Beth*, the former girlfriend of an MI5 informant who abused her with impunity as revealed by the BBC last night, has launched a legal complaint and claim in the Investigatory Powers Tribunal.
The BBC’s shocking news report on Thursday included video footage of the man – a far-right extremist with a violent past when he was recruited by MI5 – attacking his then partner Beth with a machete. The informant, known as X, whose identity is protected by a court order, posted material online in which he boasted of sexually exploiting girls, and expressed approval for a young girl’s rape and murder.
The BBC has also revealed that X had already horrifically abused another former partner before coming to the UK, which had resulted in the woman – whose alias in the report is ‘Ruth’ – being escorted a refuge for her safety, and a report being made to the police. Both ‘Beth’ and ‘Ruth’ have disclosed that X had also made specific threats to them to sexually abuse and kill children.
Centre for Women’s Justice can now reveal that it is acting for the woman known as Beth in a formal complaint, and linked human rights claim, lodged earlier this month with the Investigatory Powers Tribunal. They are also exploring action against a police force who have failed to take action against the perpetrator despite repeated reports.
Beth is asking the Investigatory Powers Tribunal to investigate MI5’s recruitment and handling of X, and whether any steps were taken to address the clear risk of harm that he posed. She will seek to argue that MI5’s conduct may have breached her rights under Articles 2, 3, 8 and 14 of the European Convention on Human Rights, in that by recruiting and affording protecting to X, they were effectively enabling X to subject her to serious violence and abuse with impunity.
Despite the public interest in exposing these allegations, the Government has fought since January to ‘block’ the BBC’s evidence from being broadcast. Following a legal battle, judgment was handed down by the High Court on Wednesday, which restricted the publication of potentially identifying information about X but allowed to BBC to include other factual information about X in its report.
To date, X has never faced trial in connection with his serious domestic violence, or in connection with potential terrorism offences for which he was at one time investigated. As the BBC report revealed, a full statement was never taken from Beth in connection with the attack involving a machete, and the police failed to obtain or provide prosecutors with all the relevant evidence in connection with this incident.
As a result, criminal proceedings against X were promptly dropped by the Crown Prosecution Service.
Since then – Centre for Women’s Justice can disclose – Beth has made numerous further efforts to report Xs past domestic violence to the relevant police force, and has provided the police with further evidence of his abuse, but has been led to understand that the police are not even able or willing to interview X in connection with those further allegations.
Beth remains hopeful to this day that X will one day face justice for his crimes. In response to the BBC’s report, she stated on Friday:
“Above all, I hope that this will cause the police to reopen the case against [X] and actually do something about his crimes, none of which have been properly investigated. I have fought tooth and nail over the last few years to get the police to take me seriously, but all for nothing. No one should have to experience the lack of empathy that the police have shown me. In addition to the video that was shown on the BBC’s programme I have further, credible evidence to give which I have tried and (and so far failed) to get the police to take into consideration. Despite their repeated attempts to shut me down, I have not stopped trying to get justice.
What’s more, the effort that the state has gone to to keep him anonymous, and their attempts to keep other information about him out of the public domain, leaves me feeling that there is truth in everything that he said to me while I was trapped in that relationship – that he is, in fact, protected. Now that I am out of that relationship, I can see how completely diabolical that is.”
Kate Ellis, Beth’s solicitor at Centre for Women’s Justice, said:
“Beth’s case raises a number of issues regarding the state’s protection – whether intentionally, or through neglect – of those who hold extreme misogynistic views and pose a risk of serious violence towards women and girls. In the wake of the shocking revelations that came to light only a year ago about former Met Police officer Wayne Couzens and his abuse of his station in order to entrap Sarah Everard, Beth’s experiences – and indeed the Government’s efforts to avoid scrutiny – lead us to ask again: why are police and security services not picking up on warning signs that their own agents may pose a risk to women, and depriving them of their powers before it’s too late?”
Harriet Wistrich, Director of Centre for Women’s Justice stated, “Whilst the Government claims to be committed to tackling violence against women and girls, it is at the same time apparently complicit in a cover up of misogynist and violent activities of state agents. We have already seen the state bodies making all efforts in the Undercover Policing Inquiry to conceal officers’ identities and ensure that damning evidence is considered in private – so the Government’s attempts to shield X from scrutiny come as no surprise.”
*not her real name
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Holding the state to account for violence against women and girls