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Undercover police agent publicly outed at conference

London Greenpeace | 15.10.2011 18:41 | Ecology | Policing

Senior police spy for over two decades uncovered.

Stop Infiltration
c/o London Greenpeace, 5 Caledonian Road, London N1 9DX
020-8216 9651
 stopinfiltration@mail.com

15th October 2011 – PRESS RELEASE

UNDERCOVER POLICE AGENT PUBLICLY OUTED AT CONFERENCE

Campaigners today outed the most-senior-yet police spy responsible for infiltrating environmental and social justice campaigns.

Former Detective Inspector Bob Lambert MBE had just spoken at a “One Society, Many Cultures” anti-racist conference attended by 300 delegates at the Trades Union Congress HQ in Central London. He was then challenged by 5 members of London Greenpeace who called on him to apologise for the undercover police infiltration of London Greenpeace, Reclaim The Streets and other campaign groups – an operation he took part in or supervised over two decades, whilst rising to the rank of Detective Inspector.

Bob Robinson (as Bob Lambert called himself at the time) was a spy in London Greenpeace from 1984 to 1988, and he went on to supervise others agents who continued with infiltration of groups such as London Greenpeace and Reclaim the Streets, along with anti fascist protests, and actions against genetically modified crops. These agents used pseudonyms, and engaged in fraudulent and deceitful long-term intimate relationships with people in the groups before disappearing without trace – a stasi-like tactic involving a gross abuse of trust which has caused great emotional damage to a number of people involved.

As he left the venue Bob Lambert was followed along the street and was challenged again to apologise, but he briskly walked away refusing to talk.

“By publicly exposing this latest scandal, campaigners have demonstrated that the recent police spies outed (such as Mark Kennedy / Mark Stone) were not 'rogue officers', but part of an unacceptable pattern of immoral infiltration of environmental groups, condoned at a high level. We demand action to ensure that the full truth is revealed and that justice is done.”
Spokesperson, London Greenpeace

Note 1: The HMIC report on previously exposed police infiltration is due to be published in the coming week.

Note 2: The full text from the leaflet distributed at the conference is below.

Note 3: A copy of the complete leaflet, with photos, is available on Indymedia. The 2 photos from 1984 are copyright London Greenpeace; news outlets are free to use them with credit.

London Greenpeace
- e-mail: stopinfiltration@mail.com

Comments

Hide the following 12 comments

Thanks and well done...

15.10.2011 20:34

for this info and for highlighting this high level officer's role. I continue to be shocked and chilled by extent of the undercover policing of political groups in the UK. And well done for taking this action- I'd like to suggest that the upcoming HMIC review report be used as an opportunity for putting this issue back in the spotlight and to challenge the police's abusive,disgusting behaviour. Absolute scum.

Solidarity

Outraged


Is this the guy here?

16.10.2011 13:46

Robert Lambert
Robert Lambert

 http://www.guardian.co.uk/profile/robert-lambert

Dr Robert Lambert is co-director of the European Muslim Research Centre (EMRC) at the University of Exeter and a part time lecturer at the Centre for the Study of Terrorism and Political Vioelnce (CSTPV) at the University of St Andrews. He was previously head of the Muslim Contact Unit (MCU) in the Metropolitan Police.

Anyone got any more dirt on him or details of his current situation?

anon


Guardian article on Bob with further details

17.10.2011 12:56

 http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2011/oct/16/academic-bob-lambert-former-police-spy

Progressive academic Bob Lambert is former police spy

Lambert, an expert on Islamophobia, posed as environmental activist then ran police spy unit that infiltrated anti-racist groups

* Rob Evans and Paul Lewis
* guardian.co.uk, Sunday 16 October 2011 21.30 BST

An academic and prominent supporter of progressive causes has been unmasked as a former spy who controlled a network of undercover police officers in political groups.

During his current career as an academic expert on Islamophobia, Bob Lambert has regularly spoken at political rallies to promote campaigns against racism and fascism.

However, in his previous career as a special branch officer, which lasted 26 years, he ran operations at a covert unit that placed police spies into political campaigns, including those run by anti-racism groups. The unit also disrupted the activities of these groups.

Lambert became head of the unit after going undercover himself.

Since becoming an academic three years ago, he has made no secret of the fact he was a special branch detective between 1980 and 2006, working on what he describes as "countering threats of terrorism and political violence in Britain".

However, he has kept quiet about his undercover work.

Lambert, who was involved in the secret unit for around 10 years, becomes the seventh police officer to be exposed as a police spy in the protest movement.

The disclosure comes before a major review of the use of such methods is published on Thursday. The report by Bernard Hogan-Howe, the new commissioner of the Metropolitan police, was commissioned by police chiefs after a series of revelations about Mark Kennedy, the officer who spent seven years embedded in the environmental movement.

Lambert was confronted about his past by a group he once infiltrated, while at a conference on Saturday. In one of many appearances on political platforms, he was a speaker at the conference, organised by Unite Against Fascism to promote anti-racism and multiculturalism. Last week he urged people to attend the conference to "show a united front against hatred and bigotry and celebrate the diversity of our multicultural communities".

Using the alias "Bob Robinson", Lambert posed as an activist in the group London Greenpeace between 1984 and 1988, say other members. The group, which had a libertarian philosophy, campaigned against nuclear power and weapons, as well as on other environmental issues, and says "Robinson" attended protests and meetings. It is understood that he also infiltrated animal rights protests.

On Saturday, members of the group pressed him to apologise for long-standing infiltration of political campaigns. He refused to comment, according to them.

At the time, he was acting as a member of a secretive police unit, the Special Demonstration Squad, which embedded undercover officers into groups it believed posed a threat to public order.

During the late 1990s, Lambert took charge of operations for the SDS, which penetrated both left and rightwing campaigns.

He was responsible for undercover police officers such as Pete Black, who spent four years pretending to be an anti-racism activist, and Jim Boyling, who was embedded in an environmental campaign against cars, Reclaim the Streets.

Between 2002 and 2007, Lambert ran the Muslim Contact Unit, a Scotland Yard department which sought to foster partnerships between police and Muslim community groups to prevent Islamist terrorist attacks.

In recent years Lambert has had a high public profile. A lecturer at Exeter and St Andrews universities, he has produced academic papers and articles for the media, including the Guardian and the New Statesman as he continued to argue that the government and police should work with Muslim groups to prevent terrorism.

However he has attracted virulent criticism from rightwing commentators who argue for a tougher approach. They believe it is counter-productive for the police to work in partnership with Muslim groups they claim are extremists.

London Greenpeace said it confronted Lambert to show "that recent police spies outed (such as Mark Kennedy) were not 'rogue officers' but part of an unacceptable pattern of immoral infiltration of environmental groups, condoned at a high level". Lambert could not be reached for comment yesterday.

More on Bob


Bobs up all over the place

17.10.2011 15:39

I've been wondering about Bob Lambert monitoring the Muslim community for a while. There he was "leaving" the police and straight away cozying up to the MCB, MAB, MEMO, Cordoba Foundation etc etc No other cops or ex-cops are so friendly with the Muslims. Now we have some idea of why he might be doing it!!! Anyone concerned that they may be targets for monitoring by the police (whether rightly or wrongly) should keep well away from Lambert until it can be shown that he's not still under cover for the police.

Sameena Ahmed


YES

17.10.2011 15:57

to the "thanks & well done"

Couldn't download your leaflet. Has anyone got an older pic of him when he was actively infiltrating?

Are you saying he infiltrated RTS personally, or did so as the controller of Jim Boyling?

Stroppyoldgit


PDF version of leaflet, text and image

18.10.2011 17:18

Bob Lambert - police spy - application/pdf 152K

Bob Lambert undercover in 1984
Bob Lambert undercover in 1984

Bob Lambert on protest outside The Dorchester Hotel 1984
Bob Lambert on protest outside The Dorchester Hotel 1984

Here is the leaflet in PDF form, which might be easier to open for some people. Also the extra images. And the leaflet in plain text form:

Stop police infiltration of campaign groups!

We are not here to disrupt this important conference but feel it is important that those listening should know:

The truth about Bob Lambert and his Special Branch role and that at minimum Bob should give a public apology for his past actions

Look up Bob on the internet and you’ll find any number of references to his career as a Special Branch officer until his retirement as Detective Inspector in 2007. Here’s one example - “Bob worked continuously as a Special Branch specialist counter-terrorist / counter-extremist intelligence officer from 1980, which involved dealing with all forms of violent political threats to the UK, from Irish republican to the many strands of International terrorism.”

Disgusting, immoral and damaging

What the reports don’t tell you is that a substantial amount of his work involved the infiltration of groups which were actually opposing violence and oppression inflicted on a daily basis by governments and corporations around the world. He and other agents he supervised infiltrated environmental, anti-capitalist and anti war organisations over two decades. And as part of these undercover operations those agents, including Bob, had long term and sexual relationships with campaigners and friends in the most abusive breach of trust imaginable. This abuse has had a severe and lasting emotional impact on those affected.

For a period of about 5 years up to 1988, Bob infiltrated meetings and events of London Greenpeace, a well respected organisation which campaigned against nuclear power and war, and on other environmental and social justice issues. Bob was also actively involved with many other protest activities including at Molesworth Peace Camp, free festivals, and animal rights activities and was even prosecuted at Camberwell Green Magistrates Court for distributing ‘insulting’ leaflets outside a butchers shop.


Bob on protest outside The Dorchester Hotel 1984

Bob also went on to supervise others agents who continued with infiltration of groups such as London Greenpeace and Reclaim the Streets, along with anti fascist protests and actions against genetically modified crops. It is clear that these were not ‘anti terrorist’ operations, but were in fact state intervention aimed at disrupting and weakening the growing opposition to the domination of our society by the interests of multinational corporations and their pursuit of profits.

It is difficult to take anything Bob says at face value unless he is prepared to come clean about his past and apologise for the harm done.

 Stopinfiltration@mail.com

anon


undercovers are an international theme

18.10.2011 20:40

hi,
thanks for posting this info. i just wanted to remind you that undercover operations are a very international theme. here in germany, mark kennedy visited us at least 6 times, and german undercover agent simon bromma was outed in the last year.

german cops flew to japan to advise them how to deal with anti-G8 protest in 2008, and then japanese cops started spying on anti-g8 activists. UK undercovers have been active in USA and across europe.

if you have any further current interesting infos, please look at our web-site, and help us to make a good film about this topic.

in solidarity,
jason
berlin

jason
- Homepage: blackhelmetproductions.net


@anon

21.10.2011 11:53

you state that Bob Lamber/Robinson was prosecuted at Camberwell magistrates court. Which name did he use?
If he was prosecuted as Bob Robinson, he perjured himself, and you should contact his defence solicitor and Bindmans who are putting together a case involving Boyling. If anyone else was prosecuted and found guilty at the same action, they should also contact their solicitor regarding an appeal as happened in the ongoing Boyling case.

The Secret Police have been acting above and beyond the rule of the law they claim to uphold for too long, and need to be brought to book. Too many innocent people have been prosecuted due to these lying shits.

Anonny


Bob's 'response'

21.10.2011 16:35

can be read here

 http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2011/oct/20/police-counter-subversion-extremism

Police, counter-subversion and extremism

We need partnership, not spies. The coalition forgets that alienating communities is counterproductive

All areas of covert policing, including undercover work, need to be well regulated and well supported. Strong leadership is vital and I am sure Bernard Hogan-Howe, the new Metropolitan police commissioner, will provide it.

I cannot respond here to the Guardian's report this week on my alleged undercover policing role for special branch. This isn't to deny the importance of its reporting following the revelations in the Mark Kennedy case. The police should learn from mistakes as well as from successes. Such reports will no doubt play a part in that process.

and so on

Response


More Guardian articles on Bob

23.10.2011 21:57

 http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2011/oct/23/police-spy-tricked-lover-activist?newsfeed=true

Police spy tricked lover with activist 'cover story'

Bob Lambert used false identity in 1980s to infiltrate protest movements while working for Metropolitan police special branch

--------------------

 http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2011/oct/23/undercover-police-animal-liberation-front

Undercover police: how 'romantic, attentive' impostor betrayed activist

I feel angry and violated, says woman apparently used as cover by officer who was trying to infiltrate Animal Liberation Front

anon


Bob Lambert replies to Spinwatch

23.10.2011 22:03

 http://www.spinwatch.org/-articles-by-category-mainmenu-8/50-dirty-tricks/5461-bob-lambert-replies-to-spinwatch

Bob Lambert replies to Spinwatch

24 October 2011

Spinwatch has received a reply to our open letter to Bob Lambert which we published on Thursday 20 October. We reproduce the reply below, though with the name of the person that Lambert mentions removed to protect her privacy. This was done at her request.

As I explain in the Guardian, in the 1980s I was deployed as an undercover Met special branch officer to identify and prosecute members of Animal Liberation Front who were then engaged in incendiary device and explosive device campaigns against targets in the vivisection, meat and fur trades.

As part of my cover story so as to gain the necessary credibility to become involved in serious crime, I first built a reputation as a committed member of London Greenpeace, a peaceful campaigning group.

I apologise unreservedly for the deception I therefore practiced on law abiding members of London Greenpeace.

I also apologise unreservedly for forming false friendships with law abiding ctizens and in particular forming a long term relationship with [Name of person removed] who had every reason to think I was a committed animal rights activist and a genuine London Greenpeace campaigner.

I am grateful to Spinwatch for giving me an opportunity to apologise and also to begin a process on conflict resolution in this difficult and sensitive arena.

This will not be easy for any of us but as a result of the recent work I have undertaken with Spinwatch in defence of Muslim organisations, I am confident we can make progress.

Much of that work will need to be done in a safe environment especially if I am to do justice to my subsequent supervisory role of undercover officers.

A key concern here will be to balance the demands of fact finding with the need to ensure junior undercover police officers are not put at risk of serious harm or scapegoated by the media, politicians or police chiefs.

I should point out here that the vast majority of Met special branch undercover officers never made the mistakes I made, have no need to apologise for anything, and I deepy regret having tarnished their illustrious, professional reputation.

By working in partnership we have an opportunity to enhance public safety and to promote the value of non violent protest as a more effective tactic than political violence - whether committed by state or non state actors.

My deceptions in the 1980s were all premised on maintaining the fiction required to perform my undercover role.

I offer my new book Countering al Qaeda in London: Police and Muslims in Partnership as evidence of my ability to build genuine trust with groups campaigning for social justice and as a signal of my good faith moving forward.

I offer this reply as a preliminary contribution to what I hope will be a long term initiative.


Dr. Robert Lambert
Lecturer, CSTPV
School of International Relations
University of St. Andrews, UK
Co-director, EMRC, University of Exeter, UK
New book Countering al-Qaeda in London: Police and Muslims in Partnership

From Spinwatch


Spinwatch Won't Criticise Lambert

27.10.2011 11:48

Both Bob Lambert and Spinwatch accept funding from the same source - the Cordoba Foundation, a GB associate of the Muslim Brotherhood.

The Cordoba Foundation pay for lambert's European Muslim Resource Centre at Exeter, and they also paid a big chunk of the cost for the recent report "The Cold War Against Britain's Muslims" produced by Spinwatch mainstay Prof David Miller.

Muslim organisations long ago bought Lambert, and it is unlikely they care less about whether a few green or animal rights activists got infiltrated (they would be treated far worse under an Islamic government!)

The likes of Spinwatch, and long term activists like Miller should know better than to swallow what Lambert says (he is after all an accomplished liar, be it to activists he is infiltrating, or to the BBC as 'Steve' on Peter Taylor's programme) - lets hope their response to his latest warm words is to say they are not so easily fooled. Or bought.

Arty barty


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