POLICE Scotland is under pressure to say whether a retired officer who was in charge of professionals standards at the force worked with the disgraced undercover 'sex spy' unit run by the Metropolitan Police.
Eleanor Mitchell, a former Scottish Government adviser who was awarded a Queen’s Police Medal recently, was an expert in animal rights and environmental extremism who was seconded to the London force.
Police Scotland, the Government and Mitchell have all refused to comment on whether she had any dealings with the National Public Order Intelligence Unit (NPOIU), which was infamous for embedding officers into protest groups.
Labour MSP Neil Findlay last night demanded answers and called for a Scottish inquiry into undercover policing.
The UK-wide NPOIU was formed in 1999 to gather and co-ordinate intelligence on campaigns and protests which lead to violence.
An inspectorate report confirmed it was particularly focused on “animal rights, some environmental issues and extreme political activism”.
The Unit was based inside the Met until around 2006, at which point it transferred to the Association of Chief Police Officers.
However, the Unit’s deployment of undercover officers to infiltrate left-wing groups became notorious over revelations about the behaviour of the policemen involved.
Mark Kennedy, aka Mark Stone, was an NPOIU mole who had sexual relationships with numerous women he was being paid to spy on. He also operated at the G8 summit at Gleneagles in 2005.
The activities of the unit are now at the centre of a judicial inquiry into undercover policing in England and Wales.
Justice Secretary Michael Matheson has also called on the Pitchford Inquiry to cover Scotland, as some of the Met officers had assignments north of the border.
However, attention has now turned to who worked for the NPOIU in a supervisory capacity and whether any Scottish officers were seconded to the Unit.
Sources have told the Sunday Herald that Mitchell, who was a Chief Superintendent at Police Scotland before her retirement recently, worked on undercover policing at the Met earlier in a management capacity.
Picture: Mitchell
Mitchell’s New Year Honours List biography offers some details of her decorated 27 year career as an officer.
She joined Grampian Police in 1989 and became acknowledged “nationally and internationally as the leading expert in policing professional standards and tackling extremist groups”.
Until 2006, she advised the UK and Scottish Governments on “environmental extremist and animal rights protest, acting as strategic, tactical and operational lead”.
The biography added: “Her contribution in shaping how the Police service and partner law enforcement agencies across the UK now approach and tackle such protest organisations cannot be underestimated.”
Grampian Police literature elaborated by noting that she “worked in New Scotland Yard in London”, while a third biography provided further details by stating she was “seconded down to the Met Police in London where she worked for six years”.
She resurfaced in newspaper articles relating to the Grampian force in 2007 and was promoted three years later to superintendent.
Mitchell was then seconded to the Scottish Government to work on police reform and appointed Head of Professional Standards at the single force in 2014.
As PSD head, she was the senior officer for all conduct issues relating to the force’s 17,000-plus officers.
Findlay said: “Here again we have more evidence of the Scottish dimension to the undercover policing scandal. Police Scotland and the Scottish Government must confirm whether or not Ellie Mitchell, who headed up professional standards for Police Scotland, was a senior officer in the discredited NPOIU. The case for a Scottish inquiry is now beyond doubt - the Justice Secretary has to act.”
Asked whether Mitchell worked for the NPOIU as part of her Met secondment, a Police Scotland spokesman said: “We will not discuss the secondment of officers to the NPOIU and we do not have any remit to discuss the work of that unit. Preparatory work is currently taking place, co-ordinated by the National Police Chiefs Council, in advance of the forthcoming public inquiry into undercover policing. Police Scotland does not comment on matters relating to intelligence or covert operations.”
At the Sunday Herald’s request, the single force informed Mitchell about the story and the spokesperson said: “She, and we, have nothing further to add.”
A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “Operational matters and the deployment of officers is a matter for the Chief Constable.”
A Met spokesperson said: “The operation of the NPOIU, along with the Special Demonstration Squad, will be thoroughly examined during the upcoming Public Inquiry into undercover policing. This will include the exact governance of the NPOIU - both within and outside the MPS.
“At this stage we cannot discuss which officers had an oversight role of the NPOIU as this is a piece of work that is ongoing in preparation for the Public Inquiry.”
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