The evidence produced by the UK's Undercover Policing Inquiry (UCPI) has demonstrated the surveillance state's interest in all forms of activism across the Left. Over nine thousand previously secret documents have been published, predominantly authored by the Metropolitan Police's Special Branch but also hundreds emanating from the Security Service (MI5).
The Inquiry has also heard directly from former undercover police officers and their managers, as well as from those spied upon. The surveillance covers many well-known campaigns and groups, starting with the anti-Vietnam war protests in 1968 and expanding into a broader remit, with almost all groups on the political left being deemed targets.
Chris Brian is a core participant in the #spycops Inquiry and works with the Undercover Research Group. They have been working on a new website, spycopsresearch.info. The website presents the disclosure, comments on the evidence and explains the proceedings of the public Inquiry.
In this talk, Chris will present his essay, contained in the forthcoming 'In Solidarity, Under Suspicion': The British Far-Left from 1956 (MUP).
For information, contact Katy k.pettit@bbk.ac.uk
Hosted by the Raphael Samuel History Centre
