Undercover police officer Carlo Neri spied on the RMT union. Photographic evidence shows that in October 2004 the spy cop was present at the industrial dispute following the sacking of the prominent union militant Steve Hedley (now elected as Senior Assistant General Secretary of the RMT union) during construction of the Kings Cross terminal for the Channel Tunnel Rail Link.
The presence of the police spy from the Met’s disgraced Special Demonstration Squad was captured on camera by the freelance photographer Andrew Wiard. The photographs show the police spy standing behind an RMT banner with the slogan ‘Reinstate Steve Hedley’ while handing out leaflets to construction workers who had walked out in support of the victimised union activist. Also present at the picket line were RMT activists Alex Gordon and Sarah Friday plus GMB construction organisers Kelly Rogers and Steve Kelly (who was subsequently banned from the project controlled by the blacklist companies Costain, O’Rourke and Emcor).
Photographs only available for use in the media upon direct email request to Andrew Wiard andrew@reportphotos.com
Steve Hedley commented:
“I am appalled that a secret police spy thought that it was justified to turn up on a peaceful RMT picket line in order to gather information. I had earlier housed this person rent free as he claimed he was being made homeless and feel shocked that taxpayers money could be used like this to betray the trust of people engaged in completely legitimate industrial action. We heard a lot growing up about police states in other countries whilst it turns out our state was doing exactly the same thing here”.
The photographs were rediscovered by Dave Smith while researching for the updated version of the book Blacklisted and were first made public at the GMB conference in Bournemouth on Sunday evening (5th June). Smith commented afterwards:
“We were standing up for workers rights but apparently the British state considered us such a threat, that we were kept under constant surveillance by shady anti-democratic units in the police. This is nothing less than political policing and has no place in a democracy.
This took place during the Tony Blair government and I want to know why trade unions were were being spied on under a Labour Home Secretary. David Blunkett has serious questions to answer”.
The CTRL dispute is recorded on Consulting Association blacklist files of Steve Hedley and GMB organiser at the time, Steve Kelly.
Both Steve Hedley and Dave Smith have been granted core participant status in the Pitchford public inquiry into undercover policing.
Blacklist Support Group
book: http://newint.org/books/politics/blacklisted-secret-war/
video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JlCa8yQmZ70
blog: www.hazards.org/blacklistblog
facebook: http://www.facebook.com/groups/blacklistSG/