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UK-Germany: Undercover police: German calls to be included into Pitchford Inquiry: The case of Mark Kennedy: Cross-border operations of undercover police officers should be investigated in Germany as well

11 June 2016

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"I therefore welcome the fact that, following our numerous petitions, queries and open letters, the German Federal Ministry of the Interior has decided to call for an extension of the Pitchford Inquiry into the undercover activities of British police officers in Germany. This secret policing scandal has been discussed at Parliament and Minister level in Iceland and the Republic of Ireland.

The Scottish and Northern Irish governments have officially requested the initiation of investigations covering their territories. The requested extension will be decided by the British Home Secretary Theresa May. I call upon the German Federal Government to go beyond merely penning a request and to exert the necessary pressure to ensure the Pitchford Inquiry is extended to other countries."

See: German calls to be included into Pitchford Inquiry: The case of Mark Kennedy: Cross-border operations of undercover police officers should be investigated in Germany as well (link)

Backgound: Police Spies Out of Lives have produced two new briefings on issues related to secrecy and openness a the Pitchford Inquiry, which is due to examien the undercover police work in England and Wales since 1968:

  • Secrets beyond lies: the police and state's requests for secrecy (pdf). An overview of the secrecy requests made by the police and state bodies to the Public Inquiry into Undercover Policing.
  • Open Inquiry, Open Justice (pdf). A guide to the submission by non-police non-state Core Participants [those affected directly by undercover police officers, campaign groups, and so on] to the Public Inquiry into Undercover Policing, in response to police and state requests for secrecy.

    See also: some background on the time when the Met Police were happy to help spread public information about the work of spying on "subversives": BBC True Spies series: police happy to disclose information when it suits them (Special Branch Files Project, link)

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