Undercover officer may have put trial at risk

An undercover officer who infiltrated a green campaign group was last night accused of taking part in a criminal trial under an alias – potentially putting a conviction in jeopardy.

Solicitor Mike Schwarz said that his firm had acted for the Metropolitan Police's Detective Constable Jim Boyling along with other activists without knowing that he was an officer.

The policeman is said to have attended legal meetings under the fake name Jim Sutton. A campaigner was convicted of public order offences but Det Con Boyling was cleared.

If Mr Schwarz's claims are true, the conviction could be called into question. He told BBC2's Newsnight that the officer's actions were "institutionalised police corruption of the legal process".

He added: "It raises... fundamental constitutional issues about limits of acceptable policing, the sanctity of lawyer-client confidentiality, and the integrity of the criminal justice system."