Ucatt has discovered that an officer in the Metropolitan Police’s Special Demonstration Squad (SDS) gained membership of the union using a false identity.
According to the union, the revelation generates questions about the police’s collusion with the construction industry blacklisting scandal. However, it has so far failed to get any answers from the police, despite submitting questions in accordance with Freedom of Information legislation.
Ucatt’s membership records show that Mark Cassidy was a member of the union from 1996 until 1998. He lived in Hackney, paid by direct debit and claimed to be a joiner.
Mark Cassidy has since been revealed to be the identity used by police officer Mark Jenner, a member of the SDS. (Link to Guardian news report here.) During his time undercover, Cassidy/Jenner took leadership roles in organisations associated with Ucatt.
Ucatt general secretary Steve Murphy said: “Ucatt was infiltrated by the police and members have a right to know why. This sort of operation could only have been sanctioned at the highest level. I believe the truth rests with the Home Office. Who gave authority for the police to do this and how high did it go?”
On the 2nd December 2014 Ucatt made a Freedom of Information (FOI) request to the Metropolitan Police which asked:
- Was there a policy of infiltration of trades unions conducted by the Special Demonstration Squad?
- Did any member of the Special Demonstration Squad hold trade union membership?
- Did any member of the Special Demonstration Squad ever hold membership of construction union Ucatt?
On 20th February the Metropolitan Police replied that they were not “required to confirm or deny whether or not the information requested is held”. The Metropolitan Police cited six areas of why they could not reveal the information including national security.
Ucatt also made an FOI request to the Metropolitan Police about its National Extremism Tactical Co-ordination Unit, a representative of which gave a presentation to the Consulting Association in 2008. Ucatt asked:
- Did the National Extremism Tactical Co-ordination Unit (NETCU) meet with representatives of the construction blacklisting organisation the Consulting Association (CA)?
- If meetings did occur on what dates, in what venues and who was in attendance?
- To provide copies of all minutes and notes of all meetings between the NETCU and the CA?
The Metropolitan Police replied: “searches failed to locate any information relevant to your request, therefore, the information you have requested is not held by the MPS.”
According to Steve Murphy: “Public money was spent on police covertly joining trade unions, infiltrating groups associated with trade unions and colluding with construction employers to blacklist workers. This is a scandal that must be exposed.
“The Metropolitan Police must not be allowed to hide the truth; they operated a secret organisation that destroyed innocent people’s lives. They must be held to account.”
A spokesperson for the Met Police said: "We neither confirm nor deny the identity of any individual alleged to have been in a covert role. We are not prepared to confirm or deny the deployment of individuals on specific operations."
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