Spycops considered future Labour peer Peter Hain's 1969 anti-apartheid campaign a ‘huge’ risk
Peter Hain and fellow supporters of the Anti-Apartheid movement when they demonstrated outside Barclays Bank in Putney in 1977
by Bethany Rielly
AN ANTI-APARTHEID campaign led by future Labour peer Peter Hain was targeted by spycops because it was considered to pose a “huge” risk of violence and public disorder, the Undercover Policing Inquiry heard today.
The Stop the ’70 Tour (STST) was founded in 1969 to stop tours by the all-white South African rugby and cricket teams.
The campaign, led by a 19-year-old Mr Hain, involved protesters peacefully rushing the pitch and handcuffing themselves to goalposts to disrupt sports matches.
More from this author
In an exclusive investigation, BETHANY RIELLY looks at how the state targeted leading politicians and campaigning groups — labelling many well-known figures 'extremists' and 'subversives' for attempting to hold the police to account
On September 4, 16 Eritrean asylum-seekers were arrested at a protest against their country’s dictatorship and its supporters here. Since then, questions have been raised about whether the British authorities are doing enough to protect activists and asylum-seekers from the ‘long arm’ of the regime in Asmara
