Leading politicians, lawyers, union officials and victims of the undercover policing scandal have all signed a letter defending the cosmetics retailer Lush over criticism of the company’s campaign to raise awareness of the issue.
The shadow chancellor, John McDonnell, who was once spied on by police, is among 67 individual signatories to the letter, including Doreen Lawrence, Caroline Lucas, Len McCluskey, and veterans of campaigns for justice over police actions at Hillsborough and Orgreave.
Five women who were tricked into having relationships with undercover officers who were spying on campaign groups they were involved in have also signed the letter, as well as a number of people blacklisted from work over trade union activity, allegedly with the help of information supplied to employers by the police.
The letter states that the signatories stand with Lush, saying: “In many of these secret undercover operations the police have admitted to violation of human rights, abuse of police powers and causing significant trauma.
“We are pressing for the current public inquiry into undercover policing to ensure that there is full disclosure of what took place, including who was targeted, by whom and how. Without this full disclosure there is no way of knowing the full extent of what happened during the dark years of this secret policing operation.”
The inquiry, which is being led by Sir John Mitting, was set up in 2014 by Theresa May to assess the infiltration of more than 1,000 political groups since 1968. Originally expected to deliver a report this year, it is now not expected to publish findings until 2023.
Victims and campaigners are angry that the current terms of reference for the inquiry do not include Scotland, and that the identities of some undercover police officers and the names of the groups that they infiltrated will remain undisclosed. Much of the delay in the inquiry has been ascribed to police submitting legal applications to keep identities secret.
As part of the Lush campaign, which launched last week with the hashtag “#spycops”, stores have been decorated with fake police tape emblazoned with the words “police have crossed the line” and an image of a model dressed as both a police officer and an activist, with the slogan “paid to lie” underneath.
The home secretary, Sajid Javid, tweeted: “Never thought I would see a mainstream British retailer running a public advertising campaign against our hardworking police.” The Police Federation of England and Wales called it a “poorly judged PR campaign” that had caused offence to police officers and their families. Some Lush stores have reportedly removed the campaign material after pressure from police officers and the public.
But the campaigners signing the letter have firmly backed the cosmetics company, saying: “Lush has used its facilities to help us as victims press for full disclosure and reform so that this never happens again. This is not an attack on police; it serves to help all those in the police service who wish to uphold the highest standards of policing. For this we thank Lush for its support. We condemn those that have misrepresented Lush and our campaign and especially those that have sought to intimidate Lush staff.”