Last night’s Dispatches documentary, entitled The Police’s Dirty Secret is now available on 4oD (Channel 4 on Demand). UPDATE: The documentary is no longer available to view on 4oD. A clip may be viewed here.
In the documentary, Helen and Belinda speak openly for the first time about their experiences, in the hope of increasing public understanding of the nature and effects of the police abuse. Alongside six other women taking legal action against the police, they seek to highlight and prevent the continuation of psychological, emotional and sexual abuse of campaigners and others by undercover police officers.
On Friday they and their fellow claimants issued a statement – Where We Stand – calling for, among other things, “the past to be thoroughly and openly investigated, so that the damage may be acknowledged, those responsible may be held to account, and that as a society we may come to terms with what has happened, heal the wounds that have been inflicted and be confident that the practice has ceased.”
Amid further revelations arising from investigations into undercover policing, the claimants and their support group “extend our solidarity and sympathy to all those affected, and to all those coming to terms with systematic abuse by the police.”
