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The hearing also coincidently takes place on the anniversary of occupation of the Stasi HQ in Berlin. The occupation led to files being protected and opened to those who had been spied upon. It is understood that in the UK in 1994, SDS officers, when viewing coverage about the Stasi files, predicted to each other "this is going to happen to us one day".

The group of eight women issued a statement ahead of the hearing and anniversary, in which they said: “Despite the apology and very public settlement of seven of our eight claims, the police have so far refused to disclose any information to any of us about the files held on us, the extent of the intrusion into our lives, or the motivations behind the abusive police operations we were subjected to.”

Kate Wilson, who’s ongoing case will be the subject of the hearing, added: “I would like to see the true nature of Britain’s political policing fully exposed, and I believe everyone affected by these abusive undercover units should be given free access to their files.

“Friday 15 January 2016 will see the first hearing in our legal case against undercover policing since the historic apology issued just over two months ago by the Metropolitan Police to seven of us who were deceived into long-term, intimate relationships with undercover police officers spying on political movements.

The seven women released the following pre-hearing statement: “The 15 January is also the 26th anniversary of the occupation of the Stasi HQ in Berlin. Protestors outside the building saw smoke rising from fires as Stasi officers desperately tried to burn the evidence of their abuses and crimes. People massed outside the complex and stormed the gates in order to stop the destruction and demand access to the secret files held on them by the collapsing regime. Yet today, almost a quarter of a century after the East German people won their battle to expose the activities of the Stasi, we in Britain are still fighting for access to the truth about our undercover police.

“Despite the apology and very public settlement of seven of our eight claims, the police have so far refused to disclose any information to any of us about the files held on us, the extent of the intrusion into our lives, or the motivations behind the abusive police operations we were subjected to.

“Despite the launching of a Public Inquiry chaired by Lord Justice Pitchford into the activites of undercover units, it still remains unclear whether there will really be a robust and transparent process to uncover the truth. There are already grave concerns over the inquiry’s failure to include the activities of police officers outside of England and Wales, despite the fact that most of the exposed undercover operatives also worked in Scotland and/or abroad.

“The five years that have passed since the exposure of the first undercover officers have seen an avalanche of revelations about the abusive and sometimes illegal activities of Britain’s secret police; and this information, uncovered by activists, journalists and whistleblowers, is just the tip of the iceberg. Around 200 undercover officers are known to have been used to infiltrate political movements in Britain since 1968, affecting potentially thousands of groups and individuals who have no idea that their companions, friends, partners, or even fathers were, in fact, police spies.

“The lessons from Germany during the fall of the GDR are clear: legal processes, courts, and government inquiries alone cannot be trusted to uncover the truth. It took direct action and pressure from the grassroots to forcibly expose the abuses of the Stasi. Today, as the court decides how to proceed over the question of disclosure in this case, we remember the bravery and conviction of the people of the GDR; and to the police and the Pitchford inquiry we have this message: enough is enough, it is time to release the cover names and open the files."

Kate Wilson, the woman whose case is being heard on 15 January, had a two year relationship with Mark Kennedy of the NPOIU (cover name Mark Stone) between 2003 and 2005.

She said: “The police claim they had no knowledge of my relationship with Mark, although he lived with me for more than a year of his undercover operation. I have yet to see any documents or authorisations that explain his intrusion into my life or the lives of my parents and friends. I don’t know if I was targetted for my political beliefs and they are lying and witholding the documentation to cover it up; or if I was simply so-called ’collateral intrusion’ in a secret operation against political dissent, that sidelined my life, my family, my body and myself, and the police did not even consider it worthy of a mention in an operational authorisation. Either possibility is deeply disturbing.

“Friday 15th January 2016 will see the first hearing in our legal case against undercover policing since the historic apology issued just over two months ago by the Metropolitan Police to seven of us who were deceived into long-term, intimate relationships with undercover police officers spying on political movements.

“January 15th is also the 26th anniversary of the occupation of the Stasi HQ in Berlin. Protestors outside the building saw smoke rising from fires as Stasi officers desperately tried to burn the evidence of their abuses and crimes. People massed outside the complex and stormed the gates in order to stop the destruction and demand access to the secret files held on them by the collapsing regime. Yet today, almost a quarter of a century after the East German people won their battle to expose the activities of the Stasi, we in Britain are still fighting for access to the truth about our undercover police.

“Despite the launching of a Public Inquiry chaired by Lord Justice Pitchford into the activites of undercover units, it still remains unclear whether there will really be a robust and transparent process to uncover the truth. There are already grave concerns over the inquiry’s failure to include the activities of police officers outside of England and Wales, despite the fact that most of the exposed undercover operatives also worked in Scotland and/or abroad.

Background of SDS comment re Stasi files
The events at the Stasi Berlin HQ on 15 January 1990 led to further developments, as a society attempted to come to terms with what had happened. In 1994, coverage of the process was broadcast in the UK - and was seen by those who were, themselves, involved in the UK's secret police.

The following extract is from Undercover: The True Story of Britain's Secret Police, by Rob Evans and Paul Lewis (Faber and Faber, 2013).

A team of undercover officers had spent the evening drinking and chatting in the London apartment. It was late one night in 1994.

They turned on the television to catch a news report from Germany. Tens of thousands of Germans were trawling through secret files compiled on them before the Berlin Wall came down. There was a wave of revulsion at the scale of surveillance perpetrated by the Stasi, the East German secret police. [..] The TV report showed the distraught face of a woman in Berlin who had discovered the man she had loved for years was a spy.

There was silence in the lounge. Then one of the undercover police officers said what the others must have been thinking.

'You do realise, this is going to happen to us one day,' he said 'we're going to open a book and read all about what we've been up to.'

It was a chilling thought. The men lounging on the red sofas were members of the Special Demonstration Squad, a top-secret unit within London's Metropolitan Police.

Key background links
1. The hearing on 15 January will be a case management conference to clarify the timetable for disclosure and related matters. Previous hearings have sought to ensure the Met follows normal court procedure:
- Police climb down and withdraw 'strike-out' application March 2014

- Women issue legal challenge to NCND in court June 2014
- Partial NCND victory Aug 2014

2. The claims arise from the deception of women into long-term intimate relationships by five police officers who had infiltrated social and environmental justice campaigns. The common law claims relating to the 15 January hearing include deceit, assault, misfeasance in public office and negligence.

3. As part of an out-of-court settlement for seven out of the eight claims, the Met police issued a comprehensive apology in November 2015 - their first admission that the relationships had taken place and had caused significant damage.Kate Wilson's case continues, as do other civil cases being brought against the police over undercover policing. A public inquiry has also been launched.

4. The eight women bringing this legal action are doing so to highlight and prevent the continuation of psychological, emotional and sexual abuse of campaigners and others by undercover police officers. 'We come from different backgrounds and have a range of political beliefs and interests, and we are united in believing that every woman, and every person, has a right to participate in the struggle for social and environmental justice, without fear of persecution, objectification, or interference in their lives.' - from 'Where we stand' Statement.

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