London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Tuesday, Jul 22, 2025

Undercover officers 'encouraged to sleep with activists'

Undercover officers 'encouraged to sleep with activists'

Senior police officers "encouraged or tolerated" undercover officers having sexual relationships with activists they were sent to spy on, a tribunal has heard.

Metropolitan Police is being sued by an environmental campaigner who had a long-term relationship with an officer she believed was a fellow activist.

They had met while working together at a community hub in Nottingham.

Kate Wilson, 41, said the deception had breached her human rights.

The Investigatory Powers Tribunal at the Royal Courts of Justice was told by Ms Wilson's solicitor that Mark Kennedy had been sent to infiltrate the Sumac Centre in Nottingham in 2003.

Charlotte Kilroy QC said the Met's National Public Order Intelligence Unit believed the centre was used by people "involved in extremism relating to animal rights, environmentalism, anarchy, anti-weapons and war issues and anti-globalisation".

"In truth, it was a community space with a vegan cafe used by a wide range of people and groups," she said.

Ms Wilson only learned Mark Kennedy's true identity five years after they split

Ms Wilson began a relationship with Mark Stone shortly after first meeting him in 2003 before they split amicably in 2005, when she moved to Spain.

In 2010, she learned he was actually a married police officer called Mark Kennedy.

Her legal action against the Met and the National Police Chiefs Council (NPCC) cites breaches of her right to freedom from inhuman and degrading treatment, her right to privacy and right to freedom of expression.

The Met and NPCC have accepted Mr Kennedy's actions amounted to a breach of those rights but deny that other officers, apart from Mr Kennedy and his cover officer, knew or suspected that Ms Wilson was in a sexual relationship with the officer.

However, Ms Wilson argues there was "widespread indifference, or express or tacit encouragement" for undercover officers to begin intimate relationships while they were deployed.

She says her relationship with Mr Kennedy "was known or suspected by several other police officers, including more senior ones" and was "part of a practice of permitting undercover officers ... to enter into sexual relationships".

Ms Kilroy argued Mr Kennedy "used her contacts, her organisational role and her standing to bolster his own credentials as an activist", which allowed him to "infiltrate new protest groups, gather intelligence and maintain trust".

"What Mark [Kennedy] did could not have occurred without the express or tacit agreement or tolerance of other police officers," she said.

The hearing is expected to last about a week with a ruling expected at a later date.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
US Treasury Secretary Calls for Institutional Review of Federal Reserve Amid AI‑Driven Growth Expectations
UK Government Considers Dropping Demand for Apple Encryption Backdoor
Severe Flooding in South Korea Claims Lives Amid Ongoing Rescue Operations
Japanese Man Discovers Family Connection Through DNA Testing After Decades of Separation
Russia Signals Openness to Ukraine Peace Talks Amid Escalating Drone Warfare
Switzerland Implements Ban on Mammography Screening
Japanese Prime Minister Vows to Stay After Coalition Loses Upper House Majority
Pogacar Extends Dominance with Stage Fifteen Triumph at Tour de France
CEO Resigns Amid Controversy Over Relationship with HR Executive
Man Dies After Being Pulled Into MRI Machine Due to Metal Chain in New York Clinic
NVIDIA Achieves $4 Trillion Valuation Amid AI Demand
US Revokes Visas of Brazilian Corrupted Judges Amid Fake Bolsonaro Investigation
U.S. Congress Approves Rescissions Act Cutting Federal Funding for NPR and PBS
North Korea Restricts Foreign Tourist Access to New Seaside Resort
Brazil's Supreme Court Imposes Radical Restrictions on Former President Bolsonaro
Centrist Criticism of von der Leyen Resurfaces as she Survives EU Confidence Vote
Judge Criticizes DOJ Over Secrecy in Dropping Charges Against Gang Leader
Apple Closes $16.5 Billion Tax Dispute With Ireland
Von der Leyen Faces Setback Over €2 Trillion EU Budget Proposal
UK and Germany Collaborate on Global Military Equipment Sales
Trump Plans Over 10% Tariffs on African and Caribbean Nations
Flying Taxi CEO Reclaims Billionaire Status After Stock Surge
Epstein Files Deepen Republican Party Divide
Zuckerberg Faces $8 Billion Privacy Lawsuit From Meta Shareholders
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
SpaceX Nears $400 Billion Valuation With New Share Sale
Microsoft, US Lab to Use AI for Faster Nuclear Plant Licensing
Trump Walks Back Talk of Firing Fed Chair Jerome Powell
Zelensky Reshuffles Cabinet to Win Support at Home and in Washington
"Can You Hit Moscow?" Trump Asked Zelensky To Make Putin "Feel The Pain"
Irish Tech Worker Detained 100 days by US Authorities for Overstaying Visa
Dimon Warns on Fed Independence as Trump Administration Eyes Powell’s Succession
Church of England Removes 1991 Sexuality Guidelines from Clergy Selection
Superman Franchise Achieves Success with Latest Release
Hungary's Viktor Orban Rejects Agreements on Illegal Migration
Jeff Bezos Considers Purchasing Condé Nast as a Wedding Gift
Ghislaine Maxwell Says She’s Ready to Testify Before Congress on Epstein’s Criminal Empire
Bal des Pompiers: A Celebration of Community and Firefighter Culture in France
FBI Chief Kash Patel Denies Resignation Speculations Amid Epstein List Controversy
Air India Pilot’s Mental Health Records Under Scrutiny
Google Secures Windsurf AI Coding Team in $2.4 Billion Licence Deal
Jamie Dimon Warns Europe Is Losing Global Competitiveness and Flags Market Complacency
South African Police Minister Suspended Amid Organised Crime Allegations
Nvidia CEO Claims Chinese Military Reluctance to Use US AI Technology
Hong Kong Advances Digital Asset Strategy to Address Economic Challenges
Australia Rules Out Pre‑commitment of Troops, Reinforces Defence Posture Amid US‑China Tensions
Martha Wells Says Humanity Still Far from True Artificial Intelligence
Nvidia Becomes World’s First Four‑Trillion‑Dollar Company Amid AI Boom
U.S. Resumes Deportations to Third Countries After Supreme Court Ruling
Excavation Begins at Site of Mass Grave for Children at Former Irish Institution
×