Former Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police Robert Mark memorably said that “a good Police force is one that catches more crooks than it employs”. His crusade, during a career that spanned 40 years, was to root out Police corruption; hundreds of officers were dismissed or forced to resign on his watch. But the corruption has never gone away.
That sad fact was demonstrated by the Daniel Morgan murder and the decades of obstruction his relatives faced in finding out what really happened. It was reinforced by discoveries in the wake of Operation Motorman, where Steve Whittamore had contacts able to extract confidential information from the Police National Computer.
So it should surprise no-one to see it claimed that Stephen Yaxley Lennon, who styles himself Tommy Robinson, had at least one corrupt Police officer who was willing to supply address details of Lennon’s targets - in return for an appropriate cash payment. After all, if real journalists could do this - and they did - then pretend ones could do it too.
Lennon’s pretence of merely “doing journalism” is what led him and his sidekicks to my front door in April 2017; from there the questions were obvious. How had Lennon got my address, and why did he insist not only on calling me “Paul”, but claiming - wrongly - that I was using a false name? We may be closer to finding the answers.
It seems that Caolan Robertson, one of those sidekicks who rocked up that April night, and who is now out of favour with both Rebel Media - under whose auspices Lennon targeted me - and Lennon himself, has decided to come clean and tell all to Byline Times. The first instalment of his confession was published yesterday.
Who's on the end of the line?
Under the headline “Tommy Robinson and the Boys in Blue”, Peter Jukes and Hardeep Matharu tell that some Police officers voiced open support for Lennon, with Robertson “claiming that police officers went beyond personal opinions to actively supporting Robinson’s campaigns by providing confidential details of his targets”.
Then comes Lennon’s visit to my house. “Beyond the intimidatory visit, one mystery has always remained about this episode. Throughout, Robinson refers to Fenton as ‘Paul’. Fenton told Byline Times that, since childhood, he has always been known by his second name - Timothy. Paul - his first given name - is not on any public database, but remains on his medical records”. Only my NHS record shows Paul as the name I use.
This is not by design: unless someone who does not use their first given name tells the NHS and has their records amended, it is assumed the first given name is the one used. So the question of Lennon finding my address is not merely one of searching for it - it is the source of the information he received. And it has to have come from the NHS.
Jukes and Matharu go on to say “On two occasions, Robertson and another witness claim that they heard Robinson claim he had a police contact who procured confidential information on potential targets who he would pay in cash in an envelope - between £250 and £500 for each address”. Also, they have been told that “[Lennon’s Police] contact could obtain ‘medical records’”. That’s most interesting.
Police corruption, like Stephen Lennon, remains a problem. I’ll just leave that one there.
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5 comments:
Great analysis, Tim. Very welcome.
Now....Extrapolate that corruption to an establishment determined to do away with any organised, viable and dissenting opposition. With all the resources at their command, do you really think they would stop at a relatively unimportant* incident in Crewe?
We now live in what has been called a "surveillance capitalist" state. Big Brother in spades, almost exactly as described by Orwell.
*Obviously and quite rightly highly important to yourself. And quite indicative of our cultural and political malaise.
Disguising. Its sad the Police still have a few racists and wannabe fascists among their ranks, I hope they get expelled ASAP.
It is difficult for a lone police officer to access police databases without being noticed. Corrupt officers get around this by co-opting new targets into RIPA investigations and then accessing various databases outside the police such as NHS records.
@Anonymous 23 August 2019 at 16:31
"It is difficult for a lone police officer to access police databases"
Sorry but you're wrong. Any Police Officer can access the PNC at anytime they choose. Even some patrol cars (such as Traffic and Armed response)have built in access via laptop. They need no permission.
Partly right. What Anonymous said was,
"It is difficult for a lone police officer to access police databases without being noticed."
The last three words are the most important, since all use of the PNC is audited, to prevent misuse.
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