Questions remain over undercover activist
The Kennedy case has convulsed the British media and police since he was publicly uncovered earlier this month as a deep-cover agent who had operated within the environmental movement for seven years. However despite numerous accounts of his participation, and allegations of him taking a leading “agent provocateur” role in Irish protests, the Government has refused to comment or even acknowledge the issue, of what British police minister Nick Herbert has described as a covert operation which went “very wrong”.
The Government’s claims of “no knowledge” are even more unusual due to the fact that for the seven years from 2003 that PC Mark Kennedy lived his double life as a long haired environmental radical, his two children and his now estranged wife lived in her home village near Kanturk and were frequently visited by the off-duty Metropolitan police officer. It is reported that in the local pub Mr Kennedy was well known as the “uncover policeman”.
Using a fake identity as a rock-climbing enthusiast Mark Stone, the undercover officer took part in protests in Dublin, Shannon airport and at the site of the controversial Shell Corrib pipeline.
Since the Irish Examiner first contacted the Department of Justice about PC Kennedy’s activities last October — when his true identity was uncovered by English environmental activists — officials have maintained that they “have no information on the allegations”. However, last week, Mr Kennedy, who is believed to be hiding in the US, gave an interview to a British paper in which he stated that he would travel abroad with fellow activists, and feed information back to his superiors to share with other nations.
“Activism has no borders,” he said.
“I would never go abroad without authority from my superiors and the local police.”
He added: “My superiors knew where I was at all times — my BlackBerry was fitted with a tracking device — and they sanctioned every move I made. I didn’t sneeze without them knowing about it.”
He said he was informed that some of the information he handed on in his daily communications with his handlers was directly relayed to then prime minister Tony Blair.
Several activists have attested to Mr Kennedy encouraging and taking part in illegal activity during Irish protests.
Activists have confirmed that at the May 2004 EU summit protests then PC Kennedy took a lead role breaking into a building on Dublin’s north side to be used as a base for visiting British anarchists.
He also brought a van from Britain containing crash helmets and offered to purchase broom handles to be used in combating gardaí.
“At the protest he was to the fore wearing a balaclava and violently attacking gardaí,” said one activist.
During a March 2006 visit to Corrib he met leading anti-shell campaigners and encouraged them to be “more direct” in their protests.
An activist who housed PC Kennedy during one of his visits to Ireland said: “He was always very supportive of ‘direct action’ protest. It’s disturbing that he would seem to have been acting as a ‘agent provocateur’ attempting to get people into trouble, the key question is who was he working for while in Ireland?”
Mr Kennedy who, was know as “flash” for his access to cash, was so trusted by Irish activists that his portable internet connection in his van was used by campaigners to upload photographs to the indymedia activist news site during anti-George Bush protests at Shannon in June 2004.
In Britain, investigations into the officer — whose operation cost more than €350,000 per year — are now being carried out by the Independent Police Complaints Commission with Nottinghamshire Police conducting an internal review.
In Germany there have been calls for a state inquiry into PC Kennedy’s activities there. Inquires are also being made whether the police officer broke the law by initiating sexual relationships with activists.
While his activities have led to the unmasking of two more British undercover officers inside the largely peaceful environmental movement and resulted in serious questions over the future of the covert National Public Order Intelligence Unit. Mr Kennedy is looking to turn the tale to his benefit having reportedly called on the services of PR guru Max Clifford as he prepares to sell the rights to his story.
Mr Higgins, the Labour foreign affairs spokesman believes the Kennedy case raises major issues for the Irish government.
“Kennedy’s activities are of grave concern and a reminisce of allegations of similar operations in the 1970s and 1980s,” Mr Higgins said.
However Historian Brian Hanley, who has written on the subversive intelligence world, said: “The Irish State has a very poor record in dealing with British subversive activity. In the early 1970s there was the infamous case of the Littlejohn brothers who instated armed robberies and fire bombed garda stations in the republic and later turned out to be working for British intelligence. In 1972, a senior garda in the forces’s intelligence unit was found to be passing on information to MI6. After three months detention, the officer and an MI6 agent were released and left for Britain.”
SOME events attended by Pc Mark Kennedy:
* Grassroots Gathering April 2004 — Dublin.
* Mayday 2004 EU Summit protest — Dublin.
* June 2004 Anti-Bush protest Shannon Airport.
* April 2005 — Clare and Shannon Airport where he addressed activists on how to take “direct action” against US flights landing at Shannon.
* Anarchist Bookfair March 2006 — Dublin.
* Corrib protests March 2006 — Mayo.
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