it was disclosed in UK media that a number of undercover police officers had, as part of their 'false persona', entered into intimate relationships with members of targeted groups and in some cases proposed marriage or fathered children with protesters who were unaware their partner was a police officer in a role as part of their official duties.
The Guardian reported that Kennedy sued the police for ruining his life and failing to "protect" him from falling in love with one of the environmental activists whose movement he infiltrated.
[6] It later emerged that Kennedy had previously undertaken criminal acts as part of his role for other countries, including Denmark, where he stated that, in the guise of an environmental activist, he was used by the police forces of 22 countries and was responsible for the closing down of the Youth House community centre in Copenhagen,[7] and in Germany, for German police, including arson.
[7] The use of undercover officers caused the collapse of trials, and led to the revelation of unlawful withholding of evidence by the Crown Prosecution Service.
The trial of six activists accused of conspiracy to commit aggravated trespass at Ratcliffe-on-Soar Power Station collapsed following the revelation of undercover police involvement,[8] in which the police were described as having been not just observers, but agent provocateurs,[9] and the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) was forced to withdraw the case after Kennedy confessed to the set-up,[10] evidence of which the CPS had withheld from the defence, along with secret tapes "that could have exonerated six activists, known as the 'deniers' because they claimed not to have agreed to join the protest".
[10] CPS lawyer Ian Cunningham faced dismissal after a report by Sir Christopher Rose criticised him for his lack of candour.
[11] In November 2015 the Metropolitan Police force apologized unreservedly to seven women "tricked into relationships" over a period of 25 years by officers in the Special Demonstration Squad (SDS) and the National Public Order Intelligence Unit (NPOIU).
For similar reasons, indecent assault, procurement for sexual intercourse by false pretences, and misconduct in office were also felt to lack sufficient basis for a conviction.