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13111 M

David VencsS
Assistant Commissioner, Metropolitan Police
New Scotland `Card, LONDON SW I

ur

9" January 200 1

Dear David

los

It was good of you to find the time to see`us when Peter Taylor and Y paid a brief visit to the
Commissioner before Christmas .

sc

You kindly offered to help us contact some of your forrner colleagues for our current BBC
project- What we plan to examine is how the State - through its various agencies - has dealt in
recent decades with tho5e it has considered "subVersiVe" . We aim to cover a wide spectrum of
group, from the Communist party to the BNF, from CND to animal rights ~► rvEescars, from
industrial unrest (mincrs, gar workers and so on) to roads protestors . The series will be
essentially historical in nature but as with our Irish Trilogy - Provos, Loyalists and Snits - w e
would like to bring the story reasc nabty up to date _

Di

What follows i s a l ist of some of those m en {are there any women') w e would like to meet . It
is worth stressing that we would do so initially o n a strictly off thG record basis . In other
words, even i f any of [hose listed have no intent ion of app earing i re front of a te l evi sion
camera we would still be keen to meet them informally for backgrou nd information, s o long
as they are happy to do so .

IA

Raymond Kendall - former Assistant Commissioner . Now Interpol Secretary-Gcnerai .
Bob Bryan - Special Branch (?) late 1970s (recommended by Sir Robert Andrew, head of the
police dept- in the Home Officc at the time) .
Colin Hewett - head of Special Branch, 1980- 5
Simon Crawshaw - head of Special Branch, late 1990 s

FO

Bill Taylor -Assistant Commissioner in charge of Special Operasions, early 1990s
John Howley - Assistaiiit-Cmrnmissianer mid 1990 s
Barry Moss - head of Special Branch late 1990s and National Public Order Intelligence Unit?
Commander Roger Pearc e

.tabu Abbott - NCIS

MP
S

If you were prepared, on our behalf, to contact any of the above directly, then obviously we
would be delighted . But to save you the time and trouble, we would he more than happy to
approach any or all of them our5elves, though it would be extremely usl,-ful if we could
mention your name when we make our written approaches . If theie are names you think we
have unwisely overlooked we would be very grateful for other suggest=s, pc iTtlCUliltl]1 in the
earlier peniod . Those whose experience stretches back into the 1970s or evcn 1960s would be
especially interesting for us to meet . We would also be grateful if you felt able to spend some
time with us yourself to discuss your personal experience, again on a confidential basis .
I look forwar d to hear ing from yo u .
Yours sincerel y

Sam Collyns
Series Producer