The Guardian has identified the undercover officers who deceived members of the public into sexual relations, while concealing their true identities. Some of the officers have yet to be questioned about their conduct by the public inquiry into undercover policing.
Undercover officers who fathered, or are alleged to have fathered, children with women they met during their deployments:
1 Bob Lambert/‘Bob Robinson’
Animal rights groups, anarchists, 1984-89
Bob Lambert had sexual relationships with four women without telling them he was married and an undercover officer. He fathered a son with a woman known as Jacqui and abandoned them when the child was an infant. More than two decades later, Jacqui discovered he had been a police spy when, by chance, she read a story about him in the media.
She has been deeply traumatised and has undergone hours of therapy. She told the inquiry she had become reclusive, adding: “Everything about my life has just been absolutely ruined … I don’t really have a life any more.”
Belinda Harvey had an 18-month relationship with Lambert without knowing his real identity. She said she had been “completely deceived and betrayed” by Lambert after falling “head over heels” in love with him. He was a “cruel and manipulative” liar, she said.
Lambert was in his 30s when he deceived the women, who were in their 20s. He admitted that the women would not have consented to the relationships if they had known his true identity.
2 Jim Boyling/‘Jim Sutton’
Reclaim the Streets, Earth First!, hunt saboteurs, 1995-2000
Jim Boyling had two children with an activist, Rosa, whom he met while undercover in 1999. He vanished the following year and reappeared in 2001 at which point he told her he had been an undercover officer. She has told the public inquiry he then trapped her in “an increasingly abusive and controlling relationship”, adding: “He had me isolated from all my friends, comrades and associates.” She left to go to a women’s refuge. He has said he did not behave abusively towards her. During his deployment, he deceived two other women into long-term relationships.
3 ‘Alan Bond’
Socialist Workers party, 1982-85
Another undercover officer has accused “Alan Bond” of fathering a child with a campaigner. The officer alleged that other colleagues also knew about the child. Bond denies the claim. He has admitted having a one-night stand with a different woman while undercover.
4 ‘Jim Pickford’
Anarchists, community groups in south London, 1974-76
“Jim Pickford” met a woman while using his fake identity and went on to marry her. He had a child with her. The inquiry heard evidence that his deployment had to be ended early because he had wanted to disclose to her that he was an undercover police officer. A colleague called him a “sexual predator”. He has since died.
Undercover officers who formed sexual relationships with members of the public while hiding their real identities:
5 Mark Kennedy/‘Mark Stone’
Environmental and leftwing groups, 2003-09
It is not known how many women Kennedy deceived into sexual relationships – the total is likely to be in double figures. Kennedy had a six-year relationship with Lisa Jones, a social justice campaigner.
Jones discovered his true identity in 2010 through her own detective work. This exposure led to the outbreak of the spy cops scandal. Another campaigner, Kate Wilson, was deceived by Kennedy into a two-year relationship. In a landmark case in 2021, judges ruled that police had grossly violated her human rights.
The judges concluded that senior officers in charge of Kennedy “either knew of the relationship, chose not to know of its existence, or were incompetent and negligent in not following up” clear and obvious signs. The judges praised her tenacity in fighting the legal case.
6 ‘Lynn Watson’
Environmental and anti-nuclear groups, 2003-08
‘Lynn Watson’ slept with an environmental activist at a protest camp at a Yorkshire power station in 2006. The male activist said she instigated the one-night stand. While undercover, she was filmed running around Leeds city centre dressed as a clown during a protest, playing cricket with a feather duster and chanting “tickle the tree”.
7 ‘Marco Jacobs’
Cardiff Anarchist Network, 2004–09
‘Marco Jacobs’ had sexual relationships with two activists. One has told the inquiry she had trusted him more than anyone else in the world and confided in him, telling him highly sensitive personal matters. When she discovered he was an undercover officer, she felt physically sick.
8 ‘Rob Harrison’
International Solidarity Movement, a pro-Palestinian group, anti-war campaigns, 2004-07
A woman, Maya, has described how ‘Rob Harrison’ formed a long-term, intimate relationship with her without disclosing his real identity, vanished from her life then reappeared seven years later. When he came back, she says, he persuaded her to break up with her then boyfriend of five years, saying he wanted to rekindle their relationship and have children together. He then slept with her for a single night, disappearing from her life again before dawn the next morning without explanation. She feared he had made her pregnant as he had not wanted to use a condom, and so she had to get the morning-after pill. He has declined to comment.
9 Carlo Soracchi/‘Carlo Neri’
Militant/Socialist party, anti-fascist groups, 2000-06
During a two-year relationship, Carlo Soracchi asked an activist, Donna McLean, to marry him and told her that he wanted to have a child with her. He had concealed from her the fact he was married at the time and that he was a police spy. Earlier in his deployment, he had deceived another woman, Lindsey, into a long-term relationship.
10 James Thomson/‘James Straven’
Animal Liberation Front, Brixton and Croydon hunt saboteurs, 1997-2002
Thomson initially told the inquiry he did not have any sexual relationships while he was undercover. He later admitted that he had had two – both lasting at least a year. One of the women, Ellie, said Thomson rang her in 2018 and told her he had been an undercover officer. She said he had asked her to delete their WhatsApp messages and emails.
11 Mark Jenner/‘Mark Cassidy’
Anti-Fascist Action, Colin Roach Centre, London, an organisation that had exposed police corruption, 1995-2000
Mark Jenner lived for five years with a leftwing activist known as Alison who has described their relationship as “man and wife”. A burly, funny scouser, Jenner said he was a joiner, but struggled to fit a new kitchen in their home. He appears in family videos visiting Alison’s relatives.
They went to counselling as she had wanted children, but he did not. In 2000, he disappeared abruptly from her life, after months and months of pretending to suffer from depression – a familiar tactic used by undercover officers to bring their deployment to an end. Alison was left heartbroken and paranoid, feeling she was losing her mind. She spent years chasing clues to unmask his real identity. While Jenner lived with Alison, he was married to another woman. with whom he had children.
12 ‘Christine Green’
Animal rights groups, 1994-99
According to the inquiry, ‘Christine Green’ had a sexual relationship with an activist while she was undercover. At some stage, she told the activist the truth. After her deployment, she had a romantic relationship for years with the activist, living in remote cottages in Cornwall and Scotland.
13 Peter Francis/‘Peter Black’, ‘Peter Daley’
Youth against Racism in Europe, Militant/the Socialist party, 1993-97
Peter Francis is the only undercover officer to blow the whistle on the covert surveillance of political groups. He revealed, for instance, that Scotland Yard had deployed undercover officers to spy on the campaign to compel police to investigate properly the racist murder of Stephen Lawrence. During his deployment, he had sexual relations with two activists. He has said having sex with activists was “just regarded as part of the job … it would be highly unlikely that you were not having sex”.
14 ‘Matt Rayner’
Animal rights groups, 1992-96
‘Matt Rayner’ had a two-year relationship with an activist, Denise Fuller. She told the inquiry he had exploited her vulnerability to start a relationship with her after she had confided in him and disclosed deeply personal information. They typically spent three or four nights a week together, going to the theatre, cinema or walks.
Rayner said his managers knew about the relationship and “did not tell him to stop”. He testified that the undercover officers’ sexual relationships were seen by their managers “as a grey area … they were not advised or encouraged … but they were not prohibited either”.
15 Andy Coles/‘Andy Davey’
Animal rights groups, anarchists, anti-military campaigns, 1991-95
A woman, Jessica, has told the public inquiry that Andy Coles, then 31, had a sexual relationship with her while she was a “quite young and naive” 19-year-old. She called him “creepy”. He has denied the relationship ever happened. However, the Metropolitan police, his former employer, has not accepted his denial and told the inquiry he had an intimate relationship with her in 1992 and 1993. His past as an undercover officer had been exposed in 2017 after a throwaway remark by his brother, the broadcaster and former pop star Richard Coles.
16 Trevor Morris/‘Anthony “Bobby” Lewis’, ‘Bobby McGee’
Anti-Nazi League, Socialist Workers party, 1991-95
At the public inquiry, Trevor Morris gave a strong defence of the deception of the women by undercover officers. The Metropolitan police commissioner has apologised for the abuse of the women, but Morris called this apology “outrageous” and “unacceptable”. He had a year-long relationship with a young mother and a one-night stand with another woman. He did not accept that his conduct was wrong.
17 John Dines/‘John Barker’
Anarchists, Animal Liberation Front, 1987-1991
John Dines deceived the environmental campaigner and McLibel defendant Helen Steel into a two-year relationship. She fell in love with him. According to the inquiry, he appears to say he only had the relationship with her to maintain his fake identity and obtain information about activists. David Barr, the public inquiry’s chief barrister, has called his conduct “cold, calculating, emotional and sexual exploitation”.
18 ‘John Lipscomb’
Animal rights campaigns, anarchists, anti-poll tax groups, 1987-1990
‘John Lipscomb’ has admitted he “engaged in ‘some sexual activity’ with four women on different occasions during his deployment”.
19 Mike Chitty/‘Mike Blake’
Animal rights groups, 1983-87
Mike Chitty had a relationship with an activist, Lizzie, lasting 18 months before telling her he was moving to the US. Remarkably, after his deployment had ended, Chitty returned to socialise with the activists he had infiltrated using his previous fake identity. Lizzie told the inquiry that he had also tried to persuade her to resume their relationship around 1989-90, but she lost trust in him as he continually disappeared.
20 ‘Mike Hartley’
Revolutionary Communist group, Socialist Workers party, 1982-85
“Mike Hartley” has said he had a “brief” sexual relationship with an activist in the Revolutionary Communist group. He has since died.
21 ‘Phil Cooper’
Socialist Workers party, Right to Work campaign, anti-nuclear campaigners, 1979-1984
“Phil Cooper” initially appeared to admit to the inquiry he had had sexual relationships with at least three female activists but then denied it. The public inquiry has concluded that he did have “casual relationships with female activists in his cover identity during his deployment”.
22 Vince Harvey/‘Vince Miller’
Socialist Workers party, 1976-79
Vince Harvey initially claimed to the public inquiry he had had one-night stands with four women while undercover. However, one of the women, Madeleine, challenged his account and testified that she had had a relationship with him that had lasted two months. The inquiry concluded that Madeleine’s evidence was true.
23 HN21 – his identity has been kept secret by the public inquiry
Socialist Workers party, late 1970s-early 1980s
The inquiry heard that he had had “occasional sexual encounters” with two women while using his fake identity. He gave inconsistent evidence to the inquiry.
24 Richard Clark/‘Rick Gibson’
Big Flame – a leftwing group, Troops Out movement – a campaign for the withdrawal of the British state from Ireland, 1975-76
The public inquiry has concluded that Richard Clark had sexual relationships with “at least two and probably four female activists”. One of the women, Mary, said: “The use of sex as a strategy is appalling and the fact that it carried on throughout the decades is wrong on many levels.”
An unnamed colleague said Clark, who is now dead, was a “womaniser and a carnivore”. Clark’s deployment was ended early after he was rumbled by Big Flame activists.
25 HN302 – his identity has been kept secret by the public inquiry
Unidentified leftwing groups, 1970s
In a closed hearing of the inquiry, the spy said he had a brief sexual encounter with an activist. He said he could not recall her name, so she was not traced by the inquiry.
• The Undercover Police Scandal: Love and Lies Exposed airs on Thursday 6 March at 9pm GMT on ITV1, ITVX and STV.
