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Wednesday 11 November 2009

Controversial Domestic Extremist Units Make Desperate Raids to Justify Existence

MEDIA RELEASE FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTROVERSIAL DOMESTIC EXTREMIST UNITS MAKE DESPERATE RAIDS TO JUSTIFY EXISTENCE

Following a damning series of articles in The Guardian, the National Extremism Tactical Coordination Unit (NETCU), and their sister organisation the National Domestic Extremist Team (NDET) are attempting to justify their existence by raiding and arresting four animal rights activists for conspiracy to commit criminal damage.

NETCU and NDET are run by Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO). Denis O'Connor, the Chief Inspector of Constabulary, will next month release the findings of his national review of policing of protests and has already signalled he anticipates wide scale change. His inspectors are considering a complete overhaul of the ACPO units, which they have been told lack statutory accountability.

Wearing balaclavas, police officers from four different forces carried out the raids yesterday, smashing through doors and spending over ten hours searching two houses. Witnesses to one of the raids described the police as “intimidating” and “threatening”.

Lynn Sawyer - a resident of one of the houses - who was not arrested stated “This was a massive fishing expedition to promote NETCU’s facade of effectiveness whilst attempting to stop protest through pure terrorisation.”

Apart from computers and mobile phones, the police were also interested in financial documents, evidence of travel and association in support of animal rights extremism. Evidence of such extremism included banners, leaflets and a poster from VIVA, a well respected vegetarian/vegan organisation.

Fitwatch activist Emily Apple stated that “This was an entirely disproportionate policing operation undertaken by an increasingly desperate unit. The threatening nature of these raids and using items such as NGO posters and leaflets as evidence of extremism demonstrate NDET’s dubious definition of domestic extremism and their willingness to intimidate protesters and criminalise dissent.”


Notes for Editors:
1. More information on The Guardian’s investigation - http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2009/oct/25/police-surveillance-protest-domestic-extremism
2. A third ACPO unit dealing with domestic extremism, the National Public Order Intelligence Unit, is also being investigated.
3. The term “domestic extremism” does not have a legal definition and has been invented by these units.
4. VIVA are supported by a wide range of people including Joanna Lumley, Michael Mansfield QC and Sir Paul McCartney.

11 comments:

Not fooled by bluster said...

An the judge that issued the warrants - he in on it too,

And the CPS that agreed to charge and the judge at the initial hearing,

Bloody hell this conspiracy against Lynn and anybody at her house is massive!

Makes you think....

Anonymous said...

Which hearing is that?

Anonymous said...

Funny how the Guardian hasn't picked up this massive story - but then again even the Guardian was damming about SHAC

Clovis said...

not fooled...

given that judges can be found for almost any sort of nonsense, as witness the recent attempt to gag reporting of parliament, finding a judge up for granting a search warrant for this sort of thing may not be as hard as you seem to think.

Anonymous said...

To paraphrase:-

'Deal With Lynn - Deal with Pold'

Anonymous said...

Oh come on, this isn't anything to do with Lynn.
This is Potter and his girlfriend, they got into a load of SHAC stuff after the big trial.
Looks like they got charged so we will know deatils soon enough.

Long memory said...

Emily said...
There will be an article on the blog later on today about the trial.

However, for the record, this trial makes no difference as to the legality of either the FIT or Fitwatchers - this case will be appealed and it will be down to a higher court to rule on the legality.

05 October 2009 03:43

Still no update on the convictions then?

Anonymous said...

This hearing:-

Four people have been charged with conspiracy to commit criminal damage in connection with an inquiry into suspected animal rights extremism.

Officers were investigating incidents in Farnborough, Fareham, Hedge End and Winchester, Hampshire, in 2008.

Police raided addresses in Gosport, Hampshire and Evesham, Worcerstershire.

The four were bailed. A man and a woman are due before Winchester Crown Court on Monday. Another man and a woman are due before magistrates on Tuesday.

Thomas William Harris, 26, and Nicola May Tapping, 28, both of Clarence Road, Gosport, who are due before crown court, appeared at Portsmouth Magistrates' Court earlier.

Christopher Potter, 20, and Maria Neal, 19, of Boat Lane, Evesham, are expected to appear before the court on Thursday.

ed said...

I'm here on a 'dependant visa' and just arrived a few months ago. Coming from singapore which has a party identical to the BNP, but unlike the BNP, has ruled for 50 years, all parties have turned fascist favouring the chinese. Thus, being an intrinsically political animal, i was really looking forward to being active here in the UK as we do have a choice between clearly distinguishable fascist and non-fascist parties.

I was however dismayed by what the Domestic Extremist scheme entailed for 'yet-to-be-britishers'. I felt that it tends to cut the foreign inflow of activism by keeping potential migrants in line.

I wrote a brief observation on the issue - http://www.according2ed.com/2009/10/is-police-domestic-extremist-scheme.html. Most unfortunate.

I'm against migrants living off the country whilst contributing nothing. But by 'living off the country', i do not just refer to the failure to make an economic contribution, but a socially progressive one via activism as well. I think the latter is as important, or even more so, than the former.

Anonymous said...

I'm very supprised FITWATCH has risked it's reputation in this way.

OK SHAC do seem to be getting a huge ammount of attention but it's not as though they havn't provoked it.

FITWATCH is about lawful protest being policed oppresivly - SHAC isn't a lawful protest group.

Anonymous said...

Where is Constable Sparta?