Climate Camp’s legal team refuse to participate in undercover review
The Camp for Climate Action Legal Team was recently invited to take part in a ‘Have Your Say’ event on Tuesday 24th May, as part of HM Inspectorate of Constabulary’s ongoing review into the police’s domestic extremism units. The review was launched in response to January’s serial revelations about undercover police officers deployed within a range of protest groups.
Today, we have written to HM Inspectorate of Constabulary and declined their invitation.
Climate Camp has certainly had its fair share of dealings with undercover police. It has been well documented how police infiltrators Lynn Watson and Mark Kennedy helped to execute the first camp near Drax power station in 2006. They went on to play roles in many of Climate Camp’s subsequent actions.
One thing is abundantly clear. Despite the millions of pounds that we now know was poured into undercover operations against us, they failed to stop the growing climate justice movement. While the likes of Kennedy and Watson watched every little thing we did, we were successful in stopping the third runway from being built at Heathrow and we threw the government’s plans for new coal fired power stations into disarray.
Even when they occasionally undermined our activities, our resilience was undisputable. In April 2009 the undercover unit responsible for Mark Kennedy secured the arrest of 113 climate activists on the eve of a planned shutdown of Ratcliffe-on-Soar Power Station. However, not only did the controversial pre-emptive arrest fail to lead to a single safe conviction, but six months later the climate movement returned to the very same power station - this time bringing over 1000 people.
Yet, this does not stop us from strongly condemning the police’s actions in deploying undercover officers against those who wish to take political action. Their actions have caused gross infringements on countless people’s right to privacy and freedom of expression. There is a great deal of evidence to suggest they repeatedly acted illegally.
Sadly, we hold little faith in this review’s ability to change anything.
The scope of this inquiry is far too limited. Its terms of reference, which failed to be made public from the outset, focus on internal issues of police management and administration. There is no scope for questioning the ethical and moral issues that emerged from this year’s revelations, particularly given that we are being offered just a single 2-hour consultation session towards the end of the review process.
Furthermore, the scandal of police infiltrators requires the actions and decisions of senior police officers to be investigated, not just the behaviour of the undercover operatives themselves. We do not therefore believe that HMIC, predominantly staffed by senior police officers, is a sufficiently independent body to be conducting the review.
The Climate Camp Legal Team has always sought to hold the police to account when they act disproportionately and unlawfully, as was demonstrated at our recent high court victory regarding ‘kettling’. The issue of undercover policing is no different, but we will only participate in a process when we believe there is hope of gaining meaningful answers.
Sorry, but a lot of this isnt true. The assault on Ratcliff was a debacle, not a success. It had no positive results and resulted in a load of useless arrests, which is something which weakens our movement.
We now have the dire situation where Climate camp has “dissolved” itself. Theres still things going on, but the climate resistance movement is much weakened as a result. How much of this is the result of infiltration is moot but it certainly feels to me that much of it is. Claiming it isnt is completely unsubstanciated.
James on May 20, 2011
Claiming the climate movement was weakened by infiltration is also completely unsubstantiated.
Megan on May 20, 2011
@Megan, Im always at a loss to know what to reply to people who deny the bleeding obvious.
James on May 21, 2011
@ James – so there’s no way we can disagree with your statements?!
People will have learnt organisationally from the 114 arrests – and the climate camp statement doesn’t say it was a success, it says it hasn’t stopped us.
You give far too much power to any one individual, to put the ‘metamorphosis’ down to infiltration – it’s like you’ve not participated in the collective processes and don’t understand how the climate camp gatherings have worked.
Bob on May 22, 2011
Talking of undercover police/government infiltration, just wondering whether you have any way of monitoring whether the IP addresses of comments on this blog come from government internet gateways. I have heard that this has been a problem on indy media before. Looking at the comments I would not be surprised if someone is working for the police/government
Tim on May 22, 2011
@Tim “Looking at the comments” the only person who looks to me as though they might me working for the state is you.
@Bob, you’re wrong, Ive participated enough in climate camps to know about the processes.
You say it hasnt stopped us, thats true. Theres the odd action happening and there was a regional in Lewes a couple of weeks ago. But what has happened is that we’ve been greatly diminished. In 2009 there were three camps. One in Wales, One in Scotland and the one in Blackheath and I think an Irish one. Additionaly there was lots of actions against Eon and c camps @IOW ,Trafalgar square, Bishopsgate, Copenhagen and more Ive forgotten about. Last year was much reduced. Edinburgh and the Wales CC collapsed. Grow Heathrow was great but then it gets thin, a few afternoon occupations of petrol stations, the oil refinery. This year, the dissolution. Now this isnt because the issue of CC is any less urgent. Its more so. So why. One thing is for sure. The movement has been badly weakened.
James on May 22, 2011
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I think it’s good and necessary to express our personal opinion BUT it’s also good and necessary to let others express themselves..
Having said that, I know transformation is part of life, whether our movement ‘looks’ week or not, slow or fast, it doesn’t matter; it’s all part of the process of every thing that is alive; it’s up to us what come next. I think people are working hard right now and the fact that are different actions/campaigns here and there rather than a massive one doesn’t mean things are less positive. Those behind the ‘control table’ have always using moments of crisis to try to dissolve the people’s power, to take away our sense of purpose. But that is not true and never will. And we know that. Thanks for everything you’re doing whenever you are.
Wings on May 30, 2011