Documents
Government and Police Documents
A Need to Know; HMIC Thematic Inspection of Special Branch and Ports Policing
HM Inspector David Blakey, January 2003
Review that called for a significant investment in the National Special Branch Intelligence System (the “domestic extremism” database) and specialist IT provision to gather intelligence online
Guidelines on Special Branch Work in the United Kingdom
Home Office / Scottish Executive / Northern Ireland Office, March 2004
New guidelines replacing those issued in 1994 and following the HMIC review in 2003, that say Special Branch will “gather intelligence on political and animal rights extremist activity, anti-globalisation and environmental extremism and seek to prevent criminal acts on persons or property targeted by such extremists”.
Animal Welfare – Human Rights: protecting people from animal rights extremists
Home Office, July 2004
Sets out the government’s strategy ‘for countering animal rights extremism’ and acknowledged the creation of NETCU and NCDE
Guidance on the National Intelligence Model
Association of Chief Police Officers 2005
The National Intelligence Model is a a standardised approach to gathering and sharing intelligence that emphasises the creation of “sibject profiles” on individuals.
Beyond Lawful Protest: Protecting Against Domestic Extremism
National Counter Terrorism Security Office 2009
Terrorism/Extremism update for the City of London Business Community
City of London Police, 14 October 2011
The Operation of the NPIOU
Metropolitan Police, 2011
A review of national police units which provide intelligence on criminality associated with protest
HM Inspectorate of Constabulary 2012
A review of progress made against the recommendations in HMIC’s 2012 report on the national police units which provide intelligence on criminality associated with protest
HM Inspectorate of Constabulary, June 2013
NDEDIU Nominal Creation Policy
National Domestic Extremism & Disorder Intelligence Unit, June 2013
Letter to Baroness Jenny Jones of the changed in
Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe, Metropolitan Police Commissioner, 11 March 2014
Letter to Baroness Jenny Jones of the changed in
Detective Chief Superintendent Chris Greany,
National Domestic Extremism & Disorder Intelligence Unit, 21 March 2014
Extremist Symbols and Flags
Metropolitan Police Counter Terrorism Command, May 2018
Includes specific references to “domestic extremists” including the Hunt Saboteurs Association and “Antifa”
The National Coordinator Domestic Extremism (NCDE) – leaflet
Association of Chief Police Officers, undated
Job description: Detective Chief Inspector Protest and Liaison, NDEDIU
Association of Chief Police Officers, undated
Filming at protests
Evidence Gathering Teams and
Derbyshire Police, June 2007
NCDE Management of Overt Images Policy
National Public Order Intelligence Unit, July 2009
Overt Filming Standard Operating Procedure
Metropolitan Police 2013
Body Worn Video Manual of Guidance – Operational Considerations
Metropolitan Police 2014
Association of Chief Police Officers
National Public Order Intelligence Unit (NPIOU)
1999-2011
National policing unit run by ACPO that pooled intelligence from local Special Branch teams, uniformed surveillance and undercover officers.
National Coordinator for Domestic Extremism (NCDE)
2004-2011
National policing post run by ACPO that oversaw national investigations on “domestic extremism”, including the work of local forces and three national units: NETCU, NPOIU and NDET.
National Extremism Tactical Coordination Unit (NECTU)
2004-2011
National policing unit run by ACPO that was responsible for liaising between police forces, industry and universities targeted by campaigners, particularly animal rights protests.
National Domestic Extremism Team (NDET)
2004-2011
National policing unit run by ACPO that was responsible for practical assistance and intelligence for local police forces facing protests from alleged ‘domestic extremists’, again particularly focusing on animal rights protests.
National Domestic Extremism Unit (NDEU)
2011-2013
National Domestic Extremism and Disorder Intelligence Unit (NDEDIU)
2013-2016
The new name
National Counter Terrorism Police Operations Centre (NCTPOC)
2016 to date
National policing coordination centre that absorbed the NDEDIU following the creation of the Metropolitan Police’s Counter Terrorism Command
Academic and Non-State Documents
Special Branch more than doubles in size: Analysis of the Special Branch’s role in conducting surveillance for MI5 and on public order
Statewatch, June 2003
Operation Aeroscope – a re-examination and Operation Aeroscope files – overview
Dónal O’Driscoll, Special Branch Files Project, & November 2018
Spycops in context: A brief history of political policing in Britain
Connor Woodman, Centre for Crime and Justice Studies, December 2018
Spycops in context: Counter-subversion, deep dissent and the logic of political policing
Connor Woodman, Centre for Crime and Justice Studies, December 2018
Establishing the National Public Order Intelligence Unit
Connor Woodman, Special Branch Files Project, 2 April 2019
Netpol’s Commentary and Analysis
It’s Time to Close Down the Police’s “Domestic Extremism” Databases, 5 February 2019
A War on Dissent?, 28 October 2018
“Aaron-gate” – Prevent’s latest smearing of legitimate political dissent, 31 July 2018
Police maintain absolute secrecy over counter-terrorism surveillance on anti-fracking campaigners, 24 May 2018
It’s time to stop smearing anti-fracking campaigners as “extremists,4 May 2018
Home Office forced by Netpol to release ‘counter-radicalisation’ training materials, 1 May 2018
Let’s consign the police’s “Domestic Extremist” label to history, 31 January 2018
This is Not Domestic Extremism, 1 February 2017
Extraordinary judgment rubber-stamps unfounded link between anti-fracking and extremism, 21 November 2016
Government unveils new ‘counter-extremist’ bill – but still cannot define what extremism actually means, 21 May 2016
Four reasons to close down the police’s domestic extremism unit, 5 February 2016
Why are counter-terrorism police treating fracking opponents as ‘extremists’?, 9 April 2015
Met adopts ‘Kafkaesque position’ on secret surveillance database, 8 April 2015
Analysis of the UK Supreme Court ruling on surveillance of political activism, 5 March 2015
Supreme Court grants “judicial approval for the mass surveillance of UK protest movements”, 3 March 2015
Police hide behind ‘neither confirm or deny’ in the face of protester data requests, 15 November 2014
Are anti-terror police recording legitimate journalism as ‘hostile reconnaissance’?, 13 November 2014
Counter-terrorism police visit journalist at home over fracking film, 10 November 2014
Counter-terror police contact parents of Birmingham student protester over alleged ‘domestic extremism’, 15 July 2014
So who exactly IS now classified as a ‘Domestic Extremist’?, 22 April 2014
“Secret Diary of an Olympic Domestic Extremist”, 5 February 2014
Catt judgement leaves police intel gathering practices in tatters, 15 March 2013
News
Billy Briggs. Police Scotland amends
Mohammed Elmaazi, Spying, surveillance and sabotage – what will it take to bring an end to political policing?, Open Democracy, 18 July 2017
Rob Evans, Why exactly were the police spying on Jeremy Corbyn?, The Guardian, 27 June 2017
Rob Evans, Guardian asks Met police if it illegally accessed journalists’ emails, The
Rob Evans, Met police accused of using hackers to access protesters’ emails, The Guardian, 21 March 2017
Benjamin Kentish, Met Police ‘shredded internal documents after
Dean Kirby, We’re no terrorists: The rural anti-fracking campaigners labelled ‘extremists’, Inews, 9 December 2016
Dominic Casciani, Can ministers define extremism?, BBC News, 13 May 2015
Oscar Webb, Am I on the domestic extremist database?, London Review of Books, 24 March 2015
Re-visiting NETCU – police collaboration with industry, Corporate Watch, 6 August 2014
Rob Evans, Police criticised and ridiculed over attempt to spy on students and protesters, The Guardian, 15 November 2013
Paul Wright, Meet Prism’s little brother: Socmint, Wired, 26 June 2013
Paul Lewis, Rob Evans and Vikram Dodd, ‘National police unit monitors 9,000 ‘domestic extremists’‘, The Guardian, 26 June 2013
Ellie Mae O’Hagan, A life under surveillance, The Guardian, 1 November 2012
Rob Evans and Paul Lewis, Glastonbury festival: how police spied on political campaigners, The Guardian, 15 July 2012
Neil Tweedie, Eco infiltrator Mark Kennedy: The great betrayal, The Telegraph, 15 January 2011
Nick Collins, What is the National Public Order Intelligence Unit?, The Telegraph, 10 January 2011
Mark Kennedy/Stone exposed as
Michael Peel, James Boxell and Marc Vallée, Police use of protest photos will face review, Financial Times, 30 June 2010
Nick Harding,
Rob Evans, Paul Lewis & Matthew Taylor, Police in £9m scheme to log ‘domestic extremists’, The Guardian, 25 October 2009
Rob Evans & Paul Lewis,
Paul Lewis & Matthew Taylor, How police rebranded lawful protest as ‘domestic extremism’, The Guardian, 25 October 2009
Mark Thomas, Doth I protest too much
Michael Peel, James Boxell and Marc Vallée, Met under fire over picture database, Financial Times, 16 October 2009
Michael Peel and Marc Vallée, Police image library raises Orwellian concerns, Financial Times, 16 October 2009
Paul Lewis, Police caught on tape trying to recruit Plane Stupid protester as
Paul Lewis and Marc Vallée, Caught on film and stored on
George Monbiot, The Paranoid Squad, The Guardian, 23 December 2008
Stephen Pritchard, The readers’ editor on … anonymous sources and claims of eco-terrorism, The Guardian, 23 November 2008
Bibi van der Zee, Is ‘ecoterrorism’ really a threat?, The Guardian, 10 November 2008