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| Woman who lived with police spy criticises BBC drama Undercover | Woman who lived with police spy criticises BBC drama Undercover |
| (4 months later) | |
| A BBC drama on undercover policing has been branded “misleading and inauthentic” by one of the women on whose life story it is partly based. | A BBC drama on undercover policing has been branded “misleading and inauthentic” by one of the women on whose life story it is partly based. |
| The BBC1 series Undercover follows a happily married couple thrown into chaos when the husband’s true identity as a police spy threatens to become public. | The BBC1 series Undercover follows a happily married couple thrown into chaos when the husband’s true identity as a police spy threatens to become public. |
| Peter Moffat, the award-winning screenwriter behind Silk and Criminal Justice, based the drama on the real-life experiences of women deceived into forming intimate, long-term relationships with undercover police officers. | Peter Moffat, the award-winning screenwriter behind Silk and Criminal Justice, based the drama on the real-life experiences of women deceived into forming intimate, long-term relationships with undercover police officers. |
| But one of the women, known as Alison, has said she feels Undercover has sensationalised their experiences, leaving them feeling that their stories are “far less significant than the horrors unravelling in the drama”. | But one of the women, known as Alison, has said she feels Undercover has sensationalised their experiences, leaving them feeling that their stories are “far less significant than the horrors unravelling in the drama”. |
| Writing for the Guardian, Alison says: “It would be wonderful if the series brings some awareness of the abusive relationships condoned by the police in the name of law and order. | Writing for the Guardian, Alison says: “It would be wonderful if the series brings some awareness of the abusive relationships condoned by the police in the name of law and order. |
| “However, my fear is that Undercover is to our stories what The Boy in Striped Pyjamas is to the Holocaust. A well-produced narrative based on an implausible premise that is both misleading and inauthentic.” | “However, my fear is that Undercover is to our stories what The Boy in Striped Pyjamas is to the Holocaust. A well-produced narrative based on an implausible premise that is both misleading and inauthentic.” |
| Alison was in a relationship with Mark Jenner, whom she knew as Mark Cassidy, supposedly a joiner from Birkenhead, from 1995 to 2000. Jenner’s true identity as an undercover police officer in the Metropolitan police’s special demonstration squad (SDS) was revealed in 2013. | Alison was in a relationship with Mark Jenner, whom she knew as Mark Cassidy, supposedly a joiner from Birkenhead, from 1995 to 2000. Jenner’s true identity as an undercover police officer in the Metropolitan police’s special demonstration squad (SDS) was revealed in 2013. |
| Alison was one of seven women who secured an unreserved apology from Metropolitan police chiefs last November over the relationships, which the force described as “abusive, deceitful, manipulative and wrong”. | Alison was one of seven women who secured an unreserved apology from Metropolitan police chiefs last November over the relationships, which the force described as “abusive, deceitful, manipulative and wrong”. |
| In the Guardian article, Alison says she met Moffat a few years ago when he shared his idea for the six-part series. She told him at the time that his storyline of an officer deceiving his wife for 20 years was unrealistic, she writes. | In the Guardian article, Alison says she met Moffat a few years ago when he shared his idea for the six-part series. She told him at the time that his storyline of an officer deceiving his wife for 20 years was unrealistic, she writes. |
| “Our true stories, we felt, were sufficiently dramatic. These concerns were not taken into account and I am left feeling the new BBC series takes too many liberties, resulting in a sensationalised representation of how the Met special demonstration squad (SDS) operated.” | “Our true stories, we felt, were sufficiently dramatic. These concerns were not taken into account and I am left feeling the new BBC series takes too many liberties, resulting in a sensationalised representation of how the Met special demonstration squad (SDS) operated.” |
| The BBC drama, whose fourth episode aired on Sunday night, follows undercover officer Nick Johnson (Adrian Lester), who met young activist Maya Cobbina (Sophie Okonedo) at a black justice campaign meeting. | The BBC drama, whose fourth episode aired on Sunday night, follows undercover officer Nick Johnson (Adrian Lester), who met young activist Maya Cobbina (Sophie Okonedo) at a black justice campaign meeting. |
| By episode three he tells her – despite having been warned against it by his handler – that he is “falling hopelessly in love”. The two characters end up happily married with three grown children, but then the truth begins to unravel. | By episode three he tells her – despite having been warned against it by his handler – that he is “falling hopelessly in love”. The two characters end up happily married with three grown children, but then the truth begins to unravel. |
| Alison says she finds it “difficult to process” that Jenner, whom she lived with for five years, was as emotionally intelligent as the on-screen spy. “I wish it were true that the relationship I had with Mark ‘Cassidy’ was predicated on mutual love but I don’t believe it was,” she writes. | Alison says she finds it “difficult to process” that Jenner, whom she lived with for five years, was as emotionally intelligent as the on-screen spy. “I wish it were true that the relationship I had with Mark ‘Cassidy’ was predicated on mutual love but I don’t believe it was,” she writes. |
| “It was an exploitative dynamic in which I was one of two women being deceived and manipulated. To give the impression that these undercover relationships were based on reciprocal love is to misunderstand the power dynamics and sexual politics that underpinned these relationships. | “It was an exploitative dynamic in which I was one of two women being deceived and manipulated. To give the impression that these undercover relationships were based on reciprocal love is to misunderstand the power dynamics and sexual politics that underpinned these relationships. |
| “The true stories are tales of state-sponsored deception in which women’s emotional and political lives were deemed worthless. By overdramatising the story, Moffat leaves me feeling our experiences are far less significant than the horrors unravelling in the drama.” | “The true stories are tales of state-sponsored deception in which women’s emotional and political lives were deemed worthless. By overdramatising the story, Moffat leaves me feeling our experiences are far less significant than the horrors unravelling in the drama.” |
| Alison writes that the institutional racism element to the BBC drama has overshadowed the institutional sexism she believes is at the heart of the real-life cases. | Alison writes that the institutional racism element to the BBC drama has overshadowed the institutional sexism she believes is at the heart of the real-life cases. |
| She adds: “I’d like to believe that the remaining episodes will address some of my concerns, but after discovering I lived for five years with a special branch agent, I’ve learned to expect the worst.” | She adds: “I’d like to believe that the remaining episodes will address some of my concerns, but after discovering I lived for five years with a special branch agent, I’ve learned to expect the worst.” |
| Moffat said: “The second half of the series has at its emotional and dramatic heart Maya Cobbina’s response to the discoveries she makes about who her partner Nick really is and the shocking lies he has been telling. Her reaction articulates as fully as I know how the exploitative nature of what has happened to her. | Moffat said: “The second half of the series has at its emotional and dramatic heart Maya Cobbina’s response to the discoveries she makes about who her partner Nick really is and the shocking lies he has been telling. Her reaction articulates as fully as I know how the exploitative nature of what has happened to her. |
| “I really believe that the power and honesty of Sophie Okonedo’s performance represents the profound trauma experienced by women in Maya’s situation. Mark Cassidy’s relationship with Alison was deeply abusive and so is Nick Johnson’s relationship with Maya. Alison now sees it for what it was; Maya is about to find out.” | “I really believe that the power and honesty of Sophie Okonedo’s performance represents the profound trauma experienced by women in Maya’s situation. Mark Cassidy’s relationship with Alison was deeply abusive and so is Nick Johnson’s relationship with Maya. Alison now sees it for what it was; Maya is about to find out.” |
| The controversy over undercover police erupted in late 2010 when Kennedy, who had infiltrated environmental groups for seven years, was unmasked by activists. | The controversy over undercover police erupted in late 2010 when Kennedy, who had infiltrated environmental groups for seven years, was unmasked by activists. |
| The home secretary, Theresa May, has ordered a judge-led public inquiry to examine the undercover infiltration of political groups since 1968, after a series of revelations. | The home secretary, Theresa May, has ordered a judge-led public inquiry to examine the undercover infiltration of political groups since 1968, after a series of revelations. |
| Investigations by campaigners and the Guardian revealed that undercover officers frequently formed sexual relationships with women on whom they had been sent to spy. | Investigations by campaigners and the Guardian revealed that undercover officers frequently formed sexual relationships with women on whom they had been sent to spy. |