Special Demonstration Squad

The request was refused by Metropolitan Police Service (MPS).

Edward Williams

Dear Metropolitan Police Service (MPS),

BACKGROUND TO REQUESTS
I note the following article in the Guardian:
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2014...

in particular:

"“I had a spy who was being paid by the government to spy on me, to the extent that he watched me give birth, so he saw every intimate part of me. He was with me for 14 hours giving birth. How did he report that back?”

This, of course, relates to your Mr Bob LAMBERT.

REQUESTS
This request covers period year 1970 to date.

1. Provide all records relating to the: -
a)false identity used,
b)genuine name,
c)rank,
d)police number,

of all MPS officers/staff (male and female) who worked for the Special Demonstration Squad or similar unit that entered into romantic or sexual relationships with members/associates of groups infiltrated by the Special Demonstration Squad or similar unit.

2. Provide name of group(s) infiltrated (note - a group may consist of one or more persons)

3. Provide records showing how many children were conceived as a result of these relationships, including those not carried to full term, and how many times did the father attend the birth of the child.

4. Provide all rule books, guidance, educational material, tip sheets etc. given to those working for the Special Demonstration Squad or similar unit regarding this type of relationship. This should include data relating to contraception and prevention of STDs and the possible effect on victims.

5.Provide CURRENT rule book, guidance, educational material given to those working in any undercover roll regarding entering into romantic or sexual relationships with individuals or members/associates of groups infiltrated. This should include data relating to contraception and prevention of STDs.

6. Relating to
"I had a spy who was being paid by the government to spy on me, to the extent that he watched me give birth, so he saw every intimate part of me. He was with me for 14 hours giving birth. How did he report that back?" -
REQUEST:
Please provide all records held relating to the birth,in particular how LAMBERT reported the birth.
I am, of course, happy for you to redact any details which could lead to mother and child, as innocent victims, being identified.

7.How many officers used the ID of a deceased child?

If this request goes over the costs threshold, please deal with requests 1. and 2.

Failure to FULLY comply with this request within 40 working days will result in immediate referral to the Commissioner.

Thank you for your kind assistance in this matter.

Yours faithfully,

Edward Williams

Metropolitan Police Service (MPS)

Dear Mr Williams

Freedom of Information Request Reference No: 2018060000155

I write in connection with your request for information which was received
by the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) on 05/06/2018.  I note you seek
access to the following information:

"BACKGROUND TO REQUESTS
I note the following article in the Guardian:
https://scanmail.trustwave.com/?c=10916&...

in particular:

""I had a spy who was being paid by the government to spy on me, to the
extent that he watched me give birth, so he saw every intimate part of me.
He was with me for 14 hours giving birth. How did he report that back?"

This, of course, relates to your Mr Bob LAMBERT.

REQUESTS
This request covers period year 1970  to date.

1. Provide all records relating to the: - a)false identity used, b)genuine
name, c)rank, d)police number,

of all MPS officers/staff (male and female) who worked for the Special
Demonstration Squad or similar unit that entered into romantic or sexual
relationships with members/associates of groups infiltrated by the Special
Demonstration Squad or similar unit.

2. Provide name of group(s) infiltrated (note - a group may consist of one
or more persons)

3. Provide records showing how many children were conceived as a result of
these relationships, including those not carried to full term, and how
many times did the father attend the birth of the child.

4. Provide all rule books, guidance, educational material, tip sheets etc.
given to those working for the Special Demonstration Squad or similar unit
regarding this type of relationship. This should include data relating to
contraception and prevention of STDs and the possible effect on victims.

5.Provide CURRENT rule book, guidance, educational material given to those
working in any undercover roll regarding entering into romantic or sexual
relationships with individuals or members/associates of groups
infiltrated. This should include data relating to contraception and
prevention of STDs.

6. Relating to
"I had a spy who was being paid by the government to spy on me, to the
extent that he watched me give birth, so he saw every intimate part of me.
He was with me for 14 hours giving birth. How did he report that back?" -
REQUEST:
Please provide  all records held relating to the birth,in particular how
LAMBERT reported the birth.
I am, of course, happy for you to redact any details which could lead to
mother and child, as innocent victims, being identified.  

http://scanmail.trustwave.com/?c=10916&a...
many officers used the ID of a deceased child?

If this request goes over the costs threshold, please deal with requests
1. and 2.

Failure to FULLY comply with this request within 40 working days will
result in immediate referral to the Commissioner.

Thank you for your kind assistance in this matter."

Your request will now be considered in accordance with the Freedom of
Information Act 2000 (the Act).  You will receive a response within the
statutory timescale of 20 working days as defined by the Act.  

If you have any further enquiries concerning this matter, please contact
us at [The Met request email] or on the phone at 0207 161 3500, quoting the
reference number above. Should your enquiry relate to the logging or
allocations process we will be able to assist you directly and where your
enquiry relates to other matters (such as the status of the request) we
will be able to pass on a message and/or advise you of the relevant
contact details.

Yours sincerely

R. Loizou
Support Officer - Freedom of Information Triage Team
 
COMPLAINT RIGHTS

Are you unhappy with how your request has been handled or do you think the
decision is incorrect?

You have the right to require the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) to
review their decision.

Prior to lodging a formal complaint you are welcome to discuss the
response with the case officer who dealt with your request.  

Complaint

If you are dissatisfied with the handling procedures or the decision of
the MPS made under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (the Act) regarding
access to information you can lodge a complaint with the MPS to have the
decision reviewed.

Complaints should be made in writing, within forty (40) working days from
the date of the refusal notice, and addressed to:

FOI Complaint
Information Rights Unit
PO Box 57192
London
SW6 1SF
[The Met request email]

In all possible circumstances the MPS will aim to respond to your
complaint within 20 working days.

The Information Commissioner

After lodging a complaint with the MPS if you are still dissatisfied with
the decision you may make application to the Information Commissioner for
a decision on whether the request for information has been dealt with in
accordance with the requirements of the Act.

For information on how to make application to the Information Commissioner
please visit their website at www.ico.org.uk.  Alternatively, write to or
phone:

Information Commissioner's Office
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire
SK9 5AF
Phone: 0303 123 1113

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NOTICE - This email and any attachments may be confidential, subject to
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the intended recipient. If you have received this email in error, please
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authorised to conclude any binding agreement on behalf of the MPS by
email. The MPS accepts no responsibility for unauthorised agreements
reached with other employees or agents.  The security of this email and
any attachments cannot be guaranteed. Email messages are routinely scanned
but malicious software infection and corruption of content can still occur
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Metropolitan Police Service (MPS)

Dear Mr Williams

Freedom of Information Request Reference No: 2018060000155

I write in connection with your request for information which was received
by the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) on 05/06/2018.

I am sorry to inform you that we have not been able to complete our
response to your request by the date originally stated.

Under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (the Act), we have 20 working
days to respond to a request for information unless we are considering
whether the information requested is covered by one of the 'qualified
exemptions' (exemptions which must be tested against the public interest
before deciding whether they apply to the information in question).

Where we are considering the public interest test against the application
of relevant qualified exemptions, Section 17(2)(b) provides that we can
extend the 20 day deadline.  Please see the legal annex for further
information on this section of the Act.

For your information we are considering the following exemption(s):

Section 30 - Investigations and proceedings

I can now advise you that the amended date for a response is 31/07/2018.

May I apologise for any inconvenience caused.

Should you have any further enquiries concerning this matter, please
contact me via email at [The Met request email], quoting the reference number
above.

Yours sincerely

Brian Wilson
Senior Privacy Advisor

LEGAL ANNEX

Section 17(2) provides:

(2) Where-

a) in relation to any request for information, a public authority is, as
respects any information, relying on a claim-
i) that any provision of Part II which relates to the duty to confirm or
deny and is not specified in section 2(3) is relevant to the request, or
ii) that the information is exempt information only by virtue of a
provision not specified in section 2(3), and
b) at the time when the notice under subsection (1) is given to the
applicant, the public authority (or, in a case falling within section
66(3) or (4), the responsible authority) has not yet reached a decision as
to the application of subsection (1)(b) or (2)(b) of section 2,
the notice under subsection (1) must indicate that no decision as to the
application of that provision has yet been reached and must contain an
estimate of the date by which the authority expects that such a decision
will have been reached.

 
COMPLAINT RIGHTS

Are you unhappy with how your request has been handled or do you think the
decision is incorrect?

You have the right to require the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) to
review their decision.

Prior to lodging a formal complaint you are welcome to discuss the
response with the case officer who dealt with your request.  

Complaint

If you are dissatisfied with the handling procedures or the decision of
the MPS made under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (the Act) regarding
access to information you can lodge a complaint with the MPS to have the
decision reviewed.

Complaints should be made in writing, within forty (40) working days from
the date of the refusal notice, and addressed to:

FOI Complaint
Information Rights Unit
PO Box 57192
London
SW6 1SF
[The Met request email]

In all possible circumstances the MPS will aim to respond to your
complaint within 20 working days.

The Information Commissioner

After lodging a complaint with the MPS if you are still dissatisfied with
the decision you may make application to the Information Commissioner for
a decision on whether the request for information has been dealt with in
accordance with the requirements of the Act.

For information on how to make application to the Information Commissioner
please visit their website at www.ico.org.uk.  Alternatively, write to or
phone:

Information Commissioner's Office
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire
SK9 5AF
Phone:  0303 123 1113

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NOTICE - This email and any attachments may be confidential, subject to
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the intended recipient. If you have received this email in error, please
notify the sender and delete it from your system.  To avoid incurring
legal liabilities, you must not distribute or copy the information in this
email without the permission of the sender. MPS communication systems are
monitored to the extent permitted by law.  Consequently, any email and/or
attachments may be read by monitoring staff. Only specified personnel are
authorised to conclude any binding agreement on behalf of the MPS by
email. The MPS accepts no responsibility for unauthorised agreements
reached with other employees or agents.  The security of this email and
any attachments cannot be guaranteed. Email messages are routinely scanned
but malicious software infection and corruption of content can still occur
during transmission over the Internet. Any views or opinions expressed in
this communication are solely those of the author and do not necessarily
represent those of the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS).

 

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Dear Metropolitan Police Service (MPS),

Please pass this on to the person who conducts Freedom of Information reviews.

I am writing to request an internal review of Metropolitan Police Service (MPS)'s handling of my FOI request 'Special Demonstration Squad'.

A full history of my FOI request and all correspondence is available on the Internet at this address: https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/s...

Yours faithfully,

Edward Williams

Metropolitan Police Service (MPS)

Dear Mr Williams

Freedom of Information Review Reference No: 2018080000594

I write in connection with your request for a review of the handling
and/or decision relating to  2018060000155 which was received by the
Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) on  11/08/2018.  

A review will now be conducted in accordance with the Code of Practice
issued under Section 45 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (the Act).
 The reviewing officer will reconsider the original request before
responding to you with their findings.

There is no statutory time limit in relation to the completion of an
Internal Review.  However, the MPS aim to complete Internal Reviews within
20 working days or in exceptional cases, within 40 working days.  This is
based upon guidance published by the Information Commissioner.

If it is not possible to complete the Internal Review within this
timescale you will be informed at the earliest opportunity.

If you are unhappy with the outcome of an Internal Review you may wish to
refer the matter to the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO).

For information on how to make an application to the Information
Commissioner please visit their website at www.ico.org.uk.  Alternatively,
write to or phone:

Information Commissioner's Office
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire
SK9 5AF
Phone:  0303 123 1113

Yours sincerely

R. Loizou
Support Officer - Freedom of Information Triage Team

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NOTICE - This email and any attachments may be confidential, subject to
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the intended recipient. If you have received this email in error, please
notify the sender and delete it from your system.  To avoid incurring
legal liabilities, you must not distribute or copy the information in this
email without the permission of the sender. MPS communication systems are
monitored to the extent permitted by law.  Consequently, any email and/or
attachments may be read by monitoring staff. Only specified personnel are
authorised to conclude any binding agreement on behalf of the MPS by
email. The MPS accepts no responsibility for unauthorised agreements
reached with other employees or agents.  The security of this email and
any attachments cannot be guaranteed. Email messages are routinely scanned
but malicious software infection and corruption of content can still occur
during transmission over the Internet. Any views or opinions expressed in
this communication are solely those of the author and do not necessarily
represent those of the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS).

 

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Metropolitan Police Service (MPS)

Dear Mr Williams
Freedom of Information Review Reference No: 2018080000594

Further to our earlier correspondence dated 14/08/2018, I am now able to
provide a response to your complaint concerning Freedom of Information Act
(FOIA) request reference number: 2018060000155.  

Section 10 of the Act states:

10.-(1) Subject to subsections (2) and (3), a public authority must comply
with section 1(1) promptly and in any event not later than the twentieth
working day following the date of receipt.

Subsection 3 states:

10-(3) If, and to the extent that-
(a) section 1(1)(a) would not apply if the condition in section 2(1)(b)
were satisfied, or
(b) section 1(1)(b) would not apply if the condition in section 2(2)(b)
were satisfied,
the public authority need not comply with section 1(1)(a) or (b) until
such time as is reasonable in the circumstances; but this subsection does
not affect the time by which any notice under section 17(1) must be given.

ICO guidance titled 'Time limits for compliance under the Freedom of
Information Act (Section 10)'  states:

Section 10(3) enables an authority to extend the 20 working day limit up
to a 'reasonable time' in any case where;
it requires more time to determine whether or not the balance of the
public interest lies in maintaining an exemption; or
it needs further time to consider whether it would be in the public
interest to confirm or deny whether the information is held.

This extension will therefore only apply to requests where the authority
considers a qualified exemption (an exemption that is subject to a public
interest test) to be engaged.

The Act does not define what might constitute a 'reasonable' extension of
time. However, our view is that an authority should normally take no more
than an additional 20 working days to consider the public interest,
meaning that the total time spent dealing with the request should not
exceed 40 working days. An extension beyond this should be exceptional.
Examples of such circumstances could include extreme pressures placed on
the public authority by a major incident or exceptional levels of
complexity involving a number of external parties. Public authorities will
need to demonstrate that the length of any time extension is justified.

You were advised of the public interest test extension on 03/07/2018. We
gave a target date of 31/07/2018 for completion of your request.

There is no statutory time limit in relation to the length of time a
public authority may take to consider the public interest in relation to
the application of a qualified exemption. However, as detailed above, the
Information Commissioner's Office guidance indicates that the total time
taken to respond to a request should not exceed 40 working days and that
any extension beyond this should be exceptional. With this mind, I have
determined that the MPS has not complied with your request within a
reasonable timeframe.

The MPS is currently considering the public interest in relation to your
request and a response will be provided to you as soon as possible.

As a response to your request is currently outstanding, I am unable to
complete a full internal review in relation to your request. However,
should you be dissatisfied with the MPS response to your request, you may
request an internal review in relation to the decision.

I would like to take this opportunity to apologise on behalf of the MPS
for any inconvenience caused by the time taken to respond to your Freedom
of Information Act request. The progress of your request will continue to
be monitored and the issues you have raised have been recorded, enabling
us to provide a more efficient and effective service in the future.

https://ico.org.uk/media/1165/time-for-c...
Yours sincerely

Yvette Taylor
Information Manager

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the intended recipient. If you have received this email in error, please
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email without the permission of the sender. MPS communication systems are
monitored to the extent permitted by law.  Consequently, any email and/or
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authorised to conclude any binding agreement on behalf of the MPS by
email. The MPS accepts no responsibility for unauthorised agreements
reached with other employees or agents.  The security of this email and
any attachments cannot be guaranteed. Email messages are routinely scanned
but malicious software infection and corruption of content can still occur
during transmission over the Internet. Any views or opinions expressed in
this communication are solely those of the author and do not necessarily
represent those of the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS).

 

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Dear Metropolitan Police Service (MPS),

You have 7 days to provide an internal review response or I will complain to the ICO.

The FOIA service MPS provides is appalling.

Yours faithfully,

Edward Williams

Metropolitan Police Service (MPS)

Dear Mr Williams,

Thank you for your email dated 18/08/2018.

In my response to you, I confirmed that the MPS has not dealt with your request within a reasonable timeframe. I apologise again for the inconvenience the delay may be causing you.

As detailed in my response, because your FOIA request 2018060000155 is currently outstanding, I am unable to complete a full internal review at this time.

My colleague, Brian Wilson who is dealing with your request, will provide you with a response as soon as possible.

Thank you

Yvette Taylor - Information Manager - Freedom of Information Team, Information Rights Unit (IRU)
STRATEGY & GOVERNANCE, MetHQ
Metropolitan Police Service
MetPhone 780074 | Telephone 020 7161 0074 | E-Mail: [email address]   
Address - Information Rights Unit, PO Box 57192, London SW6 1SF

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Recipients of this email should be aware that all communications within and to and from the Metropolitan Police Service are subject to consideration for release under the Data Protection Act, Freedom of Information Act and Environmental Information Regulations. The MPS will consider information for release unless there is are valid and proportionate public interest reasons not to, therefore, sensitive information not for public disclosure must be highlighted as such. Further advice can be obtained from the Information Rights Unit - 0207 161 3500.

show quoted sections

Metropolitan Police Service (MPS)

1 Attachment

Dear Mr Williams,

 

Please find attached the MPS response to your outstanding queries which
have been aggregated for the purpose of estimating the cost of complying
with your requests.

 

Regards,

 

Brian Wilson

Senior Privacy Advisor

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the intended recipient. If you have received this email in error, please
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legal liabilities, you must not distribute or copy the information in this
email without the permission of the sender. MPS communication systems are
monitored to the extent permitted by law.  Consequently, any email and/or
attachments may be read by monitoring staff. Only specified personnel are
authorised to conclude any binding agreement on behalf of the MPS by
email. The MPS accepts no responsibility for unauthorised agreements
reached with other employees or agents.  The security of this email and
any attachments cannot be guaranteed. Email messages are routinely scanned
but malicious software infection and corruption of content can still occur
during transmission over the Internet. Any views or opinions expressed in
this communication are solely those of the author and do not necessarily
represent those of the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS).

 

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J Roberts left an annotation ()

UNDERCOVER POLICING INQUIRY

26 October 2022

'1. The restriction order made on 15 May 2018 in respect of the real name of HN332 is revoked.

5. In those circumstances there is no good reason to shield the acts of a former operational manager of the Special Demonstration Squad from full public scrutiny.'

https://www.ucpi.org.uk/wp-content/uploa...