Senior officers who ran the #spycops unit that infiltrated Black justice campaigns were 'horribly & incredibly' racist, whistleblower @realspycop has told the public inquiry. (@copscampaign.bsky.social)
Met Police whistleblower Peter Francis began his long-awaited evidence at the #spycops inquiry today, having first exposed the existence and practices of the Special Demonstration Squad more than a decade ago. (@tombfowler.bsky.social)
#Spycops inquiry on ITV News.
Questioning of police whistleblower Peter Francis about spying on #union members defending labour movement events & #blacklisting of activists is likely to take place on Tues & Wed this week. (@DaveBlacklist)
You can listen back to today's #spycops space (@tombfowler.bsky.social)
Set a reminder for my upcoming #spycops Space! (@tombfowler.bsky.social)
#SpyCopsInquiry hears from whistleblower - Two Met Police officers running #spycops unit were ‘incredibly racist’.
Undercover unit monitored Stephen Lawrence’s family, as well as thousands of mainly leftwing political activists. (@helensteel12)
The Guardian’s take on the oral evidence by #spycops whistleblower, Peter Francis. (@DaveBlacklist)
From #spycops inquiry during the day to @RosedOr awards in the evening where our doc based on our book #DeepDeception is nominated in news & current affairs category. (@AlisonSpycops)
"Francis said special branch... was “100% racist” towards the Lawrence family, viewing them “as unable to think for themselves or come up with and run their campaign themselves, so it was considered they must be being led by someone else”."
#spycops (@Donna__McLean)
Good to see @robevansgdn already reporting on today’s #spycops hearing: (@copscampaign.bsky.social)
... at:
https://ucpi.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/UCPI0000036012-WEB.pdf…#spycops (@copscampaign.bsky.social)
He admits to gathering more info about various ‘politicos’ but basically says he didn’t find anything that could be used to smear the Lawrences themselves.
You can now read the whole thing (all 158 pages) ...
... (@copscampaign.bsky.social)
Live reaction at the end of the 1st day of the Undercover Policing Inquiry questioning whistleblower #spycops officer Peter Francis @realspycop. He's talked about having a list of people who visited Stephen Lawrence's family in the days after the murder ...
The #spycops inquiry returns to your screens at 10:10 tomorrow morning,
with more evidence from Peter Francis (‘HN43’),
via: (@copscampaign.bsky.social)
Mitting has a question about this ‘list’ too.
Francis says he can’t be sure who wrote the list that he was asked to check out,
but assumed that it was someone who’d been through the Special Branch register before he saw it.
#spycops (@copscampaign.bsky.social)
Before we end for the day, David Barr warns him that tomorrow’s hearing will start with some questions about Alan Fisher, the ‘3 Area’ Liaison Officer.
#spycops (@copscampaign.bsky.social)
He says he would read through the deployed #spycops notebooks to check in case any of these people were ever mentioned.
He was doing all this searching through records at the time.
He says many of them came up ‘No Trace’. (@copscampaign.bsky.social)
Reaction at the end of the first day of #spycops officer Peter Francis being questioned with @zoeyou (@tombfowler.bsky.social)
We come to the end of the hearing for today. John Mitting asks Peter Francis about the list. Appears to me to just to be stating the obvious about it. Unless I've missed something #spycops (@tombfowler.bsky.social)
The transcript of Peter Francis interview with Mark Ellison KC is shown. In it he says that the #spycops leaked intelligence to the press. He got mixed up between the different campaigns. (@tombfowler.bsky.social)
Barr reminds him of how Gardner was killed...
Francis: Where?
Barr: “In her home”
Francis comments that this was in Tottenham.
Barr points out it was Crouch End.
#spycops (@copscampaign.bsky.social)
Francis says that when Joy Gardner was concerned, SB was concerned about the risk of public disorder.
He can’t remember HN86 making any racist comments specifically about this case.
#spycops (@copscampaign.bsky.social)
He pays credit to “Trevor’s knowledge of the Black campaigns”,
and says Jenner was nothing like as good as a replacement.
#spycops (@copscampaign.bsky.social)
Peter Francis says there was extreme concern within the #spycops about the death of Joy Gardener, purely for public order reasons. Francis says it badly affected Trevor Morris, who was put under a lot of pressure to file reports (@tombfowler.bsky.social)
Francis says his targeting was changed and it was decided that he would target an individual campaigner.
He says he had “something to focus on”.
#spycops (@copscampaign.bsky.social)
... (@tombfowler.bsky.social)
'Officer A' witness statement from 2003 written by Peter Francis is shown. It is pointed out there is an overlap between Trevor Morris and Mark Jenner, Barr claims there is no break in reports about black justice campaigns, Francis points out difference between the 2 #spycops ...
He doesn’t know about Doreen Lawrence not joining one of the marches.
He says this was before he was deployed.
#spycops (@copscampaign.bsky.social)
Why did you need ‘a lead’? Barr asks.
Francis explains that there wasn’t anyone he knew on the list of names he was given.
He says the police did have intelligence “but it wasn’t clear”.
#spycops (@copscampaign.bsky.social)
