @ 8:57 pm
Martin Ohr
can I remind you that you are banned from commenting here.
please do not post comments here again.
Comment by Andy Newman — 16 March, 2010 @ 9:11 pm
I suspect he wasn’t a real policeman but a socially inadequate person used by the police.
We had such a guy in 1970 in Brighton Rents Project. As well as agitating about homelessness we also took over a long empty terrace of houses owned by the territorial army for homeless accomodation. This guy used to patrol it every evening with his alsation dog and canadian coastguards uniform. We had an idyllic time, hippies getting to know working class, dances and songs in the big hall …
Well one evening he organised for a naive illiterate young moterbiker to put a bomb in the army information centre (as a protest about Ireland) - he actually came back and said he’d done the navy information office by mistake and was sent back to do the correct building. Then the guy phoned the police and was arrested, leaving a telephone number for his girlfriend to phone.
When she phoned him it turned out to be special branch, and they told her there was nothing they could do for him.
Later several young anarchists were fixed up and sent to prison on charges of making petrol bombs to defend the building. The guy’s girlfriend, a pleasant and naive woman, went on to be a friend of the police inspector who felt sorry for her.
People like that are just used then thrown away by the police. They use drug peddlars too where it’s useful.
Comment by David Hillman — 16 March, 2010 @ 9:35 pm
#43 Given that it was members of the Militant and the YRE that drove the BNP off of Brick Lane - some of us have the criminal convictions to prove it - can we have less of the “pacifist and toytown revolutionaries” nonsense
Comment by MM — 17 March, 2010 @ 12:21 am
Thats commonly acknowledged and well done. Certain militants in Liverpool were sound as i recall and then there was the Toby Jug?? But seriously Militant always had enough working class members who distinguished themselves to the point that imo they were streets ahead of the other trots and lefts, thats one of the main reasons i got involved with them.
Comment by eamonn wright — 17 March, 2010 @ 1:13 am
Didnt Benn comment that he met some lads in Preston at a meeting and he thought initially they might be BNP based on there clothing,accents and demeanour [ tells us a lot about Anthony Wedgewood Benn] only for them to be Militant supporters.
Comment by eamonn wright — 17 March, 2010 @ 1:36 am
I don’t understand the people who complain about a lack of consciousness of security in this context. As the Militant/YRE comrades have pointed out, the campaign was not in fact damaged by the infiltration.
Comment by christian h. — 17 March, 2010 @ 4:37 am
Quite the reverse, Christian.
I don’t think we can take what the infiltrator said as reliable but it would appear from his comments in the Observer as well as the comments from the SP (in their letter to the Observer) and from N above; that he supported, instigated and was involved in at least supporting, getting involved in and maybe attacking the cops. Something, of course, that YRE would have opposed.
Clearly he was never going to be prosecuted for this but it would not surprise me if there are comrades with convictions because of his actions. It is a shame that his ‘name’ has not been revealed although apparently is known to quite a few people, as maybe it could help any such comrades.
I am no lawyer but wonder if it is not possible for anyone with a conviction, that may directly relate to any provocations or other actions by him, to seek to possibly overturn these? I recall a case where someone successfully overturned a theft conviction on the basis that they did this on the suggestion of an undercover cop.
Apart from legal stuff, it will also have disrupted the Left. N above lists the false claim the spy made about N’s actions, which was clearly a provocation and may have spread dislike between organisations involved in YRE. And who knows what info may have been passed to employers, colleges and other bodies causing the loss of jobs and more. And remember according to the infiltrator; there were 20 cops doing the same throughout London.
Of course, I agree to the extent that we do need to move on regardless and that mass movements in particular will find a way around obstacles. I’m sure the cops heavily worked to undermine the Anti Poll tax movement, in which Militant played a leading and very good role, but of course it was won - the Poll Tax was abolished.
But we should also be aware that spies continue amongst us; they will sometimes make provocations (I wonder if they played a role in what happened at the Israeli embassy) and, so I suggest, whilst not letting it hamper militancy, we should be more security aware.
The 70s etc are sometimes seen as benign periods; when the cops weren’t so fierce (which would be incorrect) but also when they didn’t have the technology at their disposal as they do now (which is true).
But then under Britain’s 30 year cover-up rules we get to read about this Special Branch work in a 70s T&G branch; the BBC having their own internal MI5 guy who marked the personnel files of all reds with a Xmas Tree sticker, etc etc. The 70s was a time of heavy state infiltration.
And think about what has happened since and which is common knowledge; for example the war that has been launched against both press photographers, but also against tourists, by the cops - see Marc Vallée’s stuff (comment #29). Things here have got a lot worse since the 70s.
I think it reasonable to presume that things that we don’t know about have also got worse. You just know that those files 30 years hence will reveal undercover cops in all radical mosques; state smearing of people like Galloway; deep surveillance of STW; maybe routine monitoring of all emails, phone calls of all members of Left organisations for key words (e.g. strike, demonstration - I’m sure it would be easy to do this by computer, start automatic computer transcribing of convo snippet by computer for review by operative. You could go through hundreds of these very quickly).
Of course I am guessing here, but I think it a reasonable guess. Don’t let it hold you back for a minute but also review your own security measures and tighten them, if necessary.
Comment by Southpawpunch — 17 March, 2010 @ 6:30 am
There is no fail safe way to prevent infiltration - vigilance is the best we can do. But,I wonder if the spooks actually bother with us nowadays? The left was perceived as a threat in the good old days, but we are now regarded as a joke by the political mainstream. Oh, to be dangerous again.
Comment by Rorschach — 17 March, 2010 @ 9:00 am
52# those were the days, remember when we were all on the Freedom Association’s Blacklist, now we dont even make the Mastercard or visa blacklist.
Comment by gloom n doom — 17 March, 2010 @ 10:19 am
I wouldn’t confidently state that the state ignores the left, though it is undoubtedly less of a target than Islamists at present.
I don’t know that the 1970s were such a golden age for the left in the UK. On the other hand, ridicule of the left was not absent. “Citizen Smith” (first episode broadcast in April 1977 - series ran until 1980) is one example of this from the time. But as Southpawpunch correctly observes, the same BBC that produced it also had MI5 keeping BBC staff members under surveillance if they were deemed to be too left-wing.
Also, at present, in the context of economic turmoil, it seems to be the far right that is being promoted - could that be in case the impoverished and immiserated actually turn to the left?
Comment by Mark Victorystooge — 17 March, 2010 @ 1:05 pm
Next week’s expose: How I infiltrated the Observer newspaper.
You might have thought it was a serious broadsheet, but I discovered it’s run by smug neurotic middle class dimwits who make most of the decisions at secret dinner parties which only a chosen few are invited to. I was disturbed to discover the genuine lack of talent, the back-biting and sneering that tries to cover up for the lack of serious journalism.
Comment by Agent Orange — 17 March, 2010 @ 2:28 pm
Oddly enough the author of the original piece, Tony Thompson is not, to my knowledge, one of the public schoolboy/schoolgirl elite that dominate the Guardian/Observer.
Comment by Paul Stott — 17 March, 2010 @ 2:47 pm
Only finally got around today to reading the article, as I’ve been too busy. Couldn’t believe how poor it was. My tuppence worth is here:
http://brockley.blogspot.com/2010/03/combination-of-thinning-hair-on-top-and.html
Comment by BobFromBrockley — 17 March, 2010 @ 3:30 pm
Hannah Sell replies to the Observer article on Comment Is Free:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/mar/18/undercover-police-infiltration-yre
Comment by MG — 18 March, 2010 @ 12:13 pm
Hannah’s article is an excellent response, making all the right points.
Having found out more about the activities of the man who called himself ‘Peter Daley’, I am now in no doubt he was an SDS agent and his role was typical of the role traditionally played by agent provocateurs. This includes encouraging acts of violence and spreading rumours that ‘targets’ were police agents. I am sure more will come out about this story in good time.
Well done for the article Hannah
N.
Comment by N — 18 March, 2010 @ 12:36 pm
Yes and no. The article by Hannah Sell is good as far as it goes.
But with one big caveat.
“We explained that defeating racist and fascist groups is a political task which required patient campaigning in working-class communities, rather than street fighting.”
Yes to the patient campaigning.
But not ‘no to streetfighting’, when necessary, and not when just a provocation, playing into the cops of the hands or suicidal.
Sometimes it was correct. Lewisham. Southall. Ask Red Action
And in a land not far away. Ask Max. http://libcom.org/history/hoelz-max-1889-1933
Comment by Southpawpunch — 18 March, 2010 @ 1:45 pm
The original article was vaguely written, and exploited the general public’s ignorance of the left in Britain. Anyone who knows the left, not least its Grantite or Taaffite wing, would know that we’re not talking about Baader-Meinhof, but most people don’t know the left.
Lenin’s Tomb has noted that when the far right actually get caught with bomb-making equipment, it is not given the wall-to-wall media treatment. When Muslims do, however, it does merit such coverage. And then here, touching the left, there is this individual telling his dubious war stories from over a decade ago. Taking all these together, an interesting exercise in media bias.
Comment by Mark Victorystooge — 18 March, 2010 @ 2:06 pm
“You might have thought it was a serious broadsheet, but I discovered it’s run by smug neurotic middle class dimwits who make most of the decisions at secret dinner parties which only a chosen few are invited to. I was disturbed to discover the genuine lack of talent, the back-biting and sneering that tries to cover up for the lack of serious journalism.”
The Guardian comments are full of petit bourgeois little Englanders who complain about taxes and have a photo of Thatcher next to Blair. It’s comes to something when the comments on the Daily Mail website are often more liberal than those on the Guardian and the Observer. If you don’t believe me just compare the two.
While there is still some good left journalism in the Guardian sometimes I reckon the readership are made up of a significant minority of middle managers and self employed bosses who have the time to spew out neo-liberal bullshit in the comments section.
I used to read the Guardian and Observer but haven’t bothered for years unless it’s available free somewhere or someone has left it on a tube/bus. It certainly isn’t representative of the general population or the left and is becoming increasingly irrelevant. I’m all for newsprint but the reality is that the press in the UK is becoming more sensationalist and full of reactionary sound bites in an effort to keep up with internet news.
The Observers red baiting about the YRE is a further example of this phenomenon. The trouble for the Observer is that it’s far to expensive and up its own arse for any conservative reader to bother with so not only are they alienating their past left readership but they are no match for broadsheets further to their right. It’s a recipe for dwindling readership and ultimate irrelevance. Good riddance! Maybe something more radical will emerge from the ashes.
Comment by Ray — 18 March, 2010 @ 3:08 pm