Tout exposed Mark 'Stone/Kennedy' exposed as undercover police officer

[Louloubelle]

Deeply naive.

Quite possibly.

I can understand why violent extremist groups need to be monitored but it sickens me that groups of friends and families of people who have died in custody are monitored. People I love are in those groups, good, decent law abiding people who simply want justice for their loved ones. Those people are the victims of serious crimes and should be supported, not spied upon.

Re this undercover cop, it seems to me like he must have had a "Starship Troopers" moment. He starts off thinking that he's fighting the good fight but ends up questioning the morality of his actions and of the people on his "side".

Youc an't deny that he has courage, not only for being prepared to risk his safety and his life to do his job, but also in as much as he was prepared to talk to the press about his concerns and inner conflicts regarding the legitimacy (or not) of spying on friends and families. That can't have been the best career move and will have made him many powerful enemies.

He's probably now hated by pretty much everyone on all sides.

 

[Paulie Tandoori]

I can appreciate how people would feel betrayed if he was doing that, but (and I'm making an effort to put myself in his shoes) he started off as an undercover cop whose job was to prevent violent extremists from hurting people and ended up infiltrating groups of friends and families who had lost loved ones in police custody, I can understand how he must have ended up feeling extremely conflicted and guilty about his job.

From the news story linked to earlier here http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2010/mar/14/undercover-police-far-left-secret

It looks like he actually achieved some important stuff, for example



I hate the BNP as much as the next person, but setting fire to a building and burning them alive cannot be a good thing by any stretch of the imagination. Not only would it be murder (which is wrong - obviously) but it would likely spark a backlash of right wing extremists and racists going on the rampage and attacking innocent people.

From reading that article (and I appreciate that it probably does not contain the entire truth about everything) it seems to me that he was a good undercover cop who ended up saving many lives and doing a good job, but who ultimately had a breakdown because he actually genuinely liked and agreed with some of the people he was meant to be targeting.

You cannot doubt his courage, given the violent situations he was involved in. He does not sound like a bad person to me, just like someone who did his best to do his job and ended up broken because of conflicting loyalties and guilt, something that a bad person would not allow themselves to be bothered by.

If that cunt was responsible for the police actions at Welling, then he deserves to feel guilty for the remainder of his life. Utter cunt, no sympathy whatsoever. You make your bed and you lie in it.

 

[Louloubelle]

If that cunt was responsible for the police actions at Welling, then he deserves to feel guilty for the remainder of his life. Utter cunt, no sympathy whatsoever. You make your bed and you lie in it.

What happened at Welling? Do you think that the news report is biased / inaccurate?

I don't know anything about that incident other than what I just read here.

 

[butchersapron]

If that cunt was responsible for the police actions at Welling, then he deserves to feel guilty for the remainder of his life. Utter cunt, no sympathy whatsoever. You make your bed and you lie in it.

Different 'operations' are getting mixed up here - the YRE one and this 'kennedy' one.

 

[Streathamite]

I'm not sure you could really quantify such a thing - is the Sunday Times more spook-receptive than its daily sister paper, or one of the Telegraph group papers, or The Guardian, or The Independent or IoS, or the Observer? Each has been more than comfortable passing off uncorroborated off-the-record tittle-tattle or 'briefings' or word-in-your-shell-like 'tip-offs' as genuine, journalistically-obtained scoops.

Samurai swords, 'eco-terrorist' tree spiking, packed lunches & expenses for protesting rentamob, Class War is full of fascists, the EVIL WOMBLES are behind everything, and plenty more spring to mind from recent years, and not just confined to one paper.

actually, that's a really good point; they really ARE all as bad as each other!

 

[Sgt Howie]

I'm not sure you could really quantify such a thing - is the Sunday Times more spook-receptive than its daily sister paper, or one of the Telegraph group papers, or The Guardian, or The Independent or IoS, or the Observer? Each has been more than comfortable passing off uncorroborated off-the-record tittle-tattle or 'briefings' or word-in-your-shell-like 'tip-offs' as genuine, journalistically-obtained scoops.

Samurai swords, 'eco-terrorist' tree spiking, packed lunches & expenses for protesting rentamob, Class War is full of fascists, the EVIL WOMBLES are behind everything, and plenty more spring to mind from recent years, and not just confined to one paper.

The latter point is true but the ST, and in particular David Leppard, are notable as the Chapman Pincher de nos jours - the urinal into which the security services are fondest of leaking.

 

[Open Sauce]

Tout

Bristol and notts people - check your contacts, check your lists.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2011/jan/09/undercover-office-green-activists

 

[smokedout]

worth noting for the future, every agent is a potential double agent

 

[Sgt Howie]

Is it just me or does the latest development have a touch of the Shaylers about it?

 

[smokedout]

yeah i thought that, double bluff, farm the useless fucker out to the hippies, theyll swallow any old crap

 

[elbows]

lol that the agent provocateur possibility seems to have knackered a court case.

 

[fiannanahalba]

If he is out of work im sure he could put himself to use with the SSP, they would never suss him.

 

[shagnasty]

According to the bbc he as switched side

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-12148753

I am sure he will be welcomed back with open arms

 

[pk]

LOL, unbelievable!

Needs a new thread, surely?

Great to see the Met squirm their way through this one in the morning!

 

[Riklet]

Result ehh. What ever he's done, that's a good action - fundamentally the right thing to do, testifying against would be just one more betrayal of trust. "Switched sides" maybe not haha, but even real rotters can do some nice things huh?

I really can't fathom how he could comit that level of betrayal personally, against such fundamentally non-threatening individuals, the idea of serving the public's wider interests through such undercover work is fucking laughable. Hard to know what to think about him completely as a person though, regardless of the things he's done... hmm conflicted he must be!

 

[free spirit]

slight derail, but how does this work then....

He lived a double life: as Mark Kennedy of the Metropolitan Police he had a wife and children; but as Mark Stone, green activist, he had an unsuspecting girlfriend in Nottingham

oh yeah sorry love I had to shack up with her to maintain my cover...

still trying to picture him as he was in 2005.

 

[Riklet]

If you're deep undercover, it's police rules you start smoking roll ups and get balls deep into some hippy chick. Detectiveboy will confirm blates.

I bet the wife is less than impressed.

 

[Hocus Eye.]

Something tells me that he will not be getting his police pension. I wonder if they will claim back his salary for the years when he was supposed to be working under cover for the Met. He cannot claim to have delivered the goods if he became a witness for the campaigners when it came to the trial. My crystal ball goes cloudy when I try to look into his future. Is he a now goodun or a badun?

 

[TopCat]

He is a badun.

 

[Barking_Mad]

Guaridan piece on this today

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2011/jan/10/mark-kennedy-undercover-cop-activist

 

[ernestolynch]

He's quit the cops now.

 

[Divisive Cotton]

I hope he writes a book about his experiences because potentially he could spill the beans on the entire operation, not just his involvement. Presumably he's not covered by the Official Secrets Act so he can now say what he likes.

 

[Brixton Hatter]

Big item on this on radio 4 today programme this morning. And a special report on newsnight tonight apparently - 10.30pm BBC2.

 

[Guineveretoo]

I hope he writes a book about his experiences because potentially he could spill the beans on the entire operation, not just his involvement. Presumably he's not covered by the Official Secrets Act so he can now say what he likes.

Why wouldn't he be covered by the Official Secrets Act?

 

[Divisive Cotton]

I dunno, maybe is.

 

[Kaka Tim]

Im not suprised he's had a 'crisis' of faith.

He spent years enthusiasticlly shagging, partying and necking class As inbetween the odd bit of activism - and all the while getting paid for it.

During that time he became a close friend to many people in the scene, went on climbing holidays with them and had at least two serious long term girlfriends. You cant do that sort of thing without it becoming 'real' in some way - without seeing this people as your actual mates and lovers. (And he did come accross as a genuninely warm and friendly bloke).

Everynow and then he goes back to his 'real' life of routine domesticity and his charming police mates. And then betrays his supposedly 'pretend' freinds, comrades and lovers to his handlers.

How can you get that involved without being affected?

If your working in a way where you could convine your self that you were genuinely protecting society from serious violence and death then its easier to justify playing judas to yourself.

But if your deciveing and betraying people who love you in order to prevent them biulding treehouses in threatened woodland, glueing up the locks of a corporate office or dropping a banner of a cooling tower...?

That must really fuck with your head. Even if your a copper.

 

[Guineveretoo]

I dunno, maybe is.

I believe the Official Secrets Act would apply, and I suspect this will have been drawn to his attention.

 

[Guineveretoo]

Im not suprised he's had a 'crisis' of faith.

He spent years enthusiasticlly shagging, partying and necking class As inbetween the odd bit of activism - and all the while getting paid for it.

During that time he became a close friend to many people in the scene, went on climbing holidays with them and had at least two serious long term girlfriends. You cant do that sort of thing without it becoming 'real' in some way - without seeing this people as your actual mates and lovers. (And he did come accross as a genuninely warm and friendly bloke).

Everynow and then he goes back to his 'real' life of routine domesticity and his charming police mates. And then betrays his supposedly 'pretend' freinds, comrades and lovers to his handlers.

How can you get that involved without being affected?

If your working in a way where you could convine your self that you were genuinely protecting society from serious violence and death then its easier to justify playing judas to yourself.

But if your deciveing and betraying people who love you in order to prevent them biulding treehouses in threatened woodland, glueing up the locks of a corporate office or dropping a banner of a cooling tower...?

That must really fuck with your head. Even if your a copper.

I thought he was going to be like that undercover cop from Hill Street Blues, and just lived the life, but occasionally tipped off the coppers or whatever. What amazed me was the statement that he had a wife and children in his police/official life. How did that work?

 

[Divisive Cotton]

I thought he was going to be like that undercover cop from Hill Street Blues, and just lived the life, but occasionally tipped off the coppers or whatever. What amazed me was the statement that he had a wife and children in his police/official life. How did that work?

For ten years as well.

 

[MysteryGuest]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-12148753