When Halifax CLP backed
their local MP after she refused to vote against a bill sanctioning criminal
behaviour such as rape, murder and torture by public servants including spy’s.
I was a member of
Halifax CLP from around 2018 to 2023 when I quit the Labour Party.
Around 2018 I had
raised the issue of the ‘Spycops’ women who had been deceived by members of the
London Met Special Demonstration Squad (SDS) into having relationships with
them.
https://www.bigissuenorth.com/features/2022/04/the-spy-who-duped-me/
At the time, LUSH had highlighted
what had been going on in a public campaign and, as to be expected in a world
where most of the media can’t contemplate not supporting whatever the police do,
was criticised.
https://www.elle.com/beauty/a21098901/spycop-lush-cosmetics-explainer/
The Halifax MP at this
time was Holly Lynch, who was asked by myself at a CLP meeting about supporting
the campaign and the policeman’s daughter replied she would not and furthermore
she sought to condemn it by stating “it was inappropriate.”
There were murmurs in
the room but nobody amongst the other delegates present said anything until I
said that what had happened to the Spycops women was state rape and at which point
some delegates clearly felt I had gone too far.
Two years on the issue
had become much more high profile especially as desperate to defend the murky actions
of their agents the Tory government wanted to give them the backing of the law and
had introduced legislation, known as the Covert Human Intelligences Sources (CHIS)
Bill, to do so.
Now being led by security
technocrat Kier Starmer, who funnily enough back in 1991 I had given short shrift
to when he wanted to boost his profile by taking up on a pro bona basis cases
that were being supported by the Trafalgar Square Defendants Campaign, Labour nationally
was desperate not to be seen as in anyway ‘anti-police’.
Despite some
considerable discontent amongst many members nationally, which did result in
some MPs being willing to vote against the legislation, Starmer got his way and
the vast majority of Labour MPs abstained
The Tories bill thus
became the Covert Human Intelligence Sources (Criminal Conduct) Act of 2021.
In late 2020 I took the
issue to my ward branch meeting and the following resolution (below) was passed
and subsequently sent for debate at a Halifax CLP meeting that proved to be one
of the largest in many years. It was proposed to condemn the MP for her
actions.
It being in the middle
of COVID the event was held on Zoom.
I spoke first in support
of the motion and following which Holly Lynch spoke. Other delegates spoke afterwards
including several who were very supportive of my raising of the issue but who
all subsequently abstained on the motion which was eventually defeated by 33
votes against 4 in favour.
Resolution
The Warley ward of
HALIFAX CLP unreservedly condemns the action of our elected Labour MP, Holly
Lynch, for her refusal to vote against the Covert Human Intelligences Sources
(CHIS) Bill, known as the Spycops Bill, which will allow undercover agents to
break the law and engage in rape, murder and torture in the name of national
security.
The British state has a
long history with undercover agents operating without much scrutiny,
interfering in and devastating the lives of innocent people including dozens of
women who were deceived by members of the London Met Special Demonstration
Squad (SDS) into having relationships with them. The family of Stephen Lawrence
was also targeted by police spies.
These and many other
similar cases and organisations, totalling over 1,000 political groups, are now
being examined at a long running public inquiry, which has already been
severely restricted by the shredding of numerous documents by one of the secret
intelligence units when the inquiry was first announced. Warley
Ward member Mark Metcalf was for many years spied upon for exposing police
corruption and also seeking to improve pay and conditions for workers by the SDS’s
Mark Jenner. Mark Metcalf is a Core Participant at the said inquiry. The CHIS
bill is clearly aimed at undermining the long-fought campaign to force an
inquiry into abuses by police spies.
This ward notes that by
abstaining in Parliament when the Bill was voted upon that Ms. Lynch joined a
large number of similarly cowardly Labour MPs who sought to argue that the
security services must have the powers needed to keep us safe and that other
countries such as Canada have similar legislation in place. Yet clearly giving
the state powers to murder, torture and rape people is not the best way to keep
us safe and other similar legislation internationally explicitly prohibits
murder, sexual violence and other serious crimes.
Proposed by Mark
Metcalf
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