Hey buddy, watch me!

Friends forever ... ?

A betrayal of trust can be a painful thing and no doubt some will already be aware of these stories but both were news to me as I poked about today.

Visiting indymedia.org I came across the following story:


Heathrow Protesters Uncover Spy Plot

It has come to light that Oxford-educated Toby Kendall, 24, an employee of aerospace security consultants C2i International, infiltrated and spied on Heathrow campaign groups across London for a year. According to people from Plane Stupid, he was "suspected" and following an investigation he was confronted and exposed. Heathrow owner BAA has now admitted to the Times newspaper that it has been in contact with C2i, having previously claimed it had no involvement in the spying operation.

C2i International states on its website that its team is "hand-picked from Special Operations at New Scotland Yard". It is run by self-proclaimed Special Forces Veteran Justin King and says it "delivers tailored advice and solutions to companies in a wide range of industries including Aerospace."

Times article: Spy caught by anti-aviation group was 'more Austin Powers than 007'

A spy who infiltrated a direct action anti-aviation group has been exposed after making a series of elementary errors that aroused the suspicions of genuine activists.

...

Plane Stupid began a mole hunt and, after feeding him false information that found its way within two days to the aviation industry, discovered his real name and employer.

Mr Kendall, 24, works for C2i International, a counter-intelligence company run by former special forces officers. It claims that its agents are “hand-picked from Special Operations at New Scotland Yard”. Its website puts “aerospace” at the top of a list of industries for which it works.

While further down in the article C2i International distance themselves from Mr Kendall's activities stating they were unaware and suggesting this was an activity undertaken by Mr Kendall purely of his own volition a statement was made by BAA revealing that it had been approached by C2i.

planestupid.com - MOLE HUNT: Behind the bamboo curtain

The man they * call Agent Maverick first appeared on my horizon several months ago, when Tamsin mentioned that Plane Stupid London had a mysterious new member calling himself Ken Tobias.

"He looks a bit like a cop," she said.

That could have been the end of Plane Stupid – how were we, a bunch of useless hippies, supposed to deal with a professional infiltrator? Things had escalated to a new and discomforting level – what had we got ourselves into? And how could we determine whether he really was a mole?

Continued at source


Industrial espionage agency targeted Heathrow protestors - 8th April 2008

Aviation industry in the frame as Plane Stupid investigation exposes mole

Climate action group Plane Stupid has been targeted by a professional espionage agency.

Oxford-educated Toby Kendall, 24, an employee of aerospace security consultants C2i International (1), infiltrated and spied on Heathrow campaign groups across London for a year. He was immediately suspected and following a Plane Stupid investigation he was last week confronted and exposed in a Japanese restaurant by the Plane Stupid activist Tamsin Omond - one of those who recently scaled Parliament (2).

Continued at source


planestupid.com - MOLE HUNT: Ken gets busted is a link with leads to a video containing the content of an email from Toby Kendall.


A year building trusting friendships can be considered long time but as Mark Thomas knows some people are very dedicated to their work.

The Guardian - Martin and me

In 2003, BAE Systems - Europe's largest arms company - was accused of spying on a small group of peace campaigners. Mark Thomas refused to believe that his trusted friend and fellow activist Martin Hogbin could possibly have any involvement in the story. But then the doubts began to set in ...

If I were to count the cuts that killed my friendship with a man called Martin Hogbin then the thousandth came within a solitary line of a legal document. This document, dated October 2007, had a dull, dry title: "A Consent Order". And when I read it, years of trust and love slipped away.

But first I had better go back to the beginning ...

Continued at Source



Jak