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Alison

Alison is one of eight women who first took legal action against the Metropolitan police over the conduct of undercover officers and a founder member of Police Spies Out of Lives. A core participant in the Public Inquiry into Undercover Policing, she is one of the authors of Deep Deception – The Story of the Spycop Network by the Women who Uncovered the Shocking Truth. 

March 2024

  • Police Spies Out of Lives projected on to London's Garrick Club in November 2020

    'Spy cops' scandal
    Can a Garrick member chair an inquiry into police sexism fairly? I have my doubts

    Alison
    Sir John Mitting will rule on whether undercover officers broke the law by deceiving women into romantic relationships. He needs to cancel his membership, says Alison, a founder member of Police Spies Out of Lives

September 2023

  • Police composite

    As a ‘spy cops’ victim, I thought the police couldn’t sink any lower. This new case shows I was wrong

    Alison
    Even I was shocked by the case of ‘Mary’, who unknowingly spent two decades in a relationship with an undercover police officer, says Alison, a founder member of Police Spies Out of Lives

June 2023

  • ‘Spy cops’ display in a Lush cosmetics shop window in Bond Street, London.

    'Spy cops' scandal
    As a ‘spy cops’ victim, I’m glad their sexual abuse has been condemned, but what about their bosses?

    Alison
    Today’s interim report is right to say the police operation was unjustifiable, but says too little about its architects, and the women like me who suffered, says Alison, a founder member of Police Spies Out of Lives

June 2022

  • David Morrissey as Sherwood’s DI Ian St Clair, who was hunting a killer and an undercover police officer.

    'Spy cops' scandal
    Sherwood has exposed undercover policing. Now let’s hear the stories of victims like me

    Alison
    The TV series casts a welcome spotlight on the spy cops scandal, but the real-life abuse is still unexplored, says Alison, a founder member of Police Spies Out of Lives

May 2021

  • A 2019 protest at the Royal Courts of Justice.

    I’m part of the Spycops inquiry, and it’s raising more questions than answers

    Alison
    I had a five-year relationship with Mark Cassidy, but must wait until 2024 before I find out the information held about me, says Alison

April 2019

  • The supreme court building in London.

    Undercover police conned us into ‘relationships’. We need a judge who understands

    Alison
    Sir John Mitting is unfit to oversee the inquiry, says one of the women who took legal action against the Metropolitan police

December 2018

  • The New Scotland Yard building in London.

    Police have spied on thousands of us. Let the spotlight now fall on them

    Alison
    I shared my life with an imposter for five years, says Alison, who successfully took legal action against the Metropolitan police

June 2018

  • Lush’s #spycops campaign has been criticised by Sajid Javid.

    Javid attacks Lush’s #spycops campaign but ignores victims like me

    Alison
    The home secretary is happy to tweet, but when we asked to meet him we heard nothing, says Alison, who successfully took legal action against the Metropolitan police over the conduct of undercover officers

February 2018

  • Royal Courts of Justice on the Strand in London UK<br>Royal Courts of Justice on the Strand in London UK

    Undercover police abused female activists. But the inquiry is a farce

    Alison
    We’re fighting to uncover the police who infiltrated our lives – but the judge is hopelessly naive. We need proper scrutiny now, writes Alison, who successfully took legal action against the Metropolitan police over the conduct of its undercover officers

November 2017

  • protest outside the ‘Spycops’ public inquiry in the Royal Courts of Justice

    I was a victim of undercover police abuse. I fear we won’t get justice

    Alison
    Nothing is being revealed about the officers who abused us, writes Alison, who is taking legal action against the Met

April 2016

  • Maya (Sophie Okonedo) and Nick Johnson (Adrian Lester)

    I lived with an undercover officer – this BBC series gets it all wrong

    Alison
    The TV drama is well produced but based on such an implausible premise it is misleading and inauthentic

June 2014

  • Scotland Yard - headquarters of the Metropolitan Police

    Why I'm fighting the Met in court over undercover relationships

    Alison
    Alison: The Metropolitan police's 'neither confirm nor deny' policy protects undercover officers. But what about those of us duped into intimate relationships?
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