HN1251 Philip Saunders

Phil Saunders served in the Royal Artillery from 1944 until 1948 with the rank of sergeant. He joined the police shortly afterwards, in May 1948, and the C (Crime) Division that August. He was transferred to Special Branch in January 1950 before becoming a police constable in May 1950. MPS Central Record of Service for Philip Saunders, 1948-1979, 3 May 1948, Metropolitan Police Special Branch, MPS-0722807.View Document  This seems unusual as other former officers testified that they became a police constable first, then had to apply to Special Branch and sit a competitive exam.

Saunders' first posting is gisted as 'Special Duties CO.' 'CO' in Special Branch documents generally referred to Central Office, meaning the main Special Branch headquarters at New Scotland Yard.  He was next sent on Ports duty, where almost all Special Branch officers were posted at least once during their career. None of his other roles before 1968 are known, but he rose through the ranks to become a detective inspector in June 1964. 

The published part of his career record resumes at the point when the Special Demonstration Squad was founded, in July 1968. Founding of the Special Demonstration Squad The Special Demonstration Squad was founded in July 1968 after meetings between the Home Office and the Metropolitan Police Special Branch discussing plans to deal with the anti-Vietnam war demonsatration to be held in London on 31 October 1968.  HN3093 Roy Creamer HN3093 Roy Creamer Roy Creamer was born in 1930 and served as a Metropolitan Police officer between 1954 and 1980. He was a founding member of the Special Demonstration Squad in 1968 and worked for the unit in a back-office role until 1969. Creamer was later involved in two police investigations into alleged anarchist bombing conspiracies. Full page: HN3093 Roy Creamer , an SDS colleague of Saunders', implied that Saunders may have been in A Squad at some point prior to C Squad. Creamer described Saunders as a 'protection officer by inclination'. Metropolitan Police Special Branch Formed in 1883 as the Special Irish Branch, the Metropolitan Police Special Branch (MSPB) grew into a significant division with the Metropolitan Police, headed by an officer of the rank of Commander. It has been known as B12 and SO12. In 2006 it was merged with SO13 Anti-Terrorism Branch to form SO15 Counter-Terrorism Command. The Special Demonstration Squad was set up within the MPSB and run by it for its entire existence. Full page: Metropolitan Police Special Branch

Saunders had long since died when knowledge of the SDS became public. Therefore, the majority of the evidence relating to Saunders is Special Branch reports countersigned by him. However, Saunders was also responsible for the 1969 and 1970 SDS Annual Reports, the only surviving documents he authored. 

In addition, a few of his SDS contemporaries commented briefly on Saunders in their statements to the Inquiry. Inquiry Chair John Mitting also made mild criticism of Saunders in his Tranche One Interim Report. Interim Report Full page: Interim Report

Saunders was already in C Squad C Squad C Squad was the unit within the Special Branch that, before 1969, predominantly dealt with the Communist Party of Great Britain (CPGB). However, its remit also included monitoring other groups that did not fall under other Squads, which included anarchist groups. From 1969, its remit changed to encompass all groups on the left. The SDS provided intelligence for C Squad. In 1988, the SDS became part of C Squad and then part of the newly formed CE Squad (a merger of C and E Squads) in 1992.  before the SDS. Indeed, the implication from undercover officer HN326 ‘Doug Edwards’ HN326 'Doug Edwards' HN326 ‘Doug Edwards’ was the cover name of an undercover police officer in the Special Demonstration Squad between November 1968 and May 1971. He infiltrated the Independent Labour Party and anarchist groups including the West Ham Anarchists. His real name has been restricted; he is referred to in the Undercover Policing Inquiry as HN326. Full page: HN326 'Doug Edwards'  is that Saunders still had other duties within C Squad while he was inspector of the SDS. Saunders disappeared from the UCPI’s timeline when HN332 Cameron Sinclair HN332 Cameron Sinclair Cameron Sinclair joined the Special Demonstration Squad in 1968. He held the rank of detective inspector, so would have been considered a manager, but his roles varied, and included some undercover work in branches of the Vietnam Solidarity Campaign. Sinclair left the SDS at the end of 1968, but returned as head of the unit between July 1971 and February 1972. He then oversaw the SDS as chief superintendent of S Squad. Full page: HN332 Cameron Sinclair  took over from him in August 1971.

However, Saunders' name still appears on reports continuously up to September 1972, signing reports on behalf of, or as, the chief superintendent, as late as 16 October 1972. Report on Anti-Internment League National Conference, held at N London Poly, 7-8 Oct 1972, 16 Oct 1972, Metropolitan Police Special Branch, MPS-0728845.View Document   It was tradition, not just within the police but within other British (and local) government institutions, to sign letters and other documents on behalf of the person one or two grades/ranks above you in the hierarchy.  At this time, the SDS did not have a dedicated superintendent or chief superintendent, so various Special Branch officers of that rank would have shared partial responsibility for the unit. 

Notably, 39 of the 43 reports Saunders authorised during this period relate to Northern Ireland-focused campaign groups. This strongly suggests that Saunders was working in B ('Irish') Squad B Squad Until 1969, B Squad was a unit of Special Branch that monitored a variety of groups on the left of the political spectrum, including 'Trotskyists', who would be the main concern of the SDS in 1968. At the time, B Squad also dealt with fascist and Irish nationalist groups. However, from 1969, with 'The Troubles' beginning in Northern Ireland, it exclusively dealt with the IRA.  during this period. At this time, the SDS did not have a dedicated Superintendent or Chief Superintendent, so various Special Branch officers of that rank would have had some partial responsibility for the unit.  

One indication comes in a document praising the reporting of undercovers HN135 Mike Ferguson HN135 Michael 'Mike' Ferguson Michael (Mike) Ferguson started as an undercover officer in March 1969 with HN336 ‘Dick Epps’. He infiltrated the Maoist Britain Vietnam Solidarity Front, the Islington branch of the Irish Civil Rights Solidarity Campaign and the Stop The Seventy Tour. His deployment ended in July 1970. Ferguson would return in the late 1970s to lead the SDS for a couple of years. He retired in 1985 and died in 1999 at the age of 60.  and HN340 ‘Andy Bailey' HN340 ‘Andy Bailey’ HN340 is the nominal given to the former undercover officer with the Special Demonstration Squad ‘Andy Bailey’. He infiltrated the North London Red Circle and spied on the Irish Civil Rights Solidarity Campaign, later known as the Irish Solidarity Campaign, between July 1970 and June 1972. One of the first two SDS officers to travel overseas while undercover, to the Red Europe conference in Brussels in November 1970, he was also the first undercover to be withdrawn because of a possible risk to his safety, in mid-1972 after the landlady of his cover accommodation reported overhearing a threat to him. Full page: HN340 ‘Andy Bailey’ , who had reported on the formation of the Irish Solidarity Campaign (ISC). Irish Civil Rights Solidarity Campaign (ICRSC) / Irish Solidarity Campaign (ISC) The Irish Civil Rights Solidarity Campaign (ICRSC) was an umbrella organisation that sought to bring together organisations campaigning against Britain’s actions in Northern Ireland. It was active from 1969 to 1973, changing its name to the Irish Solidarity Campaign (ISC) in September 1970. It had multiple local branches, a central steering committee and close ties to the Anti-Internment League. The ICRSC/ISC was spied on by HN298 'Michael Scott', HN299/HN342 'David Hughes' and HN340 'Andy Bailey'. Full page: Irish Civil Rights Solidarity Campaign (ICRSC) / Irish Solidarity Campaign (ISC)  In it, Saunders is asked by more senior officers to pass that praise on to them. 

Again, this suggests that while working in B Squad, Saunders was responsible for SDS undercovers working in the 'Irish Field'. HN103 David Smith HN103 David Smith HN103 David (Dave) Smith was a back-office administrator in the Special Demonstration Squad from October 1970 to October 1974, for much of that time the only person in that post. He assisted multiple undercovers to deploy into the field and processed their intelligence. Smith would later become chief superintendent of C Squad. Full page: HN103 David Smith  also recalled Saunders' keen interest in Irish groups. First Witness Statement of HN103 David Smith, given in the UCPI, Tranche 1, Phase 3, Module 2b, Module 2c, 2 Dec 2020.View Document  

The VSC 27 October 1968 demonstration

In the run-up to the 27 October 1968 Vietnam Solidarity Campaign (VSC) Vietnam Solidarity Campaign (VSC) The Vietnam Solidarity Campaign (VSC) was formed in 1966 as a collaboration between the International Marxist Group and the Bertrand Russell Peace Foundation. Though dominated by Trotskyists, the VSC was able to forge broad coalitions across the left through its use of ad-hoc committees to plan specific actions. The VSC’s campaigning activities went into sharp decline in 1969, ceasing to function from October that year. Full page: Vietnam Solidarity Campaign (VSC)  demonstration, Saunders accompanied HN325 Conrad Dixon HN325 Conrad Dixon Conrad Hepworth Dixon was born on 27 January 1927 in Gillingham, Kent. He joined Special Branch in 1950 and became the first senior officer of the SDS in 1968. He worked on other high profiles cases after leaving the SDS, before retiring in 1973. He died in 1999. Full page: HN325 Conrad Dixon  to visit MI5 and Lord Clanmorris Better known as George Bingham, a former MI5 spymaster and supposedly the inspiration for John Le Carre's George Smiley.  at the Home Office to ‘tie-up liaison arrangements’ with MI5 for the day of the demonstration. This included having an SDS undercover seconded to MI5 for the protest. Note for File reporting meeting between MI5 and senior Special Branch officers to discuss arrangements for Oct 27 Vietnam War demo, held at at Scotland Yard on 1 Aug 1968, 2 Aug 1968, MI5, UCPI0000030045.View Document  

Dixon also attended the VSC meetings the SDS unit was initially set up to infiltrate. Vietnam Solidarity Campaign (VSC) The Vietnam Solidarity Campaign (VSC) was formed in 1966 as a collaboration between the International Marxist Group and the Bertrand Russell Peace Foundation. Though dominated by Trotskyists, the VSC was able to forge broad coalitions across the left through its use of ad-hoc committees to plan specific actions. The VSC’s campaigning activities went into sharp decline in 1969, ceasing to function from October that year. Full page: Vietnam Solidarity Campaign (VSC)  Perhaps given no choice by Dixon's example, Saunders also observed a few meetings. For instance, Saunders is one of nine SDS officers to have joined the VSC October Ad Hoc Committee meeting of 17 September 1968. Report on a public meeting of the VSC 27 October Ad Hoc Committee, 'Why do we demonstrate?', held at unspecified location on 17 Sept 1968, 18 Sep 1968, Metropolitan Police Special Branch, MPS-0738583.View Document  

On the day of the demo itself, a telegram from Saunders to chief superintendent (Special Branch) reports that he has been with a group of anarchists from 'Glasgow and Liverpool' who 'led a charge towards the US Embassy' in Grosvenor Square. Telegram from DI Saunders to CSI Special Branch, authored by Sgt Creamer, on actions of a large group of anarchists in the vicinity of Grosvenor Square, 27 Oct 1968, Metropolitan Police Special Branch, MPS-0733954.View Document  At this time, Saunders was second-in-command of the SDS and authorised several undercover reports. It is worth mentioning that even those managers who could give evidence to the Inquiry, for instance, HN34 [[Geoff Craft]], said that signing the reports as the authorising senior officer did not mean they were guaranteeing their veracity.  

As Saunders does not appear to contribute to the content of these reports, they will not be examined here. Instead, they are shown in the relevant undercover officer profiles and thematic analysis where appropriate. 

This is also the case for reports Saunders signed as chief inspector from November 1969 to August 1971. Controversial aspects of the deployments during this time are highlighted below.

Controversies as a manager

Although Mitting in the Interim Report stated that only three deployments were justified during 1968-1982, he was reluctant to apportion blame to any police officer, civil servant, or politician for the unjustified deployments. 

However, since Saunders was manager during the squad's formative period of 1968-1971, he must hold significant responsibility for actions and decisions taken on his watch and for the practices he established that continued beyond it.

While the decision to further extend the squad after October 1969 was taken at a more senior level than Saunders, its day-to-day functioning was his responsibility. Minute Sheet on continuing the SDS after the Oct 1968 Vietnam demo, inc contributions from many managers and Commissioner John Waldron, 9 Nov 1968, Metropolitan Police Special Branch, MPS-0730219.View Document  As chief superintendent, he also seems to have had oversight for officers infiltrating Irish-related groups – HN68 'Sean Lynch', HN68 ‘Sean Lynch’ HN68 ‘Sean Lynch’ was the cover name used by a former Special Demonstration Squad undercover officer deployed between 1968 and 1974 into groups related to political violence in Northern Ireland. He held a managerial position as second-in-command of the SDS between 1981 and 1983 and retired from the Metropolitan Police in 1993. He is dead. Full page: HN68 ‘Sean Lynch’  HN344 ‘Ian Cameron’ HN344 'Ian Cameron' HN344 ‘Ian Cameron’ was an SDS undercover deployed into the Anti-Internment League and the Northern Minority Defence Force (NMDF) in 1971-1972. He was withdrawn after he was asked to travel to Derry with three members of the NMDF, in which he had assumed a position of responsibility.  and HN340 'Andy Bailey' HN340 ‘Andy Bailey’ HN340 is the nominal given to the former undercover officer with the Special Demonstration Squad ‘Andy Bailey’. He infiltrated the North London Red Circle and spied on the Irish Civil Rights Solidarity Campaign, later known as the Irish Solidarity Campaign, between July 1970 and June 1972. One of the first two SDS officers to travel overseas while undercover, to the Red Europe conference in Brussels in November 1970, he was also the first undercover to be withdrawn because of a possible risk to his safety, in mid-1972 after the landlady of his cover accommodation reported overhearing a threat to him. Full page: HN340 ‘Andy Bailey’  – after he departed from the SDS.

SDS Annual Reports

Saunders drafted the SDS Annual Reports for 1969 and 1970. The 1969 report, the first SDS Annual Report written, begins with a self-congratulatory assessment of the success of the SDS in providing intelligence for the October 27th demonstration. It says: 

It is known that the absence of serious public disorder is in part due to the increased... efficiency of police, both in obtaining advanced [sic] information on potentially disorderly demonstrations and in handling them on the day. SDS Annual Report 1969, inc letter from Asst Commissioner seeking authorisation to continue, 27 May 1969, Metropolitan Police Special Branch, MPS-0728973.View Document  

Roy Creamer provides a counterpoint to this assessment. He says that the most important thing that the SDS discovered was the absence of any widespread conspiracy to cause disorder. Second Witness Statement of HN3093 Roy Creamer, given in the UCPI, Tranche 1, Phase 3, Module 2b, Module 2c, 4 Nov 2020.View Document

The report also suggested that after 1968, the various 'extremist factions' had no unifying cause. Despite this, the SDS had a new task; ‘anticipating which of the factions might well be successful in fermenting [sic] disorder’ and to 'look at the larger canvass [sic] of the political scene'. SDS Annual Report 1969, inc letter from Asst Commissioner seeking authorisation to continue, 27 May 1969, Metropolitan Police Special Branch, MPS-0728973.View Document  

Importantly, it is clear that the SDS' remit had broadened away from the anticipated, specific and imminent disorder of the 1968 demonstration to what may, or may not, happen at an undefined point in the future: ‘Gathering and recording information for long-term intelligence purposes.’ SDS Annual Report 1969, inc letter from Asst Commissioner seeking authorisation to continue, 27 May 1969, Metropolitan Police Special Branch, MPS-0728973.View Document  

This meant that the SDS’ remit became increasingly open-ended and ill-defined. In this context, the SDS' assistance to MI5 regarding subversion Subversion and the SDS Special Branch had official duties to assist MI5 regarding the latters' remit to monitor subversives and subversion. This meant that the SDS also collected information regarding subversion and relayed it to MI5. Although the SDS' primary objective was to collect information regarding public order issues, the groups they spied on often posed no such threat. Subversion, more loosely defined, was an alternative way of justifying the SDS' operations.  became more integral to both the SDS’ remit and justification for its continuance.

Equally key is the conclusion that, while the SDS' original plan included gathering information from civilian informants and technical devices, the most reliable information was gained by undercover police officers. Evidence suggests that the SDS only used the latter method hereafter. 

However, there is evidence that MI5 used the other two techniques frequently against the same individuals and groups that the SDS was spying on; for instance, during HN106 'Barry Tompkins' deployment. HN106 'Barry Tompkins' ‘Barry Tompkins’ is the cover name used by an SDS undercover deployed between 1979 and 1983 into various left wing groups including the Spartacus League, Revolutionary Communist Tendency and Revolutionary Communist Party and its front group East London Workers Against Racism. His real name has been restricted.   First Witness Statement of HN106 ‘Barry Tompkins', given in the UCPI, Tranche 1, Phase 2, 11 Nov 2019.View Document  

As with all following SDS annual reports Special Demonstration Squad Annual Reports The SDS Annual reports started in 1969 and continued until at least 1994. They reviewed, listed and offered justifications for the groups infiltrated during the previous year. They also contained some analysis and forecasts for the coming year. The SDS senior management authored them. They were internal Metropolitan Police documents, with only a summary of the contents forwarded to the Home Office. They should not be confused with Special Branch Annual Reports. Full page: Special Demonstration Squad Annual Reports (1971-1984), the 1969 report lists groups infiltrated – most of them involved in the October 1968 mobilisation. However, there are already some notable additions. These include civil-rights groups born out of the demonstrations on the streets of Derry and Belfast in 1968 and 1969; People's Democracy People’s Democracy People's Democracy was a socialist organisation founded in Belfast in 1968 and closely associated with the Northern Ireland civil rights movement. Members included Bernadette Devlin and Eamon McCann, who are mentioned in SDS reporting on the group's activities in London. , Irish Civil Rights Solidarity Campaign Irish Civil Rights Solidarity Campaign (ICRSC) / Irish Solidarity Campaign (ISC) The Irish Civil Rights Solidarity Campaign (ICRSC) was an umbrella organisation that sought to bring together organisations campaigning against Britain’s actions in Northern Ireland. It was active from 1969 to 1973, changing its name to the Irish Solidarity Campaign (ISC) in September 1970. It had multiple local branches, a central steering committee and close ties to the Anti-Internment League. The ICRSC/ISC was spied on by HN298 'Michael Scott', HN299/HN342 'David Hughes' and HN340 'Andy Bailey'. Full page: Irish Civil Rights Solidarity Campaign (ICRSC) / Irish Solidarity Campaign (ISC)  and, perhaps best known, the Northern Ireland Civil Rights Association. Northern Ireland Civil Rights Association (NICRA) The Northern Ireland Civil Rights Association (NICRA) was formed in Belfast in 1967 by those opposed to the denial of civil rights and social opportunities to ethnic Roman Catholics. Active in London from 1969-1972. At its height NICRA had 12 branches that organised pickets, demonstrations and rallies. NICRA was spied on by the HN68 ‘Sean Lynch’ and HN301 ‘Bob Stubbs’. Full page: Northern Ireland Civil Rights Association (NICRA)

Targeting of these groups demonstrates that the SDS' aims broadened almost immediately after October 1968. Additionally, there is the curious targeting of the Independent Labour Party (ILP). Independent Labour Party (ILP) In the early 1960s, some 30 years after splitting from the Labour Party, the Independent Labour Party (ILP) became involved in opposition to nuclear weapons, promoted workers' control and campaigned for decolonisation and against South Africa’s apartheid regime. The party was infiltrated from 1969 to 1971 by the SDS undercover HN326 ‘Doug Edwards’. He targeted the London group, focusing on east London. Full page: Independent Labour Party (ILP)  This group – as even the undercover officer who infiltrated them, HN326 'Doug Edwards' HN326 'Doug Edwards' HN326 ‘Doug Edwards’ was the cover name of an undercover police officer in the Special Demonstration Squad between November 1968 and May 1971. He infiltrated the Independent Labour Party and anarchist groups including the West Ham Anarchists. His real name has been restricted; he is referred to in the Undercover Policing Inquiry as HN326. Full page: HN326 'Doug Edwards'  conceded – was neither a public-order nor a subversive threat. 

Edwards said the ILP was instead a 'handle to swing' – a stepping-stone to supposedly more threatening groups. This oblique approach meant that any group could be justified to be an SDS target, merely by its connections to other groups. 

However, the groups that Edwards identified in this regard – the anti-colonial groups Tricontinental and the Dambusters Mobilising Committee Dambusters Mobilising Committee (DMC) The Dambusters Mobilising Committee (DMC), active from 1969-1972, was an umbrella organisation of anti-apartheid and anti-colonial groups, set up at the request of the African National Congress (ANC), to campaign against the construction of the Cabora Bassa dam in Mozambique (then still under Portuguese rule). The dam was designed to supply hydropower to apartheid South Africa and Southern Rhodesia. It was spied on by HN326 'Douglas Edwards' and HN339 'Stewart Goodman'. Full page: Dambusters Mobilising Committee (DMC)  – were also quite hard to fit into either subversive or public-disorder categories. They did, however, challenge British government policy and business interests in its former colonies in Southern Africa.

In opposition to Edwards' assessment of the ILP, Saunders stated that the party was one of the 'main' threats to public order. Mitting's Interim Report dismisses this view. Interim Report Full page: Interim Report  This is emblematic of the exaggeration of the threat posed by the groups surveilled in the years to come.

Unlike the SDS Annual Reports that were to follow in 1970-1983, the first report mentioned targets the unit had failed to infiltrate. These included the British Black Power movement and the Communist Party of Great Britain. Communist Party of Great Britain (CPGB) The Communist Party of Great Britain (CPGB) was the largest communist organisation in Britain. It was established on 31 July 1920 and dissolved on 23 November 1991. For most of its existence, it aligned itself with the USSR and received funding from it. The British surveillance state saw it as the main subversive threat to the United Kingdom, and was consequently the target of many operations by MI5. However, the Special Demonstration Squad did not target it.  'Anarchists' were said to pose a problem in terms of infiltration due to '[t]he distasteful nature  of the way of life of such people...' SDS Annual Report 1969, inc letter from Asst Commissioner seeking authorisation to continue, 27 May 1969, Metropolitan Police Special Branch, MPS-0728973.View Document  

SDS 1970 Annual Report

The 1970 Annual Report was arranged in the same way as its predecessor, though with Saunders arguing for longer-term deployments as officers needed to be in the field to target a group that suddenly became a threat. He also wrote that 'the longer an officer serves in this field, the greater is his product'. SDS Annual Report 1970, 18 Nov 1970, Metropolitan Police Special Branch, MPS-0728972.View Document  This moves away from Conrad Dixon's idea that SDS deployments should be limited to twelve months. 'Penetration of Extremist Groups', Dixon on SDS achievements and future structure and strategy,, 26 Nov 1968, Metropolitan Police Special Branch, MPS-0724119.View Document

The change towards longer and open-ended deployments had enduring impacts for the next 50 years. Together with the now indeterminate nature of the goal of the intelligence-gathering mentioned above, this produced an extraordinary increase in the number of groups and individuals surveilled, that created breaches of privacy on an industrial scale. 

In 1970, there was an increase in the number of groups surveilled, from eight to 17, including the loosely defined 'Maoists' and 'Anarchists'. The most significant additions among these are the Anti-Apartheid Movement Anti-Apartheid Movement (AAM) The Anti-Apartheid Movement (AAM) was formed in 1959 and continued to campaign until the fall of the South African Apartheid regime in 1995, when it was disbanded and succeeded by a group called Action for Southern Africa (ACTSA). It was spied upon from the inception of the Special Demonstration Squad by HN298 'Michael Scott', HN336 ‘Dick Epps', HN339 'Stewart Goodman', and HN346 Jill Mosdell, and three other undercover officers. Full page: Anti-Apartheid Movement (AAM)  and the Women's Liberation Front. Women’s Liberation Front (WLF) Women’s Liberation Front (WLF) was a Maoist organisation founded in 1969 by members of the Revolutionary Marxist-Leninist League and closely affiliated to the British Vietnam Solidarity Front, Friends of China and the Revolutionary Socialist Students Federation. The WLF campaigned on key feminist concerns including equal pay, domestic work, childcare, and birth control, and its members were involved in industrial action and in broader left struggles. It changed its name to the Revolutionary Women’s Union in February 1972 and went into decline the following year. The WLF was infiltrated by HN348 'Sandra Davies', and reported on by HN45 'Dave Robertson'. Full page: Women’s Liberation Front (WLF)  

These deployments have many controversial aspects, explored in the relevant undercover-officer profiles, principally HN135 Mike Ferguson HN135 Michael 'Mike' Ferguson Michael (Mike) Ferguson started as an undercover officer in March 1969 with HN336 ‘Dick Epps’. He infiltrated the Maoist Britain Vietnam Solidarity Front, the Islington branch of the Irish Civil Rights Solidarity Campaign and the Stop The Seventy Tour. His deployment ended in July 1970. Ferguson would return in the late 1970s to lead the SDS for a couple of years. He retired in 1985 and died in 1999 at the age of 60. , HN297 ‘Michael Scott’ HN297 Richard Clark 'Rick Gibson' Richard Clark, the undercover known as ‘Rick Gibson’ had multiple sexual relationships during his infiltration of the Troops Out Movement and Big Flame between 1974 and 1976. He joined the SDS in July 1974 and his cover was as a student at Goldsmiths college. His deployment ended in September 1976 when members of Big Flame confronted him with the death certificate of the child whose identity he had stolen. Detailed evidence from people he spied on was presented to the Inquiry. He is dead.  and HN348 ‘Sandra Davies’. HN348 'Sandra Davies' HN348 ‘Sandra Davies’ was a Special Demonstration Squad undercover officer who infiltrated the Women's Liberation Front, later known as the Revolutionary Women's Union, from February 1971 for two years. The Inquiry has released nearly 80 intelligence reports produced in her name, none of which justify her deployment, according to Inquiry Chair John Mitting. She was withdrawn as a precaution in February 1973 after a fellow SDS officer’s cover was blown. Her real name has been restricted. Full page: HN348 'Sandra Davies'  

In the 1970 report, Saunders made the following claim about anti-apartheid campaign, the Stop the Seventy Tour: Stop The Seventy Tour (STST) Stop the Seventy Tour (STST) was an anti-apartheid group active from 1969 to late 1970, specifically aimed at preventing or disrupting a South African cricketers’ tour of England. It was started by members of other anti-apartheid campaigns, including Anti-Apartheid Movement (AAM), South African Non-Racial Olympic Committee (SANROC) and the Reading Joint Anti-Apartheid Committee. STST was spied on by HN135 Michael Ferguson, HN298 'Michael Scott', HN336 'Dick Epps', and HN346 Jill Mosdell. Full page: Stop The Seventy Tour (STST)

When there was a sufficiently emotive issue – such as the ‘Stop the Seventy Tour’ campaign which guaranteed broad-based support and the attention of the mass media the extremists were able seriously to threaten the maintenance of order, making it imperative that advance information of their plans was available. SDS Annual Report 1970, 18 Nov 1970, Metropolitan Police Special Branch, MPS-0728972.View Document  

Saunders suggested that the campaign, which aimed to disrupt a cricket tour, would pre-empt widespread disorder across the UK. However, given Saunders' assessment of the ILP as a major public-order threat, this seems hard to justify, a conclusion the Interim Report also reached. Interim Report Full page: Interim Report  

Disregard for the law 

One of the SDS' first targets was the International Marxist Group (IMG) International Marxist Group (IMG) The International Marxist Group (IMG) was a Trotskyist group in Britain in 1968-1982. It was the British Section of the Fourth International and a vital part of the Vietnam Solidarity Campaign. At its peak, in the 1970s, the IMG had around 1,000 members and supporters. The IMG was spied on by HN336 'Dick Epps', HN340 'Andy Bailey' and HN353 'Gary Roberts' during the 1960s and 1970s; several other SDS officers reported on it. Full page: International Marxist Group (IMG) , initially for its key role in the Vietnam Solidarity Committee. Vietnam Solidarity Campaign (VSC) The Vietnam Solidarity Campaign (VSC) was formed in 1966 as a collaboration between the International Marxist Group and the Bertrand Russell Peace Foundation. Though dominated by Trotskyists, the VSC was able to forge broad coalitions across the left through its use of ad-hoc committees to plan specific actions. The VSC’s campaigning activities went into sharp decline in 1969, ceasing to function from October that year. Full page: Vietnam Solidarity Campaign (VSC)

One undercover, who was deployed between 1969 to 1970, HN336 'Dick Epps' HN336 'Dick Epps' ‘Dick Epps’ is the cover name used by the former SDS undercover officer deployed into the Vietnam Solidarity Campaign, Stop the Seventy Tour and the International Marxist Group from late 1968 to mid-1970. For the Undercover Policing Inquiry and Operation Herne, Epps is referred to by the cypher HN336. In 2002, Epps appeared on the True Spies television documentary, using the pseudonym ‘Dan’. Full page: HN336 'Dick Epps' , said that he informed Phil Saunders that he had the keys to the IMG's office. First Witness Statement of HN336 ‘Dick Epps’, given in the UCPI, Tranche 1, Phase 1, 10 May 2019.View Document  Saunders then told him to make an impression of the key with clay – and was informed that MI5 might take pressings. 

This is a story that Epps told using the pseudonym 'Dan' in the BBC documentary True Spies. Exh 3 to Witness Statement Tariq Ali: True Spies. The Guardian article ‘Inside job’ by Peter Taylor, Tranche 1, Phase 1, 11 Nov 2020.View Document  This subject is covered in more detail in Epps' profile, but it is characteristic of Saunders' willingness to disregard the law.

Arrests

A key and controversial feature of the SDS and the later National Public Order Intelligence Unit (NPOIU) National Public Order Intelligence Unit (historical overview) The National Public Order Intelligence Unit (NPOIU) was founded in 1999 by the Association of Chief Police Officers. It was intended to replicate the work of the Special Demonstration Squad (SDS) on a national basis. It deployed 22 undercovers. It was shut down in 2011 in the wake of the exposure of one of those undercovers Mark Kennedy, with others such as 'Marco Jacobs' and 'Lynn Watson' following shortly after. Full page: National Public Order Intelligence Unit (historical overview)  operation was the arrests of officers – and connected interference with the criminal justice system, including miscarriages of justice. Miscarriages of Justice Full page: Miscarriages of Justice  It is significant that there were four documented occurrences of this during Saunders' time as head of the SDS. These involved HN68 'Sean Lynch' HN68 ‘Sean Lynch’ HN68 ‘Sean Lynch’ was the cover name used by a former Special Demonstration Squad undercover officer deployed between 1968 and 1974 into groups related to political violence in Northern Ireland. He held a managerial position as second-in-command of the SDS between 1981 and 1983 and retired from the Metropolitan Police in 1993. He is dead. Full page: HN68 ‘Sean Lynch’ , twice, HN339 'Stewart Goodman' HN339 'Stewart Goodman' ‘Stewart Goodman’ is the cover name used by a former undercover officer with the Special Demonstration Squad. He was deployed into the Anti-Apartheid Movement, Dambusters Mobilising Committee and the International Socialists between 1970 and 1971. Goodman is referred to as HN339 in the Undercover Policing Inquiry. Full page: HN339 'Stewart Goodman'  and HN345 'Peter Fredericks'. HN345 'Peter Fredericks' ‘Peter Fredericks’ was the cover name of a former Special Demonstration Squad undercover officer who attempted to infiltrate Black Power organisations and groups campaigning for Bangladeshi independence in 1971. His SDS and Special Branch careers were short; he had left the SDS by the mid-1970s. In the Undercover Policing Inquiry, he is known by the nominal HN345. Full page: HN345 'Peter Fredericks'  

Lynch is documented having been arrested and convicted in June 1970 for obstruction of the highway alongside five others. Less than seven months later, in February 1971, Sean Lynch took part in an 'unauthorised' money collection for Irish Republican prisoners with three members of the London branch of Sinn Fein. 

The car they were travelling in was one that Lynch had borrowed from the Metropolitan Police carpool; when they were stopped, the local police managed to trace it to New Scotland Yard. HN585 Matthew Rodger, Memos Concerning Police Stop of HN68 Sean Lynch for Sinn Fein Street Collection, Chiswick, 22 Febuary 1971, 22 Feb 1971, Metropolitan Police Special Branch.View Document  An added difficulty for the SDS was that one of the people who took part in the collection was later arrested for continuing to collect after a police constable had told him to stop. 

This put all of those previously stopped in danger of prosecution. An intervention by Saunders and assistant commander Matthew Rodger to protect Lynch's identity as an undercover officer appears to have resulted in him being cautioned rather than charged for the street collection. This may have been one of the reasons that the SDS moved from using 'pool' vehicles to buying secondhand ones with no traceable connection to the Metropolitan Police. 

There were two similar interventions on Saunders' watch for driving incidents. 

HN345 ‘Peter Fredericks’ HN345 'Peter Fredericks' ‘Peter Fredericks’ was the cover name of a former Special Demonstration Squad undercover officer who attempted to infiltrate Black Power organisations and groups campaigning for Bangladeshi independence in 1971. His SDS and Special Branch careers were short; he had left the SDS by the mid-1970s. In the Undercover Policing Inquiry, he is known by the nominal HN345. Full page: HN345 'Peter Fredericks'  was involved in a car accident in 1971, where damage was done to his vehicle. He exchanged documents with the other driver in his cover name and went to a local police station and explained he was a police officer. As Fredericks did not have his warrant card, the police did not believe him, which put him at risk of arrest and exposure as an undercover officer. However, Fredericks said he called Phil Saunders on an emergency number, and the problem disappeared. First Witness Statement of HN345 ‘Peter Fredericks’, given in the UCPI, Tranche 1, Phase 1, 20 Aug 2019.View Document  

HN339 'Stewart Goodman' HN339 'Stewart Goodman' ‘Stewart Goodman’ is the cover name used by a former undercover officer with the Special Demonstration Squad. He was deployed into the Anti-Apartheid Movement, Dambusters Mobilising Committee and the International Socialists between 1970 and 1971. Goodman is referred to as HN339 in the Undercover Policing Inquiry. Full page: HN339 'Stewart Goodman'  gave a detailed account of having a car accident while drunk also in 1971. He recollected that a senior officer in the SDS intervened in the judicial process to alter the outcome:

I had been at a pub with activists… drove home while under the influence of alcohol and crashed the car into a tree. Uniformed officers attended, and I gave my real name to the[m] and told them that I was an undercover officer. First Witness Statement of HN339 ‘Stewart Goodman’, given in the UCPI, Tranche 1, Phase 1, 2 Feb 2019.View Document  

Goodman said that even though intoxicated, he was not arrested at the time and was instead given a lift home by the officers. He recalled being charged subsequently with driving without due care and attention, a less serious charge than drink-drive offences, and pleaded guilty in his cover name. He recalled that Saunders told him he had '… briefed the Magistrates in private that I was an undercover officer'. First Witness Statement of HN339 ‘Stewart Goodman’, given in the UCPI, Tranche 1, Phase 1, 2 Feb 2019.View Document  

Comments on Saunders by SDS contemporaries

There is little said about Saunders personally in the SDS disclosure. From his apparent eagerness to intervene in the criminal-justice system, he might seem to be more a 'back-office fixer' than his ostentatious predecessor Conrad Dixon, who liked to be at the centre of the action.

Roy Creamer HN3093 Roy Creamer Roy Creamer was born in 1930 and served as a Metropolitan Police officer between 1954 and 1980. He was a founding member of the Special Demonstration Squad in 1968 and worked for the unit in a back-office role until 1969. Creamer was later involved in two police investigations into alleged anarchist bombing conspiracies. Full page: HN3093 Roy Creamer  said that although Saunders was 'nominally second in command of the SDS' during this time, he had little or no interaction with him, commenting: 'I think he might have been more interested in accommodation [the cover flats] than me.' 

Creamer, in a surprising characterisation for an officer working within Special Branch, said that Saunders was not interested in the political groups that the officers under his command were surveilling. While this might seem harsh, or even a critical comment of a senior officer, Creamer considered Saunders a friend – and they were members of the same chess team. Second Witness Statement of HN3093 Roy Creamer, given in the UCPI, Tranche 1, Phase 3, Module 2b, Module 2c, 4 Nov 2020.View Document  

HN336 Dick Epps HN336 'Dick Epps' ‘Dick Epps’ is the cover name used by the former SDS undercover officer deployed into the Vietnam Solidarity Campaign, Stop the Seventy Tour and the International Marxist Group from late 1968 to mid-1970. For the Undercover Policing Inquiry and Operation Herne, Epps is referred to by the cypher HN336. In 2002, Epps appeared on the True Spies television documentary, using the pseudonym ‘Dan’. Full page: HN336 'Dick Epps'  was overwhelmingly positive about Saunders, saying he ‘was an extremely nice man, a true gentleman. Very supportive, helpful, and extremely kind’. First Witness Statement of HN336 ‘Dick Epps’, given in the UCPI, Tranche 1, Phase 1, 10 May 2019.View Document  HN3095 Bill Furner HN3095 William (Bill) Furner Bill Furner joined the Metropolitan Police in 1964 and was one of the original intake of SDS officers in July 1968. He had a largely administrative role and did not go undercover. He left the Metropolitan Police in 1970 and then worked for the Ministry of Defence. Full page: HN3095 William (Bill) Furner  described Saunders as the 'kingpin' who ran the office in 1968, commenting: 'He was very free and easy.' Second Witness Statement of HN3095 William Furner, given in the UCPI, Tranche 1, Phase 3, Module 2b, Module 2c, 18 Sep 2020.View Document  

HN103 David Smith HN103 David Smith HN103 David (Dave) Smith was a back-office administrator in the Special Demonstration Squad from October 1970 to October 1974, for much of that time the only person in that post. He assisted multiple undercovers to deploy into the field and processed their intelligence. Smith would later become chief superintendent of C Squad. Full page: HN103 David Smith  gave an overview of Saunders' roles in the SDS, saying he was in charge of the overall running of the unit, seeing all reports that the UCOs had submitted, and offering support. Stewart Goodman also seemed to hold Saunders in high regard, saying he was 'intelligent and understanding… firm but fair and well-regarded by all'. First Witness Statement to UCPI of HN339 Stewart Goodman, given in the UCPI, Tranche 1, 2 Feb 2019.View Document

Saunders was promoted to superintendent in June 1971, then almost immediately to chief superintendent in August of the same year. As chief superintendent, he signed five SDS reports between July 1972 and March 1973. MPS Central Record of Service for Philip Saunders, 1948-1979, 3 May 1948, Metropolitan Police Special Branch, MPS-0722807.View Document  These were all on the Anti-Internment League Anti-Internment League The Anti-Internment League was formed in response to the introduction of mass internment in Northern Ireland in August 1971. Most active in the 1970s, and affiliated with the International Marxist Group, AIL worked with trade unions, republican groups, pacifists, and the broader left in Britain and Ireland. It was spied on by numerous SDS officers. Full page: Anti-Internment League and Sinn Féin. Sinn Féin - London Sinn Féin Sinn Féin is an Irish republican and democratic socialist political party in both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. During 'The Troubles' (1969-1998) it was associated with the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA). Its London branches were spied upon by HN68 'Sean Lynch' between 1971 and 1973.

It is unclear from the available documents whether Saunders remained in B Squad B Squad Until 1969, B Squad was a unit of Special Branch that monitored a variety of groups on the left of the political spectrum, including 'Trotskyists', who would be the main concern of the SDS in 1968. At the time, B Squad also dealt with fascist and Irish nationalist groups. However, from 1969, with 'The Troubles' beginning in Northern Ireland, it exclusively dealt with the IRA.  when he got promoted to commander in January 1974 or had moved elsewhere. However, it is known that he remained with the Admin Squad from 1974 until his retirement in 1979. Police Almanacs, R. Hazell and Company, 1900.  Saunders was awarded the Queens Police medal in the New Year's Honours list in 1978 and retired in September 1979 after a 31-year career. MPS Central Record of Service for Philip Saunders, 1948-1979, 3 May 1948, Metropolitan Police Special Branch, MPS-0722807.View Document

The Inquiry published three documents relating to Saunders during his time as commander within the Administration section of the Special Branch (1974-1979). One contains a series of communications between different parts of the Special Branch, dated 1975-1978, reviewing whether the SDS should continue: although this never seemed in serious doubt. 

Saunders signed off a 13% budget increase for the unit, justifying it within the public-order context of 1978, mentioning clashes between the 'far left and far-right'. Minute sheet on the continuation of the SDS from 1975 to 1978, discussions between SDS and ACC, 7 Feb 1975, Metropolitan Police Special Branch, MPS-0730687.View Document

Saunders' contact with MI5 is recorded in two documents. The first details the 'third biennial informal meeting between Special Branch and the Security Service' that Saunders attended on 27 September 1977. 

Other than listing the attendees, including Commander HN1254 Rollo Watts HN1254 Rollo Watts Rollo Watts was a senior Special Branch manager with oversight of the SDS. A Chief Superintendant at the start of 1976, he was promoted to Commander of Special Branch in the summer, staying in that position until around March 1978. He is dead.  and HN10 Bob Lambert 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'. , the only information recorded is the three items on the agenda: The ‘Dangers of Investigative Journalism', The ABC trial, a recent trial involving the Official Secrets Act, and ‘Trotskyist Entryism’. 

No details are given on the discussions. Minutes of the third informal twice-yearly meeting between representatives of the Security Service and Special Branch, discussing investigative journalism and Trotskysit entryism, held on 27 Sept 1977, 25 Aug 1977, Metropolitan Police Special Branch, MPS_0735784.View Document  The 'dangers' of investigative journalism, in this context, presumably include the possibility of MI5 and Special Branch activities being exposed. Earlier in 1971, an MI5 document discusses Private Eye magazine. While in a 1972 MI5 document, titled 'Subversive Threat in the UK', mention is made of the support that groups like Angry Brigade received from the Alternative Society in general, and the underground press, specifically 'IT', 'OZ', 'FRENDZ', 'INK', '7 DAYS' and Time Out. In 1980, another MI5 document, discusses the targeting of The Leveller magazine, due to its exposure of Security Service activity. See: UCPI0000035255 and UCPI0000028810.

The last document is an invitation to the then MI5 headquarters, Curzon House, for a 'small thank you party' for the 'splendid help' that Special Branch had given over the last year. Correspondence on invitation from MI5 to a party to thank Special Branch officers, held at Curzon St House on 22 Feb 1978, 6 Feb 1978, MI5, MPS_0735795.View Document  Saunders was one of the two most senior officers invited, alongside HN1254 Rollo Watts HN1254 Rollo Watts Rollo Watts was a senior Special Branch manager with oversight of the SDS. A Chief Superintendant at the start of 1976, he was promoted to Commander of Special Branch in the summer, staying in that position until around March 1978. He is dead. , suggesting he had more interaction with the Security Service than the Inquiry disclosure reveals.

No application for anonymity on behalf of HN1251 Phillip Saunders was made, and it was decided that his real name would be published.