This kind of highly confidential document – pictured above – is rarely seen by the public.These so-called "spotter cards" are issued by police to identify individuals they consider to be potential troublemakers because they have appeared at a number of demonstrations.
The photographs are drawn from police intelligence files. This card was apparently dropped at a demonstration against Britain's largest arms fair in 2005.
H is Mark Thomas, the comedian and political activist. Asked why it was justifiable to put Thomas, who has no criminal record, on this card, the Metropolitan police replied: "We do not discuss intelligence we may hold in relation to individuals."
Thomas had been acquitted of criminal damage after attaching himself to a bus containing arms traders at a previous fair.
The Met said: "This is an appropriate tactic used by police to help them identify people at specific events … who may instigate offences or disorder."
@'The Guardian'
Mark Thomas: Doth I Protest Too Much?
The photographs are drawn from police intelligence files. This card was apparently dropped at a demonstration against Britain's largest arms fair in 2005.
H is Mark Thomas, the comedian and political activist. Asked why it was justifiable to put Thomas, who has no criminal record, on this card, the Metropolitan police replied: "We do not discuss intelligence we may hold in relation to individuals."
Thomas had been acquitted of criminal damage after attaching himself to a bus containing arms traders at a previous fair.
The Met said: "This is an appropriate tactic used by police to help them identify people at specific events … who may instigate offences or disorder."
@'The Guardian'
Mark Thomas: Doth I Protest Too Much?
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