Ex-officer accused of racism takes legal action to avoid facing spycops inquiry

"A former senior police officer at the centre of the controversy over the surveillance of the campaign to expose the killers of teenager Stephen Lawrence is taking legal action that would prevent him being questioned at a public inquiry. The officer, who is facing allegations that he called black campaigners monkeys, is intending to resist an order by the undercover policing inquiry that would require him to give oral evidence."

"The officer, who ran a covert Scotland Yard unit, is alleged to have instructed a police spy to gather information that could have been used to discredit the family of the murdered teenager and destroy the campaign to bring his racist killers to justice. A whistleblower has accused the officer, who is known only by the codename HN86, of being a thoroughly and overtly racist man, the inquiry has heard."

"Peter Francis, a former undercover officer, has testified that HN86 said, when referring to black justice campaigners, the monkeys were being organised and we had to stop it before all the monkeys in London got out of their trees. HN86 denies the claims. Doreen Lawrence, Stephen's mother, has told the inquiry that HN86's legal action to avoid the full glare of scrutiny is shameful and utterly disgraceful."

A former senior officer from a covert Scotland Yard unit is seeking legal action to block an order requiring him to give oral evidence at the undercover policing inquiry. The officer is accused of directing a police spy to gather material that could have been used to discredit the Lawrence family and destroy their campaign for justice. A whistleblower described the officer, known by codename HN86, as thoroughly and overtly racist. Former undercover officer Peter Francis testified that HN86 said the monkeys were being organised and had to be stopped before they got out of their trees. HN86 denies the claims, and Doreen Lawrence called the legal action shameful. The inquiry, led by Sir John Mitting, examines why the unit spied on the family’s campaign in the 1990s.

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