Heavy snowfall causes transport chaos with trains delayed, cars abandoned and flights cancelled across Britain

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Heathrow airport cancelled half of its flights as the snow and cold weather continued to cause problems across the UK, stranding motorists and leaving roads icy and treacherous.

The travel chaos ensuedon Sunday as the worst of the wintry showers came to an end across the country and forecasters predicted dry conditions and a partial thaw.

Although the snow flurries are now expected to move eastwards, swaths of the UK were on “amber alert” on Sunday, the Met Office’s second highest severe weather warning, with icy conditions across much of England, Scotland and Wales.

Church Fenton in North Yorkshire and Wattisham in Suffolk recorded 16cm of snow, while up to 15cm was forecast for parts of Cumbria, Lincolnshire, East Anglia, North Yorkshire, the Peak District and the Midlands.

The icy spell has seen daytime temperatures plummet four or five degrees lower than average for February, traditionally the coldest month of the year.

Heathrow, which had initially cut only 30% of its flights, said the decision was intended to minimise disruption and was made in anticipation of freezing fog.

Although the runways, taxiways and stands had been cleared of snow, only half of the 1,300 scheduled flights went ahead. The London airport, however, said its snow plan had worked “far better” than in previous years, adding that it would operate a normal flight schedule on Monday.

A spokesman said Heathrow, which operates at 99.2% capacity, was “getting back to normal” as it worked to clear the backlog of flights. “We took the decision with airlines and air traffic control yesterday to reduce the flight schedule in advance,” he said.

“By cancelling flights in advance airlines have been able to rebook some people on to flights that are departing, and passengers have had better quality information about whether they can fly or not.”

Extra staff were being drafted into terminals to help passengers rebook flights, he added.Inbound flights to the airport were also affected, with six transatlantic flights from the US redirected to Shannon airport in Ireland because of the cold snap disruption.

Some were in UK airspace or on approach to London when they were ordered back over to Ireland.

Shannon Airport Authority confirmed arrangements were being made for 400 stranded passengers to stay overnight. The affected routes included Heathrow-bound services from Dallas, Miami, Houston, Washington, Denver and Atlanta.

The transport secretary, Justine Greening, said the authorities at Heathrow were taking the right approach to the problems created by the weather.

“Actually cancelling flights in advance so passengers don’t get to the airport and then find their flight being cancelled was one of the main recommendations of the inquiry that Heathrow held into the debacle last year when we saw huge disruption,” she told the BBC Sunday Politics programme.

“They are clearly trying to manage the airport and I think the most important thing is making sure that we put safety first. We’ve got to get planes up into the air and down on to the ground safely.

“That does take a little bit more time to make sure wings are de-iced and that the runways are clear, but over all they’re trying to do their best.”

The airport came in for heavy criticism following severe weather in December 2010 when Heathrow almost ground to a halt and thousands of passengers were forced to camp overnight in terminals. At the height of the chaos on 19 December, it was able to handle only around 20 flights.

A BAA-commissioned report later concluded the operator’s response to the pre-Christmas snow was “initially ineffective” and that the potential impact of the weather had not been fully anticipated in the days before the worst of the snow.

A spokesman for Gatwick said the airport was not experiencing “any major delays” on Sunday and had had to cancel only nine flights. “We’re taking a business as usual approach,” he added.

Stansted, Birmingham, Luton and Manchester airports were forced to suspend operations for a period on Saturday night as snow piled up on the runways, but normal service was expected to resume on Sunday.

A total of sSix flights were cancelled yesterday in Birmingham, where some passengers were forced to spend the night in thea terminal. But aA spokesman said the airport would catch up todayon Sunday, providing temperatures did not drop too much furtherlower.

In Luton, flights were “fully operational” with some delays due to snow clearing.

A couple of departures were cancelled at Stansted, but a spokesman for the airport said there was “movement” on and off the runway, adding: “Flights are subject to delays of up to about one hour”. Although the worst of the snowflurries will move eastwards, swathesswaths of the UK have been placed on amber alert, with the On the roads, motorists faced what the RAC described as a “dangerous cocktail of driving conditions” and were urged to stay at home. Some minor routes were closed altogether. Drivers on sections of the M25 in Hertfordshire were trapped in gridlock throughout the night.

One motorist, Tom Jones, was stranded in his car for more than seven hours. He told the BBC: “We joined the back of a tailback, never realising we would be spending the night on the motorway.”

He added that the Highways Agency had to deal with much bad driving, and that he had seen several cars stuck in ditches and many blocking the hard shoulder.

Thames Valley police said the snow had caused a tailback between junctions nine and four southbound on the M40 from about 9pm until the early hours of Sunday.

Police in Kent warned people not to travel unless absolutely essential, and urged people not to cause an obstruction if forced to abandon their vehicles.

The Highways Agency has issued an amber alert, advising people to take extra care while travelling because of “the increased risk of adverse driving conditions”.

The AA said it dealt with about 1,500 callouts an hour on Saturday.Rail services have also been affected, with disruption set to continue throughout Sunday.

Southern Railway said trains were subject to delay and cancellation, with journey times extended by up to 30 minutes.

In London, all bus routes were operating on Sunday morning after a few “curtailments” to night bus services, Transport for London said.

Tube services were said to have started well but delays and suspensions soon set in on most lines.

A Met Office yellow alert, which warns people to be aware, was in place for the Highlands and Northern Ireland.

The Department for Transport has said it was better prepared than ever for severe weather. Salt stocks across Britain stand at more than 2.4m tonnes, a million more than last year.

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Rising public resentment blamed on government focus on alleged ‘scrounger’ fraud and inflammatory media coverage

The government’s focus on alleged fraud and overclaiming to justify cuts in disability benefits has caused an increase in resentment and abuse directed at disabled people, as they find themselves being labelled as scroungers, six of the country’s biggest disability groups have warned.

Some of the charities say they are now regularly contacted by people who have been taunted on the street about supposedly faking their disability and are concerned the climate of suspicion could spill over into violence or other hate crimes.

While the charities speaking out – Scope, Mencap, Leonard Cheshire Disability, the National Autistic Society, Royal National Institute for the Blind (RNIB), and Disability Alliance – say inflammatory media coverage has played a role in this, they primarily blame ministers and civil servants for repeatedly highlighting the supposed mass abuse of the disability benefits system, much of which is unfounded.

At the same time, they say, the focus on “fairness for taxpayers” has fostered the notion that disabled people are a separate group who don’t contribute.

Scope’s regular polling of people with disabilities shows that in September two-thirds said they had experienced recent hostility or taunts, up from 41% four months before. In the last poll almost half said attitudes towards them had deteriorated in the past year.

Tom Madders, head of campaigns at the National Autistic Society, said: “The Department for Work and Pensions is certainly guilty of helping to drive this media narrative around benefits, portraying those who receive benefits as workshy scroungers or abusing a system that’s really easy to cheat.”

He added that ministers such as the work and pensions secretary, Iain Duncan Smith, were being “deeply irresponsible” in conflating Disability Living Allowance (DLA), which helps disabled people hold down jobs, and Employment and Support Allowance (ESA), a payment for those unable to work. This “scrounger rhetoric” was already having an impact on people’s lives, Madders said, citing a woman who rang the charity to say a neighbour who formerly gave lifts to her autistic child had stopped doing so following press articles about disabled people receiving free cars under a government scheme.

Some disabled people say the climate is so hostile they avoid going out, or avoid using facilities such as designated parking bays if they “don’t look disabled”.

The government has committed to making significant cuts to disability benefits, including a 20% reduction in the DLA bill by 2015/16. Much of its public focus has been on alleged fraudulent claims or cutting benefits to those whose conditions have improved.

Charities point to a series of ministerial statements arguing that the “vast majority” of new ESA claimants are able to work, while the disabilities minister, Maria Miller, said last month that £600m of DLA was overpaid each year, not mentioning that a greater sum is saved by others not receiving what they are due.

This is “playing directly into a media narrative about the need to weed out scroungers,” said Richard Hawkes, chief executive of Scope. “Our polling shows that this narrative has coincided with attitudes towards disabled people getting worse.

“Disabled people tell us that increasingly people don’t believe that they are disabled and suddenly feel empowered to question their entitlement to support.”

David Congdon, head of policy at Mencap, said the charity feared where this could lead. “We are concerned that this narrative of benefit scroungers or fakers connected to the welfare reform bill does risk stigmatising all people with a disability,” he said. “The worry would be that this could lead to an increase in resentment against disabled people, and even an increase in hate crimes.”

There was “an incredibly strong focus on benefit fraud within the DWP”, said Guy Parckar, policy manager for Leonard Cheshire. “It is mentioned at all possible opportunities. Of course, whenever there is fraud you want that to be tackled, but there should be some serious thought given to the long-term impact that this has. There is the impact of potential hate crime, and issues around that.”

Neil Coyle, head of policy for Disability Alliance, said his organisation was being told of increasing levels of verbal abuse, and worried this could lead to attacks.

“There’s a lot of concern that the level of abuse and harassment goes unrecorded because it’s seen almost as a norm. It seems to be growing as a result of a mis-perception of much more widespread abuse of benefits than actually exists. That’s being fed by the DWP in their attempts to justify massive reductions in welfare expenditure.”

A DWP spokeswoman said the department was committed to supporting disabled people but needed to “do more to change negative attitudes”, and had begun a cross-government consultation on tackling discrimination.

She said: “Our welfare reforms are designed to restore integrity into the benefits system and to ensure that everyone who needs help and support receives it.”

David Gillon from Chatham in Kent, said: “I think we’ve lost all the progress we made in the last 30 years in terms of acceptance.” Gillon, whose chronic back condition forced him to give up a job with British Aerospace, recounts walking on crutches past a pub in the middle of the day and receiving shouts of: “We’re going to report you to the DWP.” He said: “When there’s a bad article in the press, the next day you think, ‘Do I really need to go out of the house?’ We’re being forced back into the attic, locked away from society.”

Fazilet Hadi, head of inclusion for the RNIB, said she also felt the tone was set by ministers: “I think they should be more careful. At the moment it feels like the government is not on the side of disabled people. Most people don’t have that much exposure to disabled people. They don’t see us in the lifestyle pages, they don’t see us in the fashion pages. The only reference they see is in these stories. And that’s why the language is so important.”

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Heathrow flights grounded and motorists warned of dangerous driving conditions as Met Office issues severe weather warning

Around 400 flights from Heathrow will be cancelled due to snow and freezing fog, while motorists have been warned they face a “dangerous cocktail of driving conditions” as the big chill takes hold of the country. Forecasters have said they expect the freezing weather to last for several days.

Parts of the UK have been placed on amber alert, the Met Office’s second-highest severe weather warning, until 9am on Sunday and most parts of the country will wake up to a blanket of snow, with up to 15cm forecast in some places. Southern Scotland and parts of Wales were badly hit before the snow moved across south-east England.

Heathrow’s chief operating officer, Normand Boivin, said the decision to introduce a revised flight schedule before snow had actually fallen had been taken in an effort to minimise disruption. British Airways said it would allow passengers booked on Sunday flights to rebook for journeys between Monday and Thursday. Southern Railways reported it was reducing services on some of its routes on Sunday.

The cold snap has already seen daytime temperatures fall four or five degrees lower than average for February. A temperature of -10.6C was recorded in Chesham, Buckinghamshire, at 2am on Saturday, and of -10.3C in Benson, Oxfordshire, making it the coldest night of the year so far.

“We have got a band of rain, sleet and snow pushing in from western parts,” said Met Office forecaster Michael Lawrence. “This is running over colder air and that’s going to give some fairly significant snowfall, mainly in eastern and central parts of Britain and – to some extent – large parts of the UK.”

While the worst snowfall will be restricted to Cumbria, Lincolnshire, East Anglia and the Midlands, many other regions will still get significant falls of between 5cm and 10cm. Wales and the south-west, along with parts of western Scotland, will mostly see rain, however, as will Northern Ireland.

The freeze, which is likely to continue this week, is also expected to cause treacherous conditions on the roads. “It looks like we’re going to get a dangerous cocktail of driving conditions this weekend, with heavy snow and sub-zero temperatures making the roads extremely treacherous,” said Kevin Andrews of the RAC.

The RAC said it was attending 70% more breakdowns than normal. The AA added it had been called out to deal with more than 4,300 vehicles on Saturdaymorning and the figure was expected to reach 16,000 by the end of the day, almost double the 8,500 callout for a typical Saturday. Motorists were also advised to take shovels, warm clothes and fully charged phones on their journeys.

The Local Government Association pledged that an army of council staff and volunteers would be ready to brave the conditions to make sure vulnerable people were cared for. It said: “Thousands of new grit bins have been placed in estates and side streets, residents have been given their own bags of salt along with salt spreaders in some neighbourhoods, and arrangements have been made with parish councils, community groups, snow wardens and farmers to grit hard to reach areas. Information about school closures and bin collections is also being updated regularly online.”

British Gas added that its fleet of all-weather 4x4s was on standby to get engineers out to customers. The company said it had received more than 200,000 calls in the last five days, compared with 120,000 to 140,000 during a normal winter week, and was expecting a further 50,000 this weekend, compared with 20,000 normally in the winter.

The Department for Transport has said it is better prepared than ever for severe winter weather. Salt stocks across Britain stand at more than 2.4m tonnes – a million more than last year.

However, the charity Age UK warned that it was a dangerous time for older people. Besides the risk of flu, low temperatures raise blood pressure, putting people at greater risk of heart attacks and strokes.

Among yesterday’s sporting fixtures that were postponed because of the weather were Portsmouth’s game against Hull and Doncaster’s match against Reading.

In League One, Bournemouth against Exeter, Sheffield United’s clash at Colchester, Oldham versus Leyton Orient and Charlton against Rochdale were also postponed as were Preston’s game against Brentford, Stevenage’s trip to Notts County, and the Bury versus Hartlepool match. Walsall’s trip to Scunthorpe also fell foul of the weather.

In Scotland, Falkirk’s Scottish Cup match at Ayr was called off while, of the country’s league programme, only the Third Division games at East Stirling, Montrose and Queens Park went ahead.

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US and Mexican coastguards search for 30-year-old seen falling from deck of world’s largest cruise ship

A British passenger on the world’s biggest cruise ship has apparently gone overboard in waters near Mexico.

The 30-year-old man was seen falling over the railings by another passenger on the Allure of the Seas, the Royal Caribbean International cruise firm said. He could also be seen falling over in CCTV footage.

The man went overboard as the ship was sailing to Cozumel, Mexico, and the Mexican navy and coastguard are assisting in the search.The company added: “The ship made multiple public announcements and began a complete search of the ship, in efforts to locate the guest.

“When the guest did not respond and was not found on board, the captain alerted the local authorities.

“The location of the ship at the time the guest went overboard was marked on the ship’s GPS and the US and Mexican coastguard were alerted.

“Our care team is providing support to the guest’s family and our thoughts and prayers are with them,” the statement said.

A spokeswoman for the Foreign Office said: “We are aware of the reports and are looking into them.”

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Investigators can be heard discussing joint inquiry into cybercrime in 15-minute call released on the internet

Hackers from the group Anonymous have broadcast a private conference call between the FBI and Scotland Yard exposing details of an international cybercrime investigation, the FBI has confirmed.

The FBI and Scotland Yard admitted that the security of the call had been breached.

Investigators can be heard discussing their joint inquiry into a cybercrime investigation going through the British courts, and linked to investigations in New York, Baltimore, Los Angeles and Ireland.

It is understood the breach occurred at the US end of the call. As the news broke, Anonymous began taunting the FBI, asking if it was curious about how the group could keep reading the bureau’s internal communications.

Investigators can be heard on the broadcast talking about named individuals who have been charged in the UK with hacking into the website of the Serious Organised Crime Agency (Soca).

In one lengthy exchange, the British contingent can be heard discussing a 15-year-old hacker as a “wannabe” and a “pain in the bum”. The 15-minute call has been broadcast on the internet, but the names of some of the individuals being sought have been bleeped out by the hackers.

Scotland Yard said: “We are aware of the video which relates to an FBI conference call involving a PCeU [member of the e-crime unit] representative. The matter is being investigated by the FBI.

“At this stage no operational risks to the MPS have been identified; however, we continue to carry out a full assessment. We are not prepared to discuss [it] further.”

The conference call was one that appears to be held weekly between officers from the Metropolitan police’s e-crime unit and the FBI in New York and Los Angeles.

The law enforcement agencies are working together on a cybercrime investigation involving teenagers and young people from the UK, Ireland, Germany and the US, it is understood.

Six people are going through the British courts charged in connection with hacking into computers belonging to Soca. They include Ryan Cleary, a British teenager who is charged with five offences of hacking websites. Cleary, 19, from Wickford, Essex, was arrested in June last year. His arrest was linked to a series of cyber-attacks by a group called LulzSec.

Cleary was charged over cyber-attacks against British-based targets. He is due to appear at Southwark crown court with his co-accused, Jake Davis, on 11 May. Four other individuals, are due to appear at the same court in March as part of the same investigation. Cleary has been charged with three attacks – on the London-based International Federation of the Phonographic Industry in November 2010, the British Phonographic Industry in October 2010, and on Soca.

The method he is alleged to have used is a distributed denial of service (DDoS) attack against all three websites. He was also charged with constructing a botnet, a network of infected computers that can be used remotely to direct attacks.

On the intercepted call, the British police officers joke with their FBI counterparts early in the conversation while they wait for others to join, and are heard making fun of Sheffield – where the Acpo cybercrime conference is being held next week. “It’s a khazi – not exactly a jewel in England’s crown,” says the British detective. The call, which took place nearly a fortnight ago – it is understood – includes a conversation about the appearance of Cleary and Davis at Southwark crown court last Friday.

The FBI official expresses his gratitude to the British officers for “being flexible” and co-ordinating with them. “New York appreciates it,” the FBI operative says.

In response, the British detective says: “We have cocked things up in the past.”

The British detective then gives the FBI details of a 15-year-old who was arrested in the UK before Christmas. He calls the 15-year-old a “wannabe” and is connected with two other teenagers who are known as CSL sec “Cant Stop Laughing Security”.

“He is just a pain in the bum,” the officer says. The call ends with all parties agreeing to talk again the following Monday.

The events leading to the arrest of Cleary involved an investigation by British police and the FBI. The bureau’s involvement, plus the nature of the targets, raised the prospect of Washington seeking the teenager’s extradition to the US.

The conference call reveals that two other individuals are to be arrested in the future. It makes clear that the investigation is complex, stretching across international boundaries and focusing on teenage hackers in many different cases.

Karen Todner, a lawyer for Cleary, said the recording could be “incredibly sensitive” and warned such data breaches had the potential to derail the police’s work. If they haven’t secured their email it could potentially prejudice the investigation,” she told Associated Press.Anonymous is a collection of internet enthusiasts, pranksters and activists whose targets have included the Church of Scientology, the music industry, and financial companies such as Visa and MasterCard.

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Chris Huhne’s divorce spiralled into political crisis after claims by his former wife that she took speeding points on his behalf

The acrimonious divorce of Chris Huhne and Vicky Pryce spiralled into a political as well as personal crisis when they were both charged with conspiracy to pervert the course of justice, prompting Huhne’s resignation as energy secretary and a call by Pryce for the case to be resolved quickly.

Huhne described the director of public prosecutions’ decision to charge him as deeply regrettable and vowed to prove his innocence in front of a jury.

Pryce, in a brief statement from her lawyer, did not declare her innocence or guilt, saying she would now spend some time with her family and adding: “Obviously I hope for a quick resolution of the case.” It is not known what plea she will submit to the charges.

In a day of personal turmoil and suspense for Huhne and Pryce, Keir Starmer, the DPP, announced he judged that sufficient evidence existed to charge the former couple. It is alleged that Pryce has admitted taking speeding points on behalf of her former husband in March 2003, an allegation she initially made in the Sunday Times during their separation.

It is the first time a serving cabinet minister has been charged with an imprisonable criminal offence in modern times, and represents a devastating blow to one of politics’ most resilient figures, as well as potentially weakening the Liberal Democrats at a time when the party is hoping to stage a recovery. Huhne has been described as “the grit in the oyster”, self-confident enough to challenge his coalition partners across the policy range.

Lawyers for the former couple will be summoned to appear at Westminster magistrates’ court on 16 February, with a full trial at the Old Bailey possibly in September, on the assumption that neither side pleads guilty or manages to get the case dismissed. There is a prospect that other Liberal Democrats could be summoned to give evidence.

In a letter accepting Huhne’s resignation, Nick Clegg, the Lib Dem leader and deputy prime minister, said: “I fully understand your decision to stand down from government in order to clear your name, but I hope you will be able to do so rapidly so that you can return to play a key role in government as soon as possible.”

David Cameron, however, made no mention of a possible return in his own letter accepting Huhne’s resignation, saying only: “Like the deputy prime minister, I am sorry to see you leave the government under these circumstances and wish you well for the future.” He added that Huhne had made the right decision to stand down in the circumstances, and praised his work on climate change.

In a typically robust response, Huhne said: “The Crown Prosecution Service’s decision today is deeply regrettable. I’m innocent of these charges and I intend to fight this in the courts and I’m confident that a jury will agree.

“So as to avoid any distraction to either my official duties or my trial defence, I am standing down and resigning as energy and climate change secretary. I will of course continue to serve my constituents in Eastleigh.”

Clegg spoke to Huhne on Thursday night and Friday morning. Clegg’s wife, Miriam, spoke to Pryce to express her sadness and offer her support. It was being stressed by Lib Dem aides that the Cleggs were not taking sides, but making a human gesture to two people who as a couple had been the only Liberal Democrats to attend their wedding.

Pryce is said to be disappointed at the decision of the Sunday Times to succumb to a police court demand to hand over emails between herself and a journalist on the paper. The Sunday Times had initially resisted the release of the emails, but changed tack, prompting some of Pryce’s friends to claim that it had not protected its sources as newspapers are expected to do. News International sources said it had a written agreement with Pryce that it would protect her but if the court demanded material, the Sunday Times could hand that material to the police.

Cameron was informed at 9.10am of Starmer’s decision and spoke to Huhne by phone at 10.40am, little more than half hour an hour after Starmer’s announcement.

In a rapid, long-prepared response to the resignation, Cameron appointed the Lib Dem business minister Ed Davey to succeed Huhne. Norman Lamb, Clegg’s parliamentary aide, has taken on Davey’s former brief.

Lib Dem officials praised Davey’s quick grasp of policy and ability to get on with officials and said he would be his own man putting forward a strong green case. He said his three chief challenges were climate change, energy security and securing a better deal for energy consumers, a field in which he specialised while at the business department.

The prime minister’s spokesman said he did not expect to see any substantial change in policy as a result.

But some environmentalists voiced dismay at the loss of Huhne, described by Greenpeace as “a vocal advocate for the green agenda in a government whose green credentials are looking more than a little tarnished”.

Other government changes resulting from the resignation saw the Lib Dem MP Jenny Willott appointed an assistant government whip and Jo Swinson take Lamb’s old post as parliamentary private secretary to Clegg. Despite speculation, there was no return for David Laws, who quit as Treasury chief secretary in May 2010 and was later suspended from the Commons for seven days after an expenses scandal.

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Former energy secretary faces prosecution over claims his ex-wife took his speeding points on her licence in 2003

Chris Huhne has resigned as energy secretary after the director of public prosecutions announced he would face a criminal charge in connection with allegedly dodging a speeding offence.

He will be replaced at the Department for Energy and Climate Change by Ed Davey, the business minister.

In a televised announcement on Friday morning, the DPP, Keir Starmer, said Huhne’s former wife, Vicky Pryce, would also be prosecuted over allegations she took speeding penalty points on his behalf in 2003.

Huhne is to be charged with perverting the course of justice, Starmer said. Huhne said the decision to charge him was “deeply regrettable”, adding: “I am innocent of these charges and I intend to fight this in the courts.”

Pryce, who divorced Huhne in January last year, is to be charged with perverting the course of justice. Huhne and Pryce were told of the decision an hour before Starmer made his announcement.

They are due to appear before Westminster magistrates court on 16 February.

Pryce said in a statement released by her lawyers: “As the CPS [Crown Prosecution Service] have decided to prosecute it would not be appropriate to comment further at this stage. Obviously I hope for a quick resolution of the case. In the meantime I will be taking a little time off over the next few days to be with my family.”

Huhne travelled from a Liberal Democrat awayday in Eastbourne on Thursday and was in London at the time Starmer made the announcement at 10am.

It is the second enforced departure of a Lib Dem minister since the coalition came to power. David Laws resigned as Treasury chief secretary over expenses allegations.

Davey’s promotion maintains the agreed proportion of Conservatives and Liberal Democrats around the cabinet table fixed in the 2010 coalition negotiations.

The deputy prime minister, Nick Clegg, said he had told Huhne he would like to see him “back in government in a key position” if he cleared his name.

The Lib Dem leader’s parliamentary aide Norman Lamb was promoted to Davey’s former position in the Department for Business, while the Lib Dem MP for Cardiff Central, Jenny Willott, becomes an assistant government whip.

Huhne said he felt it necessary to resign because the battle to clear his name would be too much of a distraction to continue in office.

The charge relates to a speeding offence committed on 12 March 2003. Essex police have been investigating whether Huhne asked Pryce to take the points on her licence on his behalf.

The alleged offence is said to have taken place while Huhne was driving back from Stansted airport after flying in from the European parliament, where he was an MEP at the time. Since he already had points on his licence, Huhne would have faced a driving ban had any further penalties been imposed, it is alleged.

Last week, Essex police – who began their inquiry in May last year – took possession of emails and other material from the Sunday Times, who published an interview with Pryce, a successful economist, in which she first made the allegations.

Detectives also have access to a tape in which Pryce allegedly discusses the issue with Huhne.

The former energy secretary left Pryce, his wife of 27 years, in 2010.

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Chris Huhne will learn on Friday morning whether he is to face charges of speeding and perverting the course of justice

The director of public prosecutions will announce on Friday whether the energy secretary, Chris Huhne, will be charged over allegations he dodged a speeding penalty.

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said that Keir Starmer would give the decision on Huhne, and his former wife Vicky Pryce, at 10am.

The police began an investigation after claims emerged that Pryce had allegedly accepted speeding penalty points relating to an incident in 2003 on his behalf.

The alleged speeding offence is said to have taken place when Huhne was driving from Stansted airport after flying back from the European parliament where he was an MEP at the time.

Huhne, who left Pryce for another woman in 2010, has denied any wrongdoing.

Last month, it was reported that Essex police had recommended Huhne and Pryce be charged in the files they passed to the CPS.

It was reported that detectives believed they had passed the CPS enough evidence to charge the energy secretary with speeding and perverting the course of justice. Essex police refused to comment on the reports.

Police delivered an initial evidence file to the CPS in July, but a decision on charges was held up by legal proceedings in which the police attempted to obtain evidence from the Sunday Times.

Essex police obtained a production order to seize emails between Pryce and Isabel Oakeshott, the Sunday Times political editor, but lawyers for the paper decided to seek a judicial review of the move.

Earlier this month, the newspaper dropped its challenge and said the production order would be complied with in the near future.

Following the hearing, a CPS spokesman said: “We are pleased that the appeal has been withdrawn. As soon as we have received the evidence we will consider it carefully and will reach a decision as soon as possible.”

It is understood police visited Oakeshott shortly after the hearing.

Huhne has said he welcomed the police investigation as it would “draw a line under the matter”. He and Pryce divorced in January last year.

The CPS said they will not be answering any questions following the announcement on Friday. The DPP will make his announcement live to camera, the CPS said.

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Hélène Mulholland takes us through today’s key events, including the growing row over tax arrangements for top civil servants, and David Miliband’s seven-point plan for Labour

5.05pm: Just last night I was discussing the good work Alastair Campbell does to diminish the stigmatisation of mental illness, and today I see on his blog that he’ll be joining Michael Portillo on BBC1′s This Week, to discuss this very issue.

His presence on the sofa is also well timed to coincide with the publication of David Miliband’s essay in the New Statesman on the need for Labour to engage in “restless rethinking” of its purpose and its policies if it is to return to power. (see 9.50am). Not to be missed.

4.30pm: Another Labour MP lobbing questions this morning was Shabana Mahmood, Labour’s shadow minister for higher education. She has now sent a letter to her opposite number, David Willetts, listing a number of questions she wants answered:

1 Who approved “the structure” of Lester’s contract – Willetts, Alexander, or both?
2 If it was the both of them, when was it approved at the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, and when was it approved at the Treasury?
3 Has he approved any other similar arrangements?
4 Did he ask about the tax and National Insurance implications of employing Lester on this basis?
5 Did HMRC approve the arrangement after Lester was appointed as chief executive in January 2011 or only when he was the interim chief executive (from May 2010)? Did he ask whether additional approval was required when the employment was confirmed in January 2011?
6 How much tax and national insurance has been avoided by these arrangements?

Mahmood said:

It is deeply concerning that David Willetts was happy for the chief executive of the Student Loans Company to be appointed in this manner. That’s why I have written to him to demand answers.

It is clear that the government still has questions to answer about this issue. We need to know which ministers signed off these arrangements, and who was aware of the tax and national insurance arrangements in the contract. We need to know why ministers thought this to be an acceptable arrangement – especially at a time when the economy is flatlining, people are being squeezed and David Willetts is tripling tuition fees.

If ministers have sanctioned a pay deal for a senior official which appears to be designed to make it easy for him to avoid paying tax, it is clear that the government is totally out of touch on this issue.

4.28pm: Margaret Hodge, Labour MP for Barking, east London, and chair of the public account select committee, was among the MPs (see 12.45pm) firing questions at Danny Alexander late this morning over the revelation that the head of the Students Loans Company, Ed Lester, had been paid via his personal company without tax deductions.

I asked the committee clerk whether in light of what surfaced today, the committee was considering its own investigation?

Hodge responded to the query by saying:

We will be looking very closely at the circumstances that led to this deal and will want to know how widespread such arrangements are.

3.49pm: For those who haven’t pencilled in any plans for the last full weekend in March, can we have a sort of commercial break so I can flag up the Guardian’s festival?

It’s called the Open Weekend and it’s basically the Guardian opening up its doors to the Guardian’s favourite people: you, the readers. Like Glastonbury, it’s not free, but unlike Glasto it’s not too expensive, plus there will be no mud.

Sessions will include listening to Steve Bell and Martin Rowson discussing their work and sharing tips on how to draw. For those who follow politics, there are plenty of sessions to choose from. To name just a couple, one session is on “Tricks of the Trade: how the politics lobby keeps some secrets and reports others”. Another session is with Polly Toynbee, who will reflect on how policies of successive governments have shaped the society we live in.

Have a look here. Plug over.

3.20pm: While I was at lunch, it emerged that the director of public prosecutions, Keir Starmer, will announce tomorrow whether Chris Huhne, the energy secretary, is to face charges over allegations that his ex-wife accepted speeding penalty points on his behalf in 2003. He will also announce a decision on Huhne’s ex-wife, Vicky Pryce.

It was less than two weeks ago that the Sunday Times dropped its challenge to a court ruling ordering it hand over emails relating to the investigation.

The correspondence was between Vicky Pryce, Huhne’s former wife, and Isabel Oakeshott, the Sunday Times political editor. If charged, Huhne may struggle to hold on to his cabinet post.

The deputy prime minister, Nick Clegg, said recently that it would be a “very serious issue” if Huhne were charged and that he and David Cameron would have to “take a view” if the Crown Prosecution Service decided to press charges.

2.09pm: So are the pay arrangements of Ed Lester, now abruptly ended, a one-off or will we learn that similar arrangements are in place for other senior public sector staff? Not a good morning for the coalition government, which has highlighted its determination to stamp out tax avoidance.

Here’s a lunchtime summary:

• Alexander took the flak as he faced a tough grilling following an urgent question tabled by Labour backbencher Nick Brown over revelations that the head of the Student Loans Company, who earns £182,000, has been paid via a company without tax being deducted.

Alexander, who is responsible for approving any salary to public servants above £142,00, confirmed that from now on, the Student Loans Company would deduct tax and national insurance “at source”.

He also pledged to “unwind” any similar arrangements across the rest of the public sector. He said:

Across government, if any appointments are found, whether agreed by this or the previous government, which do not provide value for money, I would urge departments to seek to unwind them as quickly as possible and as quickly as is compatible with securing good value for public money.

Alexander said Lester’s package was reduced by £13,000 when the interim appointment became permanent in January last year but that he was not “made aware” of any tax benefit made available at the time he was asked sign off the arrangement.

He has requested that all departments carry out an internal audit by the end of March. He also agreed to a request to make the list of other senior civil servants paid under similar arrangement available to the house, once the review was completed.

• Damian Green, the immigration minister, delivered a speech in which he said middle managers, unskilled labourers and those seeking benefits would be kept out of the UK as the government seeks only those migrants who “add to the quality of life in Britain”. Critics say the rules will favour the wealthy.

You can read the full speech here.

• The foreign secretary William Hague has called for a stepping up of the fight against Somali-based terrorism as he became the first British foreign secretary to visit the war-torn state for 20 years.

• The TUC has warned that that the economy has been left “dangerously lopsided” because of decades of under-investment and low levels of bank lending.

A report published today by the union umbrella organisation, entitled Banking After Vickers, says extra lending will not happen without “radical reform” of the banking sector.

TUC general secretary, Brendan Barber said:

Much of the media and political debate around banking has been on top bonuses and preventing another financial crash. But while these are both important issues, people are more concerned about jobs, better wages and healthier businesses, and banks have a vital role to play in creating all this …

Greater lending to small and medium-sized enterprises and support for green investment is vital to our future economic prospects but our current banking system is woefully ill-equipped to lend. Bold new ideas are needed to reform the banking sector so that it returns to its proper place as the engine of wider economic growth, and not as the cause of an economic depression.

12.45pm: The Treasury doesn’t have the full statement Alexander gave as his response to the urgent question. He had begun by quoting from a government document which stated:

public sector organisations should avoid using tax advisers or tax avoidance schemes as any apparent savings can only be made at the expense of other taxpayers or other parts of the public sector. There is no place for tax avoidance in government.

He went on to say that while he couldn’t comment on the specifics of an individual’s tax arrangements, he wanted to explain the action he had taken:

As honourable members are already aware, for senior civil servant appointments, where the salary exceeds £142,500 (the prime minister’s salary level), terms and conditions are negotiated by the appointed department and are then presented to me for approval of the salary level. These arrangements are in place to control excessive pay. In light of this recent case, I have asked the Treasury to urgently review the appropriateness of allowing public sector appointees to be paid through this mechanism.

I have also asked the Treasury officer of accounts, to write to all to accounting officers across Whitehall to remind them that all appointments should, in line with existing guidance, consider the wider cost of lost revenue to the exchequer in considering value for money. Furthermore, I have requested that all departments carry out an internal audit by the end of March, as my right honourable friend has said [I think he means David Willetts, the universities minister, who had made some comments earlier during oral questions to the business, innovation and skills ministerial team].

The Student Loans Company will, for the remainder of the contract in question, change the arrangements and deduct tax and National Insurance at source.

Across government, if any appointments are found, whether agreed by this or the previous government, which do not provide value for money, I have urged departments to seek to unwind them as quickly as possible and as quickly as is compatible with securing good value for public money. At a time when we all have to pull in the same direction to tackle the country’s financial problems, it is essential that we all pay our full and fair share. That is why I have taken this action to make sure government departments do not support tax avoidance schemes.

It seems likely that public accounts select committee may decide to look into this. Its chair, Margaret Hodge, the Labour chair of the public accounts select committee, tasked Alexander during the Q&A session to give a number of commitments to MPs, namely:

Whether he would publish the complete list of senior civil servants paid through companies once he has completed his review by the end of March. Also, would he report back to the house on the HM Revenue and Custom’s role in authorising the arrangement,as well as to why the cabinet secretary appeared to have authorised it. Finally, would he also check out why “in this particular case” a contribution to his pension was also agreed.

Alexander said he would make the list of other senior civil servants paid under similar arrangement available to the house, and her committee.

12.14pm: And again with feeling … Thomas Docherty, wants to know who signed it off. We’re not getting anywhere here.

Alexander took questions from 34 MPs in about 35 minutes. Phew.

12.03pm: Labour’s Barry Sheerman asks why Lester was awarded a higher salary than the prime minister. Alexander said Lester was brought in to turn the Student Loans Company around and has done a good job of it.

Alan Campbell, Labour MP for Tynemouth, has asked whether the urgent review will take in local government employees on high pay. Alexander says he intends to discuss with the communities secretary as to whether that is appropriate.

Simon Hughes, for the Lib Dems, says the public needs to be reassured that everyone pays their share of tax. Obviously, Alexander agrees.

Mark Durkan, SDLP MP, asks whether there is going to be any “restitution” for HMRC. Alexander says he will give this consideration. (Lester is said to have save tens of thousands of pounds in tax by having his £182,000 salary paid gross to his company.)

Alun Cairns, Tory MP for the Vale of Glamorgan, suggests the complexity of the tax system enables such arrangements to take place and that a simpler tax system would help. Alexander says that’s an important point.

Dennis Skinner, Labour MP for Bolsover, asks “which minister is going to carry the can for this mess”. Well, I’m here answering questions, Alexander points out.

Jon Ashworth for Labour asks him why it didn’t occur to him to conduct a review when he was signing off Lester’s salary, and asks when David Willetts, the universities minister, knew of the tax benefit.

Alexander reiterates he was not aware of the tax benefits. He says his role in this is to sign off salaries. He had reduced the salary.

He is asked “who signed off the tax avoidance measures in this deal” by another Labour MP. Alexander refers him to the review he has just initiated.

The review will root out arrangements made by this or the previous government.

Labour’s Helen Jones adds to the clamour for an answer on who signed off “the tax avoidance arrangement”. Alexander just repeats himself by saying he signed off the salary (which he reduced).

11.57am: Labour’s Gareth Thomas said he had previously asked questions about this and had been given reassurances which are at odds with what has emerged today. Alexander said the answer Thomas had at the time reflected the information he had at the time.

Alexander went on to say that this government has worked hard to crack down on tax avoidance. There has been a “quadrupling” of court cases relating to tax avoidance.

11.56am: Lorely Burt has asked whether the urgent review will also include the terms set out by the previous government. Alexander has said that the cases brought to his attention only relate to levels of public sector pay above £142,500. He will be happy to share with the house what he finds.

Labour’s shadow biz minister Shabana Mahmood asked Alexander whether he was aware about any tax benefits when approving Lester’s salary. The interim arrangements were made before he was in post. He doesn’t know if there are existing arrangements previously approved and repeats that he has asked for an urgent review over what other similar arrangements may be in place. His review will only look at arrangements still in existence, he says.

11.53am: Danny Alexander, chief secretary to the Treasury, has just told MPs in the Commons has said there is “no place” for public servants engaging in any kind of tax avoidance. He has said that from now on, all payments to the Students Loans Company will be taxed “at source”. He’s clearly irritated with the revelations that the head of the Student Loans Company, Ed Lester, has been paid via a company without tax being deducted. He’s also demanded an urgent internal audit to review all arrangements across all departments.

It came up during oral questions this morning and ahead of the urgent question being put by Nick Brown, MP for Newcastle upon Tyne East. Brown followed up in response to Alexander’s statement on whether the cabinet secretary had approved the arrangements.

The deal, entered into in 2010, was disclosed in an HMRC letter obtained under the Freedom of Information Act by Exaro News and BBC Newsnight .
It was raised earlier by Labour MP Gregg McClymont during oral questions to the business secretary, demanding to know who signed off with HMRC the special dispensation regarding the extraordinary tax arrangements of Ed Lester?

Earlier the business secretary Vince Cable defended Lester whom he described “an exceptionally useful individual who has helped to turn round that organisation”.

Cable told MPs: “The arrangements under which the negotiations took place involved substantial value for money for the taxpayer, a tax cut by the individual, and we will pursue matters of public concern on the tax issues.”

11.15am: Political scrapbook alerts us to an article in today’s Birmingham Post, which reports that David Cameron will “personally decide the fate” of Cannock Chase MP Aidan Burley, once an inquiry into the Nazi-themed stag party that he attended reports its findings.

Burley was sacked as ministerial aide to the transport secretary, Justine Greening, after it emerged he was the one who had hired the replica SS uniform worn by the groom to be, and Cameron ordered an inquiry.

Scrapbook comments: “Despite the prime minister’s remarks around Holocaust Memorial Day, one could be forgiven cynicism given that Cameron has already written to Burley asking his anti-union TURC campaign to prepare a “report” on activities by union representatives.”

I called Conservative central office who said the party will not comment until the investigation has concluded and Cameron has been presented with the findings.

But the spokesman did point out that the letter from Cameron to Burley welcoming the fact that he had set up the Trade Union Reform Campaign was sent on 23 November, ie more than two weeks prior to the Mail on Sunday revealing on 11 December that the nazi-style party had taken place.

10.54am: Labour has been granted an urgent question in the Commons later this morning after it was revealed that the head of the Student Loans Company (SLC) is being paid via a company without tax being deducted.

The SLC’s chief executive, Ed Lester, has his £182,000 salary paid gross to his private service company, potentially saving him tens of thousands of pounds in tax. The question’s coming up at 11.30am.

10.40am Apologies for the delay. We’re having a fair few technical hitches this morning. Douglas Alexander, the shadow foreign secretary, was the first off the block to go on air to discuss David Miliband’s thoughts on the need for Labour to avoid the trap of being “Reassurance Labour” and instead rethink its ideas to meet the challenges of the times.

He told the Radio 4 Today programme that the failed leadership candidate “recognises the challenge we all face across political parties at the moment”. Quotes courtesy of politicshome.

I think you’ve got to understand where politics is today, I think in a broader historical context, the global financial crisis of 2008 bears comparison with the Wall Street Crash of 1931, the collapse of the post-war consensus in 1979.

So, in the years ahead my strong sense is those ideas that are emerging will reflect the consequences of that crisis. Now, what did that crisis reveal? First of all it accelerated a generational shift in wealth and power from Europe and North America towards Asia, that’s why this week we’ve had a political conversation in the Commons dominated in some ways by the reach of Brussels, but the generational question is going to be the rise of Beijing.

Alexander outlined what he sees as the fundamental issues facing parties in the post-crash era.

There’s going to be two other fundamental questions, I think, that the Labour party is confronting, but, in fact, will confront all parties. First of all, a production question, how do we earn our living and pay our way in the world after the financial crisis? And, secondly, if you like, a distributional question. How do we build a good society when there’s not much money around?

Mark Ferguson on Labourlist says that David Miliband’s contribution is “thoughtful and weighty contribution” and his comments about moving beyond the state resonates with “aspects of Blue Labour thought” and with the internal party debate about whether some within Labour are “too comfortable with opposition”.

He takes issue with the Daily Telegraph’s frontpage coverage and its claims that the essay is “an attack on his brother Ed’s labour party” despite several positive references in the essay to the contrary.

He writes that “… even the most ardent supporter of Ed Miliband would struggle to argue that Ed Miliband has been ‘reassuring’ Labour supporters recently.

“What is pleasing, and should not be overlooked, is that David Miliband is starting to feel comfortable enough to make a cautious return to domestic political debate. That’s something that I’m genuinely delighted about. David wasn’t my first choice for leader, but months ago I was calling for him to return to frontline politics. Most activists I speak to – regardless of their personal politics – want Labour to have a team of all the talents. That includes David Miliband.”

But while Ferguson plays down the idea that Miliband senior is having a pop at Miliband junior, Dan Hodges, contributing editor to Labour Uncut , writes in the Telegraph, suggests otherwise. He says that the timing of Miliband’s intervention is “supremely significant”.

This is challenging stuff, and it’s crystal clear who is being challenged. Nominally the article is in response to a hitherto unnoticed piece penned by Roy Hattersley in the obscure Political Quarterly. But the real target of David Miliband’s attack on “Reassurance Labour” is Ed Miliband. And both brothers know it.

10.05am: The foreign secretary William Hague has called for a stepping up of the fight against Somali-based terrorism as he became the first British foreign secretary to visit the war-torn state for 20 years.

He arrived in the capital, Mogadishu, amid tight security, marking the start of a major diplomatic push to help stabilise a country he described as “the world’s most failed state”, according to the Press Association.

Hague said recent gains by the 10,000-strong African Union force in the country (Amisom) had driven back the radical Islamist group al Shabaab from the capital.

But with much of the south of the country still controlled by the organisation, which has links to al-Qaida, he said there must be no let-up in the pressure.
‘We need to step this up. We are not complacent about it,’ he said.

9.50am: Good morning, I’m Hélène Mulholland, standing in for Andrew Sparrow today.

An essay in this week’s New Statesman by the Labour party leader’s big brother on the need for Labour to engage in “restless rethinking” of its purpose and its policies if it is to return to power, promises a lively debate both within the party and without. The former foreign secretary and defeated leadership candidate lays out a seven-point plan for the party. You can read the full article here and see whether you agree with his assessment.

Diarywise, today looks set to be a quiet one.

Damian Green, the immigration minister, will outline reforms to immigration policy at a Policy Exchange thinktank at 10am. The gist seems to be that only those with rosy bank accounts will be able to marry whom they want from abroad or settle in Britain. My colleague Alan Travis has trailed the contents of the speech here.

Tourists wandering around Westminster this morning will probably wonder what’s going on if they head towards the gates of 10 Downing Street. The web-based lobbying group Avaaz, intend to make a noise about tax using props (a giant “David Cameron” and a “tax burglar”, apparently) and a petition which is expected to have more than 100,000 signatures calling for tax transparency across the board and an end to tax breaks for big business. Perhaps one of the activists will contact us and tell us how it went.

Down the road in parliament, the Joint Committee on Privacy and Injunctions will take evidence from News Group Newspapers and the Press Complaints Commission. Witnesses giving evidence include Dominic Mohan, editor of the Sun and Lord Hunt of Wirral, Chair, Press Complaints Commission.
The committee’s remit is here and the session starts at 10.15. My colleague Josh Halliday on media will be covering it in a separate liveblog, which will also take in the Leveson inquiry.

Meanwhile, in the Commons this morning, the business secretary Vince Cable will take questions.

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Inspector criticises ‘intrusion’ into activists’ lives by undercover officer Mark Kennedy

A clandestine operation that secretly deployed police spies in political groups for 40 years is severely criticised today by the official policing inspectorate, which concludes that the “intrusive” tactic should in future be used only after independent authorisation.

A report into the activities of Mark Kennedy, an undercover police officer who spent seven years living as an environmental activist, finds that he defied instructions from his supervisors and failed to inform them about intimate relationships he developed with activists.

Sir Denis O’Connor, head of Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC), also found serious failings by the secretive body that was supposed to oversee Kennedy’s deployment, the National Public Order Intelligence Unit (NPOIU). He said the unit did not provide sufficient oversight of Kennedy’s deployment and failed to draw up a suitable exit plan when it was decided he should be pulled out.

“The police are right to use undercover tactics in order to protect the public from serious harm. But these operations are inherently risky and must only be used when they are necessary and proportionate. NPOIU operations were not adequately controlled in this regard,” O’Connor wrote. “HMIC found that Mark Kennedy operated outside the code of conduct for undercover officers. This suggests that NPOIU operational supervision, review and oversight were insufficient to identify that his behaviour had led to disproportionate intrusion.”

O’Connor said that future long-term deployments of undercover police officers should be “pre-authorised” by the Office of the Surveillance Commissioners, which currently monitors covert surveillance by the state agencies.

Until now, police at superintendent rank have had the power to authorise officers to create false passports, rent new properties and live several years undercover. Police seeking to listen to a suspected criminal’s telephone call have required permission from the home secretary.

O’Connor said the new proposals, based on a review of protocol in MI5 and FBI, would ensure that officers were only deployed on long-term missions where independent oversight considered the operation necessary and proportionate.

But he stopped short of recommending the judicial oversight of undercover policing called for by other senior officers, and said the framework for keeping tabs on protesters should remain under the police’s counterterrorism command.

A Guardian investigation into police infiltration of the protest movement, which first revealed details of Kennedy’s deployment 12 months ago, has uncovered a catalogue of abuses by police spies, including allegations that they lied under oath in court and developed sexual relationships with their targets.

Of nine undercover operatives identified by the Guardian, seven are believed to have had sexual relationships with women they were spent to spy on. On two occasions, the police officers secretly fathered children with the activists, and then disappeared from their lives.

O’Connor’s report was due last October, but publication was postponed after revelations by the Guardian and Newsnight of claims that police chiefs had authorised undercover officers to give false evidence in court.

HMIC found that operations to spy on political activists were “more risky” than those in other areas of policing. “NPOIU operations were not as well controlled as those of other units which deploy undercover officers on serious criminality,” the report said.

“This was especially so in the case of Mark Kennedy, where the evidence suggests the risks of intrusion into the lives of members of the public while undercover were not well managed; on occasions, he did not follow the codes of practice for undercover officers or the instructions of his supervisors.”

The Association of Chief Police Officers (Acpo) conceded that its code of conduct for undercover police officers, in place since 2003, contains no clause explicitly prohibiting intimate or sexual relations with targets. The manual, which contains 17 other rules about professional and personal standards expected of police spies, is being rewritten. Jon Murphy of Acpo said: “The police service would welcome increased oversight in this critical area of policing. It is one of the most challenging areas of operational activity undertaken by the police service. When used correctly it is lawful, ethical, necessary and proportionate. It is important the HMIC has recognised that the use of undercover tactics in the context of protest and campaigns is small by comparison with areas such as organised crime.”

The O’Connor report revealed how police dramatically expanded undercover surveillance of protesters, describing how for much of the last decade police chiefs ran two covert units of undercover police officers to infiltrate protest groups. The first, known as the special demonstration unit and run by the Met, was set up in 1968 to spy on political groups in London. The SDS, which trained its spies in-house, was closed in 2008. The report said the unit “appeared to be wholly isolated from the Metropolitan police and the police service”. Police chiefs created the second unit – the NPOIU – in 1999. Kennedy worked for this unit, which operated mainly outside the capital and still functions today.

For nine years, the units operated in tandem, “targeted similar groups” but “worked independently”, sending undercover officers to the same demonstrations. It means that undercover police officers would have regularly encountered each other – but assumed their opposites were activists.

The decision to significantly expand the infrastructure for monitoring political campaigners was taken in the late 1990s, amid an perceived increase in activity by animal rights and environmental campaigners. Previously, it has been alleged that private corporations targeted by protest groups lobbied the Labour government to help combat “single issue” campaigners.

The Home Office has poured millions of pounds into a drive to tackle so-called domestic extremism, a term O’Connor said was “pretty wide-ranging” and failed to distinguish between people with genuinely violent intent and others involved in peaceful demonstration. He called for a new definition of domestic extremism, which he said had been conflated with policing big demonstrations. His inspectors concluded that a national database of domestic extremists contained details about protesters that should not be held.

The report also made unexpected criticism of police officers who monitored political activists and then retired to continue their careers “in the security industry, using their skills and experience for commercial purposes”. As a result of cases where officers have perceived conflicts of interest, a new policy has now banned contact with private security firms.

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