Saturday 25 April 2009

Police tried to recruit environmental campaigner to spy.




The photos above were taken three years ago on the south coast of Kent, England. They show surveillance of seagulls, beach huts and anyone who might wander onto beach.
This morning John OConnor (former commander of Scotland Yard) was interviewed re the police infiltration of environmantal groups. He said they(the police) "have to police everything". Judging by the photos above the police take this absolutely literally.
With regard to environmental groups, the police were caught on tape trying to recruit a Plane Stupid protestor as a spy. The Guardian newspaper says that undercover police are running a network of hundreds of informants inside protest organisations who secretly feed them intelligence in return for cash. These disclosures were revealed in almost three hours of secretly recorded discussions between covert officers claiming to be from Strathclyde police, and an activist from the protest group Plane Stupid, whom the officers attempted to recruit as a spy after she had been released on bail following a demonstration at Aberdeen Airport last month.
Below-from The Guardian
Matilda Gifford,24, said she recorded the meetings in an attempt to expose how police seek to disrupt the legitimate activities of climate change activists. She met the officers twice; they said they were a detective constable and his assistant. During the taped discussions the officers:
• Indicate that she could receive tens of thousands of pounds to pay off her student loansin return for information about individuals within Plane Stupid.
• Say they will not pay money direct into her bank account because that would leave anaudit trail that would leave her compromised. They said the money would be tax-free,and added: "UK pic can afford more than 20 quid."
• Accept that she is a legitimate protester, but warn her that her activity could mean shewill struggle to find employment in the future and result in a criminal record.
• Claim they have hundreds of informants feeding them information from protest
• Indicate that she could receive tens of thousands of pounds to pay off her student loansin return for information about individuals within Plane Stupid.
• Say they will not pay money direct into her bank account because that would leave an audit trail that would leave her compromised. They said the money would be tax-free,and added: "UK pic can afford more than 20 quid."
• Accept that she is a legitimate protester, but warn her that her activity could mean shewill struggle to find employment in the future and result in a criminal record.
• Claim they have hundreds of informants feeding them information from protest
• Warn her that she could be jailed alongside "hard, evil" people if she received acustodial sentence.
The meetings took place in a Glasgow police station last month and in a supermarketcafe on Tuesday. Gifford used a mobile phone and device sewn into her waistcoat torecord what they described as a "business proposal" that she should think of as a job.
They intimated that in return for updates on Plane Stupid's plans she could receive large sums of money in cash.
....In a statement, Plane Stupid said: Our civil liberties were invaded and our right to peaceful protest called into question simply to defend the interests of big business.
Plane Stupid has pointed out the common theme running through all governments policies regarding agriculture and the environment. The collusion with big business has been noted repeatedly by pesticide campaigners, particularly with DEFRA'S refusal to acknowledge the overwhelming evidence regarding damage to human health and also the bee die offs across Europe and America.

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