Statement on Police Surveillance Revelations

The Haldane Society is shocked at the revelations concerning undercover policing and surveillance into legitimate campaigning and protest groups. We support calls for a public inquiry into the level of surveillance, the groups infiltrated and the extent to which surveillance was for illegitimate aims (such trying to smear campaigns or victims of crime and/or surveillance on legal and legitimate protests)

Generations of campaigners, workers and young people have gone through the experience of campaigning in their trade unions, anti-racist campaigns and environmental organisations. They have  peacefully demonstrated, protested and taken strike action in defence of their rights and have been shocked to face the full force of the state and police brutality, followed by lies being told about them being ‘violent protesters’. This was the experience, under Tory governments of the miners during the year long strike of the mid-80s, of the millions who refused to pay the poll tax in the early 90s, of the anti-capitalist protesters under a Labour administration in early 2000, recently student demonstrators and many more national and local campaigns.

As lawyers we have a particular concern at the revelations that a person’s right to confidential discussions with his or her lawyer was infringed by the taping of meetings between Duwayne Brooks and his solicitor and we call for the inquiry to investigate the extent of surveillance breaching confidential legal discussions.

We share the outrage expressed by a number of groups and individuals at the revelations that undercover police officers had sexual relations with women, whilst maintaining the secrecy of their true identity. We believe that this practice is sexual exploitation and support the women and family members who are bringing claims against the police. Sexual relations in the context of deceit as to a person's true identity can never be justified.

Information has so far emerged of infiltration into anti-racist, left, environmental, and anti-arms trade campaigns, we call for the inquiry to investigate infiltration into any other legal, peaceful organisation, including the trade union movement and to investigate what links, if any, state agencies may have or have had with agencies co-operating to blacklist workers.

We can see no legitimate reason for infiltration into any group engaged in legal, non-violent, peaceful protest.

The Haldane Society of Socialist Lawyers calls for:

• a full public inquiry into the role of the Special Demonstration Squad and the wider issue of police infiltration of the justice campaigns, socialist, anti racist, environmental and other progressive organisations.
• the abolition of the Special Branch, including the National Public Order Intelligence Unit and the destruction of political files and computer records not connected with criminal investigations.

Statement of Support – Keep the NHS Public

The Haldane Society of Socialist Lawyers is adding its voice to the Keep the NHS Public campaign. The NHS was created as a comprehensive, universal and free service 60 years ago. It is now in great danger. The current government has passed laws which will force open our NHS to competition from private companies seeking to make profit for their shareholders – which is completely at odds with a health service which acts in the best interests of patients.

The NHS is a defining institution of this country. We need to fight for it now and make this government back down. We call on organisations, healthcare workers, patients and the public to campaign to protect the NHS from further privatisation and fragmentation, and to keep our NHS public for the benefit of all.

We also urge people to join the demonstration on Saturday 18 May in London to Save London’s NHS. Details are here: http://defendlondonsnhs.wordpress.com/

Support Keep the NHS Public: http://www.keepournhspublic.com

Persecution of Environmental Activists by EDF

The Haldane Society supports the direct action taken by the 21 No Dash for Gas activists at West Burton power station in October 2012. Our government is not taking the threat of climate change and the need to transition to a low carbon energy system seriously. The activists who took this action acted in the tradition of the suffragettes and the abolitionists who demanded structural change and justice through civil disobedience.

The Haldane Society condemns the move by EDF to pursue the activists in a civil case for £5 million. We believe this to be an abuse of the legal process and a cynical attempt to put people off dissent and undermine the right to protest. We call on EDF to drop the civil action and we call on people to sign this petition demanding the same:
http://www.change.org/en-GB/petitions/tell-edfenergy-to-drop-legal-action-against-no-dash-for-gas-activists

Public Meeting: Stop MI5 blackmail! Protect UK citizenship from attack!

Public Meeting

Stop MI5 blackmail!   Protect UK citizenship from attack!

7-9pm Friday 18 January 2013 
Council Chamber, Camden Town Hall, Judd St (near Kings X station)

Speakers include:

Saghir Hussain, Director, CagePrisoners
Sharhabeel Lone, Director, KTCO
Mohamed Nur, community worker, KTCO
Kurdish Federation UK
Tom Foot, journalist, Camden New Journal
George Binette, Branch Secretary, Camden UNISON
Frances Webber, Vice-President, Haldane Society of Socialist Lawyers
Les Levidow, CAMPACC

Aims of the meeting:

• To expose and stop MI5 practices of blackmail
• To encourage individuals to refuse cooperation and expose blackmail attempts
• To demand government accountability for such crimes
• To protect UK citizenship from being withdrawn
• To bring more organisations into the protest

Over several years MI5 has been systematically blackmailing individuals to spy on their communities.  In most cases, security agencies want information on political views and ordinary political activities. This covert surveillance spreads fear and distrust among communities here – all in the name of protecting ‘national security’.

In an extreme case, in October 2012 the Home Secretary withdrew the citizenship of a Somali-born UK citizen, Mahdi Hashi.  As a care worker in the Kentish Town Community Organisation (KTCO) in 2009, Mahdi had refused to become an MI5 informer. Then MI5 threatened him and four colleagues with being labelled as 'Islamic extremists' if they refused to become informers.  Madhi in particular felt so harassed by the MI5 that he left the country for Somalia, where he has family members. The Home Secretary later revoked his citizenship, thus preventing his return. After leaving Somalia he disappeared and was held at a secret detention site.  In December it became public that he was rendered to face 'terrorism' charges in a NY court.  There he is accused of participation in al Shabaab. For details, see http://www.camdennewjournal.com/news/2012/dec/fathers-anger-family-are-told-former-camden-schoolboy-being-held-us-terror-charges

For several years MI5 had blackmailed many other British Somalis.  MI5 told the men, 'Work for us or we will say you are a terrorist.'  When they refused to cooperate, MI5 acted on the threat: afterwards some were detained and interrogated on trips abroad.  For details, see

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/exclusive-how-mi5-blackmails-british-muslims-1688618.html,

http://campacc.org.uk/index.php?mact=News,cntnt01,detail,0&cntnt01articleid=47&cntnt01returnid=133

Such practices are widespread.  Beyond a few well-publicised cases, MI5 has blackmailed hundreds of refugees, especially Kurds and Tamils. Refugees face much higher stakes: they could be deported to torture, or else they could be granted asylum as a reward for becoming informers.  

Meeting is sponsored by: the Campaign Against Criminalising Communities (CAMPACC), CagePrisoners, Haldane Society of Socialist Lawyers, Islamic Human Rights Commission (IHRC), Kurdish Federation UK, London Somali Youth Forum, Hands Off Somalia, Camden Green Party, Mumia Abu Jamal Defence Campaign (UK)
And supported by Camden Councillors Sarah Hayward (Leader of Camden Council) and Maya de Souza

For information contact: CAMPACC, estella24@tiscali.co.uk, tel. 020 7586 5892, www.campacc.org.uk

Statement on report into murder of Pat Finucane

The Haldane Society joins with Geraldine Finucane and her family in condemning as a whitewash and a sham the "report" into the murder of her husband, the Belfast solicitor, Pat Finucane.  

The all too predictable outcome of the work commissioned by David Cameron from Sir Desmond de Silva QC has added yet one more chapter of insult to the deades of collusion, cover-up, lies and broken promises in which one British government after another has attempted to close the book on this international scandal.  "Justice on the cheap" has been the motto of this Government and it is no surprise that the only justification the Prime Minister can offer for refusing to order the impartial public inquiry his predecessors had pledged to hold, is that it would be too expensive.

The family has, and always has had, our unwavering support in its determination to force the British government to account fully and publicly for the murder that we believe was sanctioned at extremely high - if not the very highest - levels.  This is not simply one family's fight for the truth.  If there is no justice for the Finucane family there can never be any confidence in the word of a British Government.

Critical Mass Defence - Urgent callout

Critical Mass Defence is asking for witnesses to the arrests at the Critical Mass meet on 27th July this year.

Were you or anyone you know at Critical Mass on 27th July, or at the meeting point under Waterloo Bridge? Solicitors want to hear from people who were there and not arrested. Even if you don’t think you saw anything, please get in touch with GBC Legal as soon as possible – by 10^th December at the latest: gbclegal@riseup.net 07946 541 511

They are especially keen to hear from people who were at the meetup point at Waterloo Bridge, or at/in the kettle on either the Stratford Roundabout or the Bow Flyover.

Full details here.

Support Alfie Meadows and Zak King

Alfie Meadows and Zak King’s retrial for violent disorder started on Monday 29th October at Woolwich Crown Court. 

The Haldane Society sends its support to Alfie and Zak and we encourage people to attend Woolwich Crown Court to show their support in person. More information about Alfie and Zak's case can be found on the Defend the Right to Protest website

Woolwich Crown Court
2 Belmarsh Road
London
SE28 0EY

Nearest DLR: Woolwich Arsenal

Haldane at the TUC March, 20 October 2012

Members of The Haldane Society of Socialist Lawyers proudly joined the TUC March For A Future That Works on Saturday 20 October 2012 to call for an end to the government's austerity programme.  The attacks on government services by the coalition, including the decimation of legal aid services provided to the most vulnerable in society, are throwing huge numbers of people into destitution, a situation which the government's continued programme of cuts is threatening to make worse.

The Society looks forward to a continuation of the campaign by unions and student groups later this autumn.