The police’s own investigation into the National Public Order Intelligence Unit (NPOIU) is known as Operation Elter, and nominally overseen by the National Police Chiefs’ Council (the successor to the Association of Chief Police Officers). It oversees the archive of the NPOIU and liaises with the Undercover Policing Inquiry (UCPI) in relation to them.
The NPOIU has not featured heavily in the earlier parts of the Undercover Policing Inquiry. A number of the undercovers are core participants in their own right, having their own legal representative - Scott Ingram of DAC BeachcroftDAC BeachcroftFull page: DAC Beachcroft (formerly of Slater & Gordon). Most of the rest are covered by the Metropolitan Police’s Designated Lawyers team.Designated LawyersFull page: Designated Lawyers
All NPOIU managers and undercovers except 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. have sought anonymity over cover and real names. The Inquiry Chair, Sir John Mitting, has granted this for the most part, only agreeing to the release of cover names already in the public domain, such as EN34 'Lynn Watson',EN34 'Lynn Watson'EN34 ‘Lynn Watson’ was the assumed identity of an undercover police officer who infiltrated activist groups, mainly in the northern English city of Leeds, between the years of 2002 and 2008. Before moving to Leeds in 2004, Lynn was deployed briefly to investigate a woodland preservation protest campaign in East Sussex in 2002. The following year she infiltrated anti-nuclear groups at Aldermaston in Berkshire. In Leeds, she spied upon a broad range of campaigns including the Climate Camp movement and Dissent!, which was coordinating protest and direct action against the UK-hosted 2005 G8 summit. HN596/EN32 'Rod Richardson'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. and HN519/EN1 'Marco Jacobs'.HN519/EN1 'Marco Jacobs'HN519/EN1 'Marco Jacobs' was an NPOIU undercover officer who infiltrated groups in 2004 and 2009, at first in the Brighton area of southern England and then in Cardiff, South Wales. His targets included groups Smash EDO!, Cardiff Anarchist Network and the No Borders network. He had two sexual relationships under his cover personality. As a result, the majority of names of NPOIU undercovers will not be released to the public.
The Inquiry intends to deal with the NPOIU in Tranche 4, which is expected to be heard in 2025. Hence, only minimal detail has been disclosed to the public in comparison with the Speacial Demonstration Squad to date. However, some insight into how it worked has already emerged in the case taken to the Investigatory Powers Tribunal by Kate Wilson.
The unit is known to have deployed 22 undercovers, of which by June 2023, the Inquiry had determined that only eight would not have their cover names restricted. Most of these are undercovers who have been discovered by campaigners. Of the 67 NPOIU managers, the Inquiry has determined that only 24 will have their names released, 38 will keep their anonymity with 14 still to be determined as of June 2024.Thirteenth Update Note, 13 Aug 2024, UCPI.View Document
