Police attempt to recruit eco-campaigner as spy

British police offered an environmental campaigner thousands of pounds to spy on her fellow protesters.

Plane Stupid member, Matilda Gifford, secretly recorded meetings with police officers in which she was offered tens of thousands of pounds in exchange for information on the planned tactics and future demonstrations of the anti-airport expansion group.

The officers, who claimed to be from Strathclyde Police Force, threatened the 24-year-old by claiming that she might struggle to find employment in the future because of her history of protesting - despite also acknowledging that her protest activity is legitimate.

Furthermore, the officers claimed that the police have hundreds of informants embedded within protest organisations.

When Plane Stupid’s lawyer contacted Strathclyde Police to find out more about the officers, the force denied any knowledge of them.

Gifford’s own lawyer, Patrick Campbell, said: “I have very considerable concerns about these events.

“There appears to be a concerted effort to turn protesters to informants and possibly infiltrate peaceful protest movements.

“The methods employed are disturbing, and more worrying yet is the lack of any clearly identifiable body responsible for this.”

A statement from Plane Stupid said their right to peaceful protest is being ‘called into question’ in the interests of big business.