Police Spy Victim Demands NI Inquiry Inclusion
A victim of a highly controversial police spying unit operating in the North of Ireland has filed legal action to overturn Theresa May’s decision to exclude Northern Ireland from the public inquiry into undercover policing. The spy unit has sparked controversy across Europe.
Justice Minister Claire Sugden MLA told Theresa May (in her previous role as Home Secretary) that extending the Inquiry into Undercover Policing to include Northern Ireland was “imperative”, citing concerns including the fact that the British undercover officers “…were present at protest activity relating to a murder”. Yet the British Government has refused to include Northern Ireland in the Inquiry, and last week Jason Kirkpatrick has today filed legal action at Belfast High Court to overturn Theresa May’s decision.
Mr Kirkpatrick, who was targeted in Northern Ireland by undercover officer Mark Kennedy, has issued judicial review proceedings in which he seeks to quash the decision by the Home Secretary not to include this jurisdiction in its remit, in what is commonly known as the Pitchford Inquiry. In light of the evidence adduced, it is Mr Kirkpatrick’s case that it is wholly unlawful to exclude NI from the current investigation into undercover policing, in circumstances where it is accepted a number of MET undercover police officers operated in an opaque vacuum without any form of accountability.
Jason Kirkpatrick said:
“With the submission of this legal action, I’m hoping to move one step further towards finding out why I was targeted in Belfast by one of the most elite undercover officers of the British state. I’m extremely angry that so far all of my attempts to receive justice here have been stonewalled.” And “It makes no sense that my being targeted in England by secret police is to be fully examined in the Inquiry, but information about my being targeted by the same known officer in Belfast is to be kept completely secret”
Solicitor Darragh Mackin of KRW LAW LLP stated:
“It is alarming that there were a number of MET Undercover officers in operation in this jurisdiction without any form of accountability. It is our client’s case that in light of this evidence, that the Pitchford Inquiry should be extended so that it may, in essence, follow the ‘evidential trial’. It is illogical to assert that an investigation is required in London, but not in this jurisdiction. Given the relevance of undercover material to ongoing investigations, and legacy investigations, it is in fact arguable that there is a greater need to ensure full transparency and accountability in this jurisdiction.”
Notes for Editors:
- Any queries should be directed to the Mr Kirkpatrick’s solicitor, Darragh Mackin, KRW Law, at darragh@kevinrwinters.com or +7976070023.
- Mr Kirkpatrick can be contacted directly on jason ( at ) blackhelmetproductions.net
- Background material can be accessed at:- .
Undercover police officer ‘could be prosecuted in Germany’:
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2011/jan/14/undercover-police-officer-germany-row
Pitchford Inquiry: Claire Sugden wants undercover police investigation extended to NI:
http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-northern-ireland-36966637