Mar 19, 2021
Ep 93: #SpyCops -
the Undercover Policing scandal, with Tom Fowler
Back in January, we got in touch with a member of the Cardiff
Anarchist Network named Tom Fowler, who was spied upon by an
undercover police officer back in the early 2000s. For decades,
individuals across the UK have been targeted by secret police due
to their involvement in political activism and community
organising. Citizens have been spied on, manipulated, and abused in
order to undermine democratic participation in politics. Sustained
pressure from activists networks campaigning on these issues led to
the calling of a public inquiry into Undercover Policing.
Police Spies Out Of Lives is a support group for women affected by
relationships with undercover cops. Here is what they have to say
about #SpyCops:
“We now know that officers adopted the identities of dead
children and lied their way into the heart of protest groups. They
spied on anyone and everyone who was involved in political dissent
or who posed a threat to the reputation of the police; they spied
on the families of those people; they formed intimate, sexual
relationships and lived with women for years, even proposing
marriage or fathering children before disappearing; they provided
intelligence in secret that led to hundreds of people being
wrongfully convicted; and they worked with private companies to
create illegal blacklists, ensuring political activists could not
find work.”
Tom speaks to us about the history of #SpyCops in
the UK, the recent #SpyCops Enquiry,
and the controversial ‘#SpyCops Bill’.
We talk about the policing of protest, overt and covert policing,
and the criminalisation of dissent.
We’re glad to be able to put some small focus on this heinous abuse
of police power. Please note that this episode discusses sexual
coercion and makes for heavy listening at times.