a A woman has revealed how an undercover police officer developed a long-term, intimate relationship with her without revealing his true identity, disappeared from her presence, and reappeared seven years later.
When the officer returned, she says, he convinced her to break up with her then-boyfriend of five years, telling her they wanted to resume their relationship and have a child together.
He then slept with her for the night and disappeared from her presence again before dawn the next morning without any explanation. She feared she had gotten him pregnant because he didn't want to use a condom, so she had to take the morning-after pill.
The woman, known as Maya, was controlling and coercive, with the police officer using the pseudonym Rob Harrison regularly accusing her – falsely – of infidelity via text messages and emails during their relationship. He talked about how his actions caused her pain. I didn't talk to her after that.
She said his abusive behavior led her to self-harm and use heroin. “Sometimes I wish he really loved me. Sometimes I think, 'Oh, you disgusting bastard,'” she said.
Maya began a year-long relationship with “Harrison” in 2006 while he was infiltrating pro-Palestinian activists.
his actions will be examined by someone judge-led public inquiryThe investigation looks into how about 139 undercover agents spied on more than 1,000 mostly left-wing groups from 1968 to at least 2010. One of the key questions in the investigation is how police spies frequently develop intimate relationships with women, often lasting years. They told them they were undercover agents infiltrating political organizations. Some became fathers of children during their deployments.
Mr. Harrison declined to comment. His lawyer said the officer had “provided detailed statements to the investigation and is cooperating with the investigation” and believed it was the “correct venue” to address the matter. .
Maya only learned that Harrison was a police officer in 2019, which led to her experiencing suicidal thoughts and even self-harm.
in 3 years of secret deployment The operation, which began in 2004, was infiltrated by Harrison. international solidarity movementan organization supporting Palestinians, and an anti-war campaign. As part of his fake persona, he said he had a job as a sound engineer in south London and a DJ called Boogie Nights.
What Maya calls “the worst relationship” began in May 2006. Although she was not politically active, she lived next door to and socialized with activists in south London.
At a fundraising concert, she said, Harrison suddenly made a move on her and asked her out of the blue. “'So, you want to kiss me now?'” And I'm like, “What?” I was shocked and happy at the same time. ” She was younger than Harrison, in her 20s, and less experienced in love.
She said that while they were dating, he only saw her when he visited her home at night, and they rarely went out as a couple. “I pretty much distanced myself from my very close friends,” she says.
She said, “How much was he actually using me to spy on people, or how much was he using me just for sex, because he only came home at night?'' Because it's 11 o'clock or 1 o'clock in the morning. Crazy time.
“I was always getting text messages… accusing me of running off with someone else… He never answered my calls. That would just make me even more agitated. .”
Furthermore, she added: “I was indulging in self-harm and I told him later, and he [would say] “I don't want you to hurt yourself.” And then we got back together again. Then he comes up with further charges. And it was just like this cycle.
“I always had my phone on because he would text me at 1 a.m., 'Look out the window.' '' and then he came into the house.'' She added that she was worried that if she didn't answer, he would accuse her of sleeping with another man.
“For months I was in constant anxiety mode because I couldn't even sleep because I was so scared that he was texting me,” she said.
She added, “His outbursts of irrational behavior led me to believe that they were due to past trauma.”
Around April 2007, Harrison told Maya that he had to move to Durham to care for his mother, who was dying of cancer. She hadn't seen her family because he said he had little contact with them.
She was devastated by his sudden departure. “I didn't know how to deal with it, so I turned to heroin. I'd never even smoked cigarettes. I didn't smoke pot. I went straight to Class A,” she said. took heroin for three months.
For several years, they did not meet, but exchanged emails intermittently. She said, “I remember getting an email saying, 'Let's meet and we'll tell you everything.'” And he said, “Then you can have sex with me.” I was just so offended. ”
In August 2014, police contacted Maya again, using the pseudonym Harrison. He claimed to live nearby and work as a corporate consultant.
“He told me that although he had been away for many years, he had never been with another woman, that he couldn't stop thinking about me, and that he was so sorry he had to leave. , I said I had to bury his mother alone and that if I had the chance, we could get back together.''
Maya said she told him she wanted to have children together. At the time, she was living with her boyfriend, but broke up with him after Harrison spent several months trying to convince her to resume their relationship.
In February 2015, she and Harrison slept together again. “He had sex with me and I never saw him again after that. He left early in the morning…maybe 4 or 5 a.m….before dawn.”
Harrison said he didn't want to use a condom. “I went to get the emergency morning-after pill because I was so scared about the possibility of pregnancy. If I had trusted him completely and I was ready to start a family, I would have gotten the emergency pill.” I still feel like if I hadn't, I could have had his baby by now and he wouldn't have even contacted me. After that, it didn't matter to me at all,” she said.
He returned to her a few months after Theresa May, then home secretary, commissioned a public inquiry in March 2014 following a series of revelations about misconduct by undercover agents.
She doesn't know why he came back to her and said he wanted to marry her. It is unclear when he left the police force.
Maya last heard from Harrison in 2016, when he sent her a cryptic email saying he thought he saw her at the station, adding: Yes, they will come. ”
