Police operations

In the 1990s the Special Demonstration Squad adopted names for their undercovers as a way to avoid referring to them by their names. Often these were abbreviated in intelligence reports. For instance, intelligence reports from HN26 ‘Christine Green’, who was known as ‘Road Bridge’, would be referred to as RB.

• Road Bridge – HN26 ‘Christine Green’ HN26 'Christine Green' HN26 'Christine Green' is the cover name of an undercover police officer who served with the Special Demonstration Squad. She infiltrated South and West London animal rights groups from early 1995 to late 1999. As well as being active in hunt saboteur groups, Green also took part in animal liberation actions and was arrested at least once. Green had a long-term sexual relationship with an activist, which continued long after her deployment ended.
• Common Weal – HN18 ‘Rob Harrison’
• Touchy Subject – HN15 Mark Jenner ‘Mark Cassidy’ HN15 Mark Jenner 'Mark Cassidy' HN15 Mark Jenner (cover name 'Mark Cassidy') was a SDS undercover officer who spied-upon the Colin Roach Centre, Anti-Fascist Action, Independent Working Class Association, Republican Forum and Red Action between 1995 and 2000. He had a long-term sexual relationship with 'Alison' in his cover identity.
• Magenta Triangle – HN16 James Thomson ‘James Straven’ HN16 James Thomson 'James Straven' James Thomson was an undercover SDS officer between 1997 and 2002. He used the cover name 'James Straven' whilst infiltrating Brixton Hunt Saboteurs and the Animal Liberation Front and is also referred to by the UCPI as HN16. He had two sexual relationships whilst undercover. He also used a second cover name, 'Kevin Crossland', an identity taken from a deceased child.
• Pegasus / Penguin – EN12 Mark Kennedy ‘Mark Stone’ EN12 Mark Kennedy 'Mark Stone' EN12 Mark Kennedy ('Mark Stone') was an NPOIU undercover officer who operated from 2001 to 2009. Although based in Nottingham for most of his deployment, he infiltrated groups across the UK and Europe. He was exposed as a police officer in October 2010 by activists. His undisclosed involvement in an action against Ratcliffe Power Station led to a trial collapsing. He had several sexual relationships, some long-term. His exposure led to several other undercover officers being exposed and the wider 'spycops' issue becoming public.
• Psycho Dream – HN14 Jim Boyling ‘Jim Sutton’ HN14 Jim Boyling 'Jim Sutton' HN14 Jim Boyling (cover name 'Jim Sutton') was an SDS officer deployed between 1995 and 2000 into Essex Hunt Saboteurs, Reclaim the Streets and Earth First! He engaged in sexual relationships and fathered children with an activist.
• Red Herring – HN3 ‘Jason Bishop’ HN3 'Jason Bishop' HN3 'Jason Bishop' was the assumed identity of an Special Demonstration Squad undercover police officer who infiltrated political groups within the activist and anarchist movement in London, including Reclaim the Streets (RTS), Earth First! and Disarm DSEi. He also attended the G8 in Scotland in 2005, focusing on those who were associated with the Dissent! Network. Bishop was exposed by activists in July 2013.
• Windmill Tilter – HN81 ‘Dave Hagan’ HN81 'David Hagan' HN81 'David Hagan' was an SDS officer between 1996 and 2001 who targeted the Socialist Workers Party, Class War, Movement Against the Monarchy and Movement for Justice. He is referred to extensively in the Ellison Review about the targeting of the family of Stephen Lawrence.

Operation Herne was the name given to the Metropolitan Police’s investigation into the Special Demonstration Squad. It was originally called Operation Soisson. Among its sub-investigations were:

• Operation Trinity – into the allegations of HN43 Peter Francis ‘Pete Black’.
• Operation Reuben – into Special Branch collusion with blacklisting.

Operation Elter was the corresponding investigation into the National Public Order Intelligence Unit, overseen by the National Police Chiefs’ Council.

Out of these came a number of specific investigations into criminal activity and misconduct by undercovers, each investigation given its own name. Those that are known publicly are:

• Colton – HN104 Carlo Soracchi ‘Carlo Neri’ HN104 Carlo Soracchi 'Carlo Neri' Carlo Neri is the alias of an undercover police officer who infiltrated the Socialist Party and anti-fascist groups. He was active from 2001 to 2006 and based in north and central London. Carlo Neri was exposed in January 2016. He had two long-term relationships during his deployment.
• Montrose – EN12 Mark Kennedy ‘Mark Stone’
• Randwick – HN106 ‘Barry Tompkins’ HN106 'Barry Tompkins' HN106 ‘Barry Tompkins’ was an SDS undercover deployed between 1979 and 1983 into various left-wing groups including the Spartacus League of Britain, Revolutionary Communist Tendency and Revolutionary Communist Party and the East London Workers Against Racism. His real name has been restricted. Full page: HN106 'Barry Tompkins'
• Riverwood – EN32 Rod Richardson’s use of a deceased child's identity. HN596/EN32 'Rod Richardson' HN596/EN32 'Rod Richardson' was an NPOIU undercover officer deployed between 1999 and 2003. During this time, he infiltrated groups in Essex, Nottingham and London. He began his deployment at the Rettenden protest camp in Essex before infiltrating anarchist and environmentalist groups in Nottingham and networks such as Earth First! However, despite living in Nottingham, he also infiltrated the WOMBLES in London. Richardson also travelled to international summits.
• Sparkler /Nitrogen – HN10 Robert Lambert ‘Bob Robinson’ and the Debenhams attacks. HN10 Robert Lambert 'Bob Robinson' Bob Lambert, using the cover name 'Bob Robinson' infiltrated Animal Rights campaigns as a SDS officer between 1983 and 1988. He fathered a child whilst undercover, with 'Jacqui'. He was also involved in the planting of an incendiary device, which resulted in two other people going to prison. He returned to the SDS as a manager (1993-1998) and oversaw further controversies. He later became an academic in the field of 'Terrorist Studies'.
• Vasco – HN1 ‘Matt Rayner’. HN1 'Matt Rayner' HN1 'Matt Rayner' was the cover name of an SDS undercover officer. He infiltrated the animal rights movement in North London from 1991 to 1996, targeting London Boots Action Group, London Animal Action, Animal Liberation Front and West London Hunt Saboteurs. He had a sexual relationship in his undercover identity.

In the wake of the spycops scandal, the MPS set up two other operations:

• Motion – the name for the taskforce supporting SDS officers.
• FileSafe, previously Beacon – looking at chaotic MPS information-management systems, following Mark Ellison’s criticism in the Stephen Lawrence Independent Review, of relevance to the topic of Assurance.

• Carnaby – Metropolitan Police investigation into the poll tax riots.
• Gant – Metropolitan Police investigation into attacks on butcher-shop windows in the 1990s.
• Wheel Brace – Metropolitan Police investigation into 'criminally active animal extremists' in London in mid-1990s.

The Metropolitan Police has held a number of its own investigations into internal corruption of its officers. A number of these became prominent and are known by their operational names. Some of these investigations involved officers later who were linked to corruption around the murder of Stephen Lawrence. Most of these internal probes were led by the MPS’s Complaints Investigation Bureau (CIB)

• Countryman – internal investigation into police corruption in the 1980s.
• Othona – internal investigation into police corruption in the 1990s, conducting surveillance of various detectives.
• Russell – internal investigation into police corruption in the 1990s, particularly the conduct of Commander Ray Adams.
• Tiberius – internal investigation in 2002 into police corruption. 

Two other investigations relevant to spycops-related issues are Operation Hibiscus and Operation Gilbert. These were overseen by the Independent Office of Police Conduct.

• Hibiscus – looked at a whistleblower’s complaint that the Metropolitan Police had destroyed documents related to spycops units that would have been of interest to the Undercover Policing Inquiry.
• Gilbert – investigated allegations police had been involved in hacking email accounts of environmental activists.

A third, related, investigation looked at whether the Metropolitan Police had deliberately destroyed material relating to Baroness Jenny Jones to frustrate her Subject Access Request. This investigation was not given an operation name.

The UCPI were also made aware of these particular investigations and issued Rule 9 questions to the Metropolitan Police as a consequence. For more on this see under the topic of Assurance.