UK undercover policing of environmental groups
- The record does not name which of my species, waters, soils or forests were harmed.
Mark Kennedy served in the National Public Order Intelligence Unit (NPOIU), and convictions of environmental protesters were quashed because of his role. A tribunal found human-rights breaches in a separate claim against the Met and the NPCC, and a public inquiry has not yet examined the NPOIU.
Tranche 1 interim report of the Undercover Policing Inquiry by Sir John Mitting, 29 June 2023. Kennedy's unit, the NPOIU, falls in Tranche 4, which has not started.
Status As of March 2026: Tranche 3 Phase 2 hearings on environmental groups were held in February–March 2026; the NPOIU, Kennedy's unit, falls in Tranche 4, which has not started, and no findings on it exist.
- Environmental protesters convicted in cases later quashed — Ratcliffe-on-Soar protesters (convictions quashed 20 July 2011) and 29 Drax protesters (2014).
What happened
The Undercover Policing Inquiry published its Tranche 1 interim report, by Sir John Mitting, on 29 June 2023. It found that the Special Demonstration Squad (SDS) should have been closed in the 1970s, and that of more than 1,000 groups infiltrated only 3 posed a credible threat.
Convictions of environmental protesters were quashed because of Mark Kennedy's role. Those of the Ratcliffe-on-Soar protesters were quashed on 20 July 2011 for non-disclosure, and those of 29 Drax protesters in 2014. On 30 September 2021 the Investigatory Powers Tribunal found breaches of Articles 3, 8, 10, 11 and 14 of the European Convention on Human Rights in the claim of Kate Wilson against the Met and the NPCC (case IPT/11/167/H), and later made a remedy order of £225,971.96.
Tranche 3 Phase 2 of the inquiry heard evidence on environmental groups in February and March 2026. The NPOIU, the unit Kennedy belonged to, falls in Tranche 4, which has not started.
- 201120 July: convictions of the Ratcliffe-on-Soar protesters quashed for non-disclosure
- 2014Convictions of 29 Drax protesters quashed
- 202130 September: Investigatory Powers Tribunal finds breaches of ECHR Articles 3, 8, 10, 11 and 14 in Wilson v Met / NPCC
- 2022Remedy order of £225,971.96 in the same case
- 202329 June: Undercover Policing Inquiry Tranche 1 interim report
- 2026February–March: Tranche 3 Phase 2 hears evidence on environmental groups; Tranche 4 (NPOIU) not started
How it looked
Shown
Recorded
- Tranche 1 interim report (29 June 2023, Sir John Mitting): the SDS should have been closed in the 1970s; of more than 1,000 groups infiltrated, only 3 posed a credible threat.
- Investigatory Powers Tribunal, 30 September 2021 (Kate Wilson v Met / NPCC, IPT/11/167/H): breaches of ECHR Articles 3, 8, 10, 11 and 14; remedy order of £225,971.96.
- Convictions quashed because of Kennedy's role: Ratcliffe-on-Soar protesters, 20 July 2011, for non-disclosure; 29 Drax protesters, 2014 (secondary report).
- Tranche 3 Phase 2 (February–March 2026) heard evidence on environmental groups; the NPOIU falls in Tranche 4, which has not started (secondary report).
In court and with insurers
Lawsuits and rulings
- 2021-09-30Claimant won£225.97bn Remedy orderKate Wilson v Met / NPCC (IPT/11/167/H)Investigatory Powers Tribunal · Civil · Kate Wilson → The Met and the NPCC
On 30 September 2021 the Tribunal found breaches of ECHR Articles 3, 8, 10, 11 and 14. A remedy order of £225,971.96 followed. Investigatory Powers Tribunal
- 2011-07-20Overturned on appealQuashing of the Ratcliffe-on-Soar protesters' convictionsnot on record · Appeal · Prosecution (not further identified in the sources reviewed) → Ratcliffe-on-Soar protesters
The convictions were quashed on 20 July 2011 for non-disclosure, because of Kennedy's role.
- 2014Overturned on appealQuashing of the convictions of 29 Drax protestersnot on record · Appeal · Prosecution (not further identified in the sources reviewed) → 29 Drax protesters
The convictions were quashed in 2014 because of Kennedy's role. the sources reviewed marks this item as coming from a secondary source.
Insurers
What nature saw
Nature's report opens this page. Below: further outcomes measured on the ground.
What we don't know
Nature
- Not measured Harm to nature: The record holds no measurement of harm to nature.
Record
- None on record The Undercover Policing Inquiry has made no findings yet on the infiltration of environmental groups after 1993, or on the NPOIU.
- None on record The NPOIU falls in Tranche 4 of the inquiry, which has not started.
Did the harm stop?
Who paid?
A remedy order of £225,971.96 was made in the Wilson claim against the Met and the NPCC; the sources reviewed does not say who paid or whether it was paid.
Sources
Government and regulators
- Undercover Policing Inquiry: Tranche 1 interim reportGOV.UK · 2023-06-29
Courts
- Kate Wilson v Met / NPCC, IPT/11/167/H: Remedy OrderInvestigatory Powers Tribunal · 2022-01-24