A secret police officer has admitted spying on Keir Starmer when he was a radical barrister, a public inquiry has revealed.
The police spy said he had access to confidential details of legal advice Starmer was giving to two environmental activists during the famous McCribel scandal in the early 1990s.
The advice was then passed on by spies to managers of Scotland Yard's secret unit, an investigation revealed on Tuesday.
At the time, the Prime Minister was developing a reputation as a liberal barrister championing a variety of causes, including trade unionists' strikes against prisoners sentenced to death around the world.
One of the cases involved a pair of environmental activists, Helen Steele and Dave Morris, who were sued for defamation by McDonald's for distributing leaflets criticizing the company's practices in David v. Goliath. was sued for.
Faced with the legal powers of the US fast food giant, they turned to Mr Starmer for free advice on how to protect themselves. The innocent men could not afford lawyers to represent them in the longest civil trial in British history.
The advice Starmer gave to both McCribels played an important role in his life and subsequent political career. This was cited in his campaign launch video for the 2020 presidential election, explaining how he “spent 10 years defending Helen Steele and David Morris after they were sued for defamation by McDonald's.” are. They fought until the end and won. ”
Now, the McCribels' covert surveillance, including Mr Starmer's legal aid, will be scrutinized by the inquiry in coming months. It will also hear allegations that Mr Starmer's legal advice was shared with McDonald's to help it win its case.
The public inquiry is looking into how police sent around 139 undercover agents to spy on more than 1,000 political groups between 1968 and at least 2010.
One is John Daines, who infiltrated anarchist and environmental groups from 1987 to 1991.
During his deployment, he developed a two-year close relationship with Steele, but was hired by Scotland Yard's secret unit, the Special Demonstration Squad (SDS), to spy on her and her circle of campaigners. I hid the fact from her that I had done so. She eventually pieces together various clues to expose him after he disappears without a trace.
On Tuesday, Mr Morris gave evidence to the inquiry, citing Mr Dines' testimony.
He quoted Mr Dines as saying: “It is accurate to say that in 1991 I was with Helen Steele and Dave Morris passing legal advice to their bosses at SDS.”
Mr Morris said Mr Starmer was the only lawyer giving them legal advice at the time. Mr Daines' witness statement will be released at a later date as part of the investigation.
Mr Morris told the inquiry: “Mr Dines received confidential legal advice and strategic details following a private legal meeting that Helen and I had with solicitor Keir Starmer.'' Ta. He said this was a clear violation of long-standing legal rules that allow lawyers and their clients to discuss tactics within the bounds of confidentiality.
Morris said she discussed Starmer's advice and the lawsuit when she visited Steele, who was living with Daines at the time.
He cited evidence that police were secretly passing information about campaigners to McDonald's. He claimed that police secretly shared Mr Starmer's confidential legal advice and other information with McDonald's, which gave the company an advantage in the legal battle.
People who have worked with Mr Starmer say his tenure as prosecutor general from 2008 to 2013 robbed him of some of his left-wing campaign enthusiasm. There is. One former colleague told the Guardian last year: “He said when he was young he was extremely left-wing… he had a lot of left-wing shit, but he changed his mind when he became a civil servant.”
The McCribell incident was widely seen as a public relations disaster for McDonald's. exposed damaging stories about the company's business and the quality of the food it sells. It was also seen as a coercive method to silence criticism.
In 1997, a High Court judge ordered Steele and Morris to pay £60,000 in damages for defamation of the company, a partial victory for McDonald's. However, the two never paid.
Downing Street did not respond to requests for comment.
