The Spies Who Ruined Our Lives + Q&A

In collaboration with the Bristol Radical History Group, we take a deep-dive into the SpyCops scandal.

For over 40 years, British undercover agents spied on people in the UK and many other countries. The police unit infiltrated more than 1,000 activist groups (and victims including the family of Stephen Lawrence). To carry out their spying, the police stole the identities of deceased children. Under false identities, they started relationships with women, had sexual relations and even children. As soon as they had achieved their goals, they disappeared without a trace.

The truth about the department only slowly came to light after the exposure of police informer Mark Kennedy in 2010, who was mainly targeting climate groups. Since 2015, the events have been clarified in a judicial investigation. Important hearings are held in secret. However, several dozen real names of the police spies are now known.

With the enquiry still proceeding and police powers seemingly increasing, this story is still very current.
 
Please note: doors open at 7pm and there will be stalls and conversation in the bar before the screening starts at 7:30pm