My Lords, I shall speak in favour of Amendment 28, to which I have added my name. It seeks to outlaw the infiltration of trade unions. In addition, I shall speak to my Amendment 29, which would go further in seeking to outlaw the infiltration of legitimate political organisations and activities. I have tabled it as a probing amendment. Many of these issues take up a lot of what was discussed in the previous debate.
State surveillance of political organisations is of course far from new. It has been going on for many centuries. Earlier this week, we heard powerful testimony from my noble friend Lord Hain about his own experiences. I know that there has been surveillance on
my noble friend Lady Lawrence of Clarendon and her family. I suspect that other Members of this House may also have been subjected to surveillance, whether they are aware of it or not.
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As the House has already discussed, the Mitting inquiry has recently started taking evidence on the seemingly industrial use of undercover surveillance methods against a wide range of left-wing and progressive campaigns. These include the Vietnam Solidarity Campaign, the Anti-Apartheid Movement, women’s rights organisations, anti-colonial movements, anti-racist campaigns—and families, such as those of my noble friend Lady Lawrence, who were campaigning on justice issues involving a family member. There are many others including the miners’ strike, the Shrewsbury 24 and blacklisting campaigns. In 2015, a whistleblower revealed that there had been surveillance on 10 MPs, including my noble friend Lord Hain, Jack Straw and several other well-known politicians.
The inquiry established in 2015, which we have heard about, is due to report its investigations in 2023. It is currently taking evidence into allegations of infiltration of more than 1,000 political groups, starting in 1968. It is unclear whether surveillance led to intelligence on any serious crime. We hope that the inquiry will uncover facts to inform debate. As my noble friend Lord Kennedy said, Mark Cassidy is perhaps the best-known infiltrator. He infiltrated environmental groups and had sexual involvement with campaigners. For seven years, he adopted a fake identity, deceiving women into sexual relationships. Although it has become clear that some undercover officers have been using this tactic to infiltrate groups over a period of nearly 50 years, again it is unclear what intelligence the state has obtained as a result.
I am very aware that the Minister has said that such conduct by agents was wrong, and I am grateful to her for that. In a previous debate earlier this week, her ministerial colleague described such behaviour as “a mistake”. The Metropolitan Police has already paid compensation to four women as a result of these inappropriate relationships. Given that these and other practices, including the infiltration of groups, have been going on for so many decades—whether or not they involved behaviours such as having sexual relationships with campaigners—the protections need to be in the Bill. Surveillance needs to take place within a clear legal framework; it also needs to be clear what level of infiltration of campaigning and political organisations is acceptable.
My amendment refers to “legitimate political activity”, which would require to be defined. It could include human rights organisations, environmental campaigns and a wide range of other non-violent organisations. This legislation is an opportunity to consider what is and is not acceptable surveillance by the state. What rights do we have to take part in political activity in a free society? What rights do we have to privacy in circumstances where no criminal activity is taking place or is likely to do so?
As my noble friend has said, many of these campaigns may be inconvenient to those in government. They may be intent on changing government policy or the way in which we organise ourselves as a society. The
amendment from my noble friend Lord Hendy would allow surveillance only where there was a crime triable on indictment. Neither of these present amendments would be required if his amendment, or some of the other wider amendments to ensure judicial oversight, were to be passed.
Many in this House are here only because of their involvement in politics, which is a fundamental right in a free society. The legislation before us is an inadequate framework that includes few safeguards. The backdrop is a history of recent police abuse and failure to respect human rights. Legislation is required to create a framework and this Bill is an opportunity to do that. However, as currently framed, it is inadequate and provides few safeguards. Therefore, I would be grateful if the Government could outline the circumstances in which they believe it is acceptable to undertake surveillance of those involved in political activities.