The author of the new book „Disclosure: Unravelling the SpyCops Files“ shares the story of her battle against SpyCops and the system behind it

The term „spycops“ refers to a long-running scandal involving undercover police officers in the UK who infiltrated and monitored more than 1,000 political and justice groups. These included groups campaigning for environmental protection, anti-racism, feminism, and other social causes – as well as mainstream political parties, trade unions, and many others. A public inquiry into the abuses began in 2015 and is still ongoing, with no known end date. Core aspects of this under-reported scandal include:

Friday, 20 February 2026, 7 pm,
Aquarium, Skalitzer Straße 6, Berlin U8 Kottbusser Tor

• Deceitful intimate relationships: Undercover officers manipulated female activists into long-term sexual relationships while using their fake identities. At least 25 officers are known to have had sexual relations with deceived women, and several are known or alleged to have fathered children.
• Stolen identities: To create believable false identities, officers stole the names of dead children.
• Spying on grieving families: Officers have admitted to spying on at least 18 grieving families who were campaigning for justice for loved ones who died in police custody or were victims of racist murders, including the family of Stephen Lawrence.
• Wrongful convictions: Evidence indicates that undercover officers and their supervisors concealed crucial information that could have led to the acquittal of at least 50 activists.
• Disruption and blacklisting: Police gathered intelligence to share information with private companies, which led to trade unionists being blacklisted from employment.

Kate Wilson works with the group Police Spies Out of Lives. Moderated by Matthias Monroy, she and her friend Ben will talk about her experiences as one of the activists deceived by undercover police into an intimate relationship, as well as her assessments of the ongoing public inquiry.

Organised by Institut für Bürgerrechte & öffentliche Sicherheit e.V. / Zeitschrift Bürgerrechte & Polizei / CILIP