Trial Collapses As Undercover Officer Switches Sides

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Pc Mark Kennedy worked undercover in the green movement

The Guardian

Who hasn’t seen this movie: cop infiltrates organization to spy on them but ends up feeling sympathetic towards their cause? The U.K. is now having to deal with the — ahem — reel-life situation.

It’s emerged that the trial of six green campaigners has collapsed after an undercover policeman who had become part of their ranks ended up offering to give evidence on their behalf. Pc Mark Kennedy got in touch with the defense team to say he’d be prepared to help them and the prosecution swiftly dropped their case, which was due to start Monday.

(See the top 10 crime stories of 2010.)

Kennedy had been involved with the greens since 2000 and even garnered the nickname of Mark “Flash” Stone, because he seemed to have more money than the others. But “Flash” was in fact living a double life as Mark Kennedy of the Metropolitan Police. This surreal existence eventually came to a head in October 2010, after some of the activists discovered documents which revealed his true identity.

What they learned must have shocked them: Kennedy had gone deep undercover into the environmental protest movement, visiting 22 countries to gather information while playing a major role in those high-profile confrontations. He’s since quit the police, telling friends that what he did was wrong. He supposedly told one activist that his infiltration had been, “really wrong. I’ll just say I’m sorry, for everything. It really hurts.”

(See pictures of the British police.)

One snapshot shows an insight into what went down. The group wanted to try and shut down the coal-fired power station at Ratcliffe-on-Soar as a protest against global warming. Kennedy allegedly helped recruit people, drove a reconnaissance party to the power station and hired a truck for the eventual protest. But when over 100 people later gathered for a meeting, the police swooped and arrested them on “conspiracy to commit aggravated trespass.” (20 were convicted late last year)

Activist websites are teeming with terms such as “violated,” “betrayed” and “sickened,” as well as there being some abuse, and the Met Police are refusing to comment officially about their rogue man or whether he’s still a police officer. As for Kennedy, he must be feeling green in every sense. (via the Guardian)