Spycops demo

Members of Unite the union will be showing their support tomorrow (October 3) for Kate Wilson outside a hearing of the Investigatory Powers Tribunal as Kate continues her fight for truth and to outlaw the practice of undercover police deceiving people into intimate relationships.

The protest, outside the Employment Appeal Tribunal, Fleetbank House, Salisbury Square, London, EC4Y 8JX starts at 9.30am ahead of the start of tribunal hearing at 10.30am.

Kate was deceived into a long-term, intimate relationship with an undercover police officer, Mark Kennedy. She is now taking a case to the Investigatory Powers Tribunal, claiming that the police violated her human rights.

Tomorrow’s hearing will hear the police’s attempts to shut down her case, despite admitting that managers knew about her relationship with Mark Kennedy, and that they have abused her human rights.

Unite assistant general secretary Gail Cartmail said, “Unite stands shoulder to shoulder in solidarity with Kate Wilson in her fight for justice and the truth. Stories of undercover officers having relationships with activists have shocked the nation.

“It would be a travesty of justice and deepen the sense of a cover up if the police get their way and Kate’s case is shut down. The actions and deceptions of these undercover police officers have turned people’s lives upside down and ruined livelihoods.

“Not only did these police units spy on campaign groups and the families of victims of police violence, but they also blacklisted trade union activists. It is a stain on our democracy to which people deserve answers.

“Kate Wilson’s bravery and tenacity in taking this case is an example to us all and once again underlines the need for a public inquiry into blacklisting and the actions of undercover spy cops.”

In 2015, Kate was one of eight women who won an historic apology from the Metropolitan Police over their relationships with undercover police. If successful, Kate’s case will finally give clarity that sexual relationships between undercover officers and members of the public under any circumstances are unlawful.

Kate’s claim also questions the legitimacy of such political policing in a democratic society, and the legality of the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act (RIPA) that is used to authorise such operations.

More information on Kate’s case can be found at www.policespiesoutoflives.org.uk