HN322 was born in the late 1940s and joined the Metropolitan Police as a police constable in the early 1960s, moving to Special Branch in the late 1960s. Before joining the Special Demonstration Squad (SDS), he attended political meetings and Speakers’ Corner in Hyde Park, central London to gather intelligence on left-wing political groups.
He was recruited by Conrad Dixon to join the SDS on 30 September 1968, two months after the founding of the unit. However, HN322 quickly lost interest in the SDS on realising the undercover work required long periods away from his family. Consequently, he was never deployed undercover, only performing duties similar to his previous Special Branch role, such as attending public meetings in plain clothes.
HN322 was assigned to monitor the south-east London branch of the Vietnam Solidarity Campaign (VSC), but does not recall this and there were just two months between HN322’s first SDS report and his last one. He continued in Special Branch for most of his remaining 30-year Metropolitan Police career, eventually reaching the rank of detective inspector.
Unless stated otherwise, all information is taken from HN322’s written statement to the Inquiry on 18 September 2018.
HN322 was born in the late 1940s. He joined the Metropolitan Police as a police constable in the early 1960s and Special Branch in the late 1960s, meaning that, like many of his fellow SDS recruits, his placement in the unit was one of his first Special Branch roles.
Prior to working in the SDS, he attended political meetings and Speakers’ Corner, probably for Special Branch C or B Squads , which mainly had responsibility for monitoring left-wing political groups.
HN325 Conrad Dixon approached HN322 about joining the SDS, which flattered him and he says he agreed to join even though he did not know what the job would involve. Although he was recruited to spy on activists involved in the 27 October 1968 anti-Vietnam war demonstration, he did not join the unit until 30 September 1968, two months later than the original cohort of undercovers.
Like all recruits to the SDS, he stated there was no specific training. Although initially enthusiastic about joining the SDS, HN322 soon changed his mind once he realised being deployed undercover would mean spending long periods away from his family.
This meant that HN322 never infiltrated any groups. Instead, during the few weeks he was on the squad, he was deployed as a regular Special Branch officer, spying on open meetings in plain clothes.
Conrad Dixon’s blueprint for how the SDS should operate after the 27 October 1968 demonstration states in the index that HN322 was assigned to the south-east London branch of the Vietnam Solidarity Campaign (VSC). However, HN322 does not recall being assigned to any group, although there is one report on this group bearing his signature dated the 12 October 1968.
He also reported on the Earl’s Court branch of the VSC and the Britain Vietnam Solidarity Front. His last report, on the Revolutionary Socialist Students Federation , is dated 10 December 1968.
He seems to have attended these meetings as a ‘traditional’ Special Branch plain-clothes officer and did not adopt SDS undercover officers’ usual methods. It seems likely that, HN322 having expressed his desire to leave the SDS shortly after joining, he was simply assigned to temporary duties, as a stopgap before starting Metropolitan Police driving lessons.
Immediately after his fleeting appearance spying on meetings, HN322 typed up two Special Branch reports for SDS officer Mike Tyrrell on 17 and 19 December 1968, so it is likely that he spent some time doing SDS back-office jobs before he left the unit.
HN322 stated that he was transferred to the ‘Commissioner’s Office’ on leaving the SDS. It is unclear what this means, although presumably, this refers to the Metropolitan Police commissioner’s office.
None of HN322’s other policing roles after leaving the SDS are revealed by the Inquiry, except that he was involved in ‘VIP Protection duties’ some time between 1967 and 1970. After this, it is certain only that he remained in Special Branch for a significant portion of his remaining 30-year Metropolitan Police career and left Special Branch at the rank of detective inspector.
You can see the documents mentioned below by clicking on the Procedural tab on the Documents page.
As HN322 did not go undercover, he did not have a cover name. An application was made by the Metropolitan Police Service to restrict his real name, however, accompanied by a risk assessment and impact statement.
On 14 November 2017, Inquiry Chair John Mitting issued a Minded-To notice that he intended to grant an order restricting HN322’s real name from being published as the resulting interference with his right to privacy would not be justified. On 20 February 2018, Mitting ruled that HN322’s real name would be restricted.
HN322 sunmitted a written statement to the Inquiry on 18 September 2018.