HIDING THE WHITEWASH BUCKET: OPERATION HERNE AND THE STRANGE CASE OF THE DISAPEARING WITNESSES
Earlier this year the book ‘Undercover, The True Story Behind Britain’s Secret Police,’ was published. I wrote about it, http://alextalbot.blogspot.co.uk/2013/07/undercover-britains-secret-police-force.html.
In response to allegations respecting the activity of Mark Kennedy an undercover police spy the political establishment had already been forced into asking the Metropolitan Police to investigate themselves. Following the further allegations made in the book ‘Undercover’ and a Channel 4 Despatches programme this inquiry was beefed up and expanded; the existing internal police inquiry, ‘Operation Soisson,’ was taken from the Metropolitan police, renamed ‘Herne’ and given over to a certain Mick Creedon, a chief constable from the Derbyshire police force.[1]
Theresa May, the Home Secretary was forced to take this step in an attempt to fend off growing demands for a full public inquiry, from amongst others Doreen and Neville Lawrence, whose own campaign seeking justice after the murder of her son Stephen was infiltrated by Metropolitan police spies allegedly seeking to discredit the campaign.
To say that this investigation does not enjoy the confidence of the victims of police malfeasance and duplicity is to understate by some margin. The despatches programme and Rob Evans and Paul Lewis’s book ‘Undercover’ rested for a large part on revelations provided by a whistle-blower, Pete Black, a former police spy. Black has been asked to give evidence to the Herne inquiry however his request that if he gives evidence the threat of prosecution that he faces for breach of the Official Secrets Act be removed has been refused. Unsurprisingly he has consequently refused to co-operate with Creedon’s investigation. To be fair to Black he has always called for a full public inquiry where he could give evidence under oath. In his decision to refuse to co-operate with the inquiry has now been joined by other victims of alleged police misconduct, the eight women who have been used and exploited by undercover police officers and blacklisted workers who were placed on the blacklist as a consequence of information from undercover police spies.[2]
As Rob Evans pointed out in The Guardian the growing numbers of people refusing to cooperate with Herne ‘diminish the credibility of their investigation and increases pressure for an independent, public inquiry.’[3] After Hillsborough, the case of Stephen Lawrence and a plethora of other cases of police misconduct the police investigating themselves is simply no longer a credible proposition and cannot hope to enjoy public confidence.
There is a formula that supposedly described the stages persons go through when experiencing loss, known as the 5 stages of grief. What is lesser known is the 5 stages that governments go through when faced with criminality or misconduct by the police or other public body and calls for a public inquiry
Denial: “Nothing has happened, minor error of judgement, ‘storm in a teacup etc...’
Grudging acknowledgement: I am shocked….not acceptable have tasked the force/institution to investigate.
Stalling: Need to allow proper time for a report to be compiled…improper for me to comment at this stage.”
Giving ground: “Need to ensure a greater degree of independence, am widening the remit, bringing in a fresh pair of eyes…”
Surrender: “Never ruled out an inquiry, have always been open minded, now it is important to get to the truth of what happened. Now of course even at stage 5 what your average government minister is hoping is that the matter has been kicked into the long grass. With respect to the revelations about police spying on everyone from animal rights activists to trade unionists undertaking lawful activity, the government have thus far passed through every stage bar number 5. Sooner or later the truth will out, from the victim’s perspective the sooner the better. For their sake it is essential that there is a full public inquiry and that we prevent the establishment from making use of that whitewash bucket.
Further Sources of Information on Operation Herne
http://secretmanoeuvresinthedark.wordpress.com/category/exposed-spies/bob-lambert/
http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/undercover-with-paul-lewis-and-rob-evans/2013/sep/06/undercover-police-and-policing-lawrence
[1] http://www.theguardian.com/uk/2013/feb/11/police-spies-theresa-may-investigation
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In response to allegations respecting the activity of Mark Kennedy an undercover police spy the political establishment had already been forced into asking the Metropolitan Police to investigate themselves. Following the further allegations made in the book ‘Undercover’ and a Channel 4 Despatches programme this inquiry was beefed up and expanded; the existing internal police inquiry, ‘Operation Soisson,’ was taken from the Metropolitan police, renamed ‘Herne’ and given over to a certain Mick Creedon, a chief constable from the Derbyshire police force.[1]
Theresa May, the Home Secretary was forced to take this step in an attempt to fend off growing demands for a full public inquiry, from amongst others Doreen and Neville Lawrence, whose own campaign seeking justice after the murder of her son Stephen was infiltrated by Metropolitan police spies allegedly seeking to discredit the campaign.
To say that this investigation does not enjoy the confidence of the victims of police malfeasance and duplicity is to understate by some margin. The despatches programme and Rob Evans and Paul Lewis’s book ‘Undercover’ rested for a large part on revelations provided by a whistle-blower, Pete Black, a former police spy. Black has been asked to give evidence to the Herne inquiry however his request that if he gives evidence the threat of prosecution that he faces for breach of the Official Secrets Act be removed has been refused. Unsurprisingly he has consequently refused to co-operate with Creedon’s investigation. To be fair to Black he has always called for a full public inquiry where he could give evidence under oath. In his decision to refuse to co-operate with the inquiry has now been joined by other victims of alleged police misconduct, the eight women who have been used and exploited by undercover police officers and blacklisted workers who were placed on the blacklist as a consequence of information from undercover police spies.[2]
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| Black pictured earlier this year |
There is a formula that supposedly described the stages persons go through when experiencing loss, known as the 5 stages of grief. What is lesser known is the 5 stages that governments go through when faced with criminality or misconduct by the police or other public body and calls for a public inquiry
Denial: “Nothing has happened, minor error of judgement, ‘storm in a teacup etc...’
Grudging acknowledgement: I am shocked….not acceptable have tasked the force/institution to investigate.
Stalling: Need to allow proper time for a report to be compiled…improper for me to comment at this stage.”
Giving ground: “Need to ensure a greater degree of independence, am widening the remit, bringing in a fresh pair of eyes…”
Surrender: “Never ruled out an inquiry, have always been open minded, now it is important to get to the truth of what happened. Now of course even at stage 5 what your average government minister is hoping is that the matter has been kicked into the long grass. With respect to the revelations about police spying on everyone from animal rights activists to trade unionists undertaking lawful activity, the government have thus far passed through every stage bar number 5. Sooner or later the truth will out, from the victim’s perspective the sooner the better. For their sake it is essential that there is a full public inquiry and that we prevent the establishment from making use of that whitewash bucket.
Further Sources of Information on Operation Herne
http://secretmanoeuvresinthedark.wordpress.com/category/exposed-spies/bob-lambert/
http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/undercover-with-paul-lewis-and-rob-evans/2013/sep/06/undercover-police-and-policing-lawrence
[1] http://www.theguardian.com/uk/2013/feb/11/police-spies-theresa-may-investigation
[3] Guardian 06/09/2013
Having visited this page I would be grateful for your feedback, either tick one of the boxes below or make a comment via the comments button.
