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63-690: There are links between NPOIU, ACPO, National Domestic Extremism Unit (NDEU), National Extremism Tactical Co-ordination Unit (NETCU) and the Welsh Extremism and Counter Terrorism Unit (WECTU). Because the ACPO is a private limited company rather than a public body, it is exempt from public accountability , including freedom of information laws , even though it was funded by the Home Office and deploys police officers from regional forces. Established in March 1999,

126-543: A heart attack in HM Prison Littlehey . Maxwell Frank Clifford was born in Kingston upon Thames on 6 April 1943, the son of Lilian ( née Boffee) and electrician Frank Clifford. He was the youngest of four children, with one sister and two brothers. The family survived their father's regular bouts of unemployment, gambling, and alcoholism with the help and support of their grandmother and Clifford's sister, who

189-473: A hearing took place at Southwark Crown Court on 12 June 2013 when a date for his trial was set for 4 March 2014. On 28 April 2014, Clifford was convicted of eight counts of indecent assault against four victims by a jury at Southwark Crown Court. He was acquitted of two charges of indecent assault, and the jury failed to reach a verdict on another charge. Following the verdict the National Society for

252-558: A lunch with editor Rebekah Brooks , the paper agreed to pay Clifford's legal fees and an undisclosed "personal payment" not described as damages. The sum exceeded £1 million. The money was paid in exchange for him exclusively giving the paper stories over the next several years. Clifford lived in Hersham , Surrey, before his incarceration. On 4 April 2010, he married his former PA, Jo Westwood; wedding guests included Des O'Connor , Bobby Davro , and Theo Paphitis . In May 2014, Westwood

315-672: A much younger woman, who had become involved with Blunkett, over Blunkett's business interests, which were published in The Times . Later that week, Clifford was accused of arranging a distraction from the assault made by his friend Rebekah Wade on her then husband, EastEnders actor Ross Kemp , via the "coincidence" of the other " Mitchell brother ", Steve McFadden being in a similar incident with an ex-partner. Clifford denied all responsibility. On 26 April 2006, Clifford represented John Prescott 's diary secretary Tracey Temple , in selling her story for "an awful lot more" than £ 100,000 to

378-653: A national scale, with the intent to grab the government's attention. As a result of The Guardian articles with regards the activities and accusations of PC Mark Kennedy of the National Public Order Intelligence Unit within the National Extremism Tactical Co-ordination Unit, and the collapse of the subsequent trial of six activists, a number of initiatives and changes were announced: Max Clifford Maxwell Frank Clifford (6 April 1943 – 10 December 2017)

441-660: A supporter of the Labour Party, Clifford's approach in dealing with the Blair government was similar to that which he employed with Major's preceding Conservative government. The first instance of this was the story of the Secretary of State for Wales , Ron Davies . Clifford was subsequently accused by David Blunkett , at the beginning of November 2005, of having a role in Blunkett's second resignation. This derived from claims made on behalf of

504-495: A top premiership star who is bisexual. If it came out that he had gay tendencies, his career would be over in two minutes. Should it be? No, but if you go on the terraces and hear the way fans are, and also, that kind of general attitude that goes with football, it's almost like going back to the dark ages . Clifford said none of his clients had been outed. In December 2009, he told The Independent on Sunday that he had represented two high-profile Premier League footballers in

567-515: A version of " Stockholm syndrome ". In 2022, the Investigatory Powers Tribunal found that, regarding Kate Wilson, one of the women who had sued the police in the high court, Kennedy had “invaded the core of her private life”, “caused her mental suffering" and that he had “interfered” with her “sexual autonomy” and showed “a profound lack of respect” for her “bodily integrity and human dignity.” It found that his actions were an “abuse of

630-607: Is a police unit within the Metropolitan Police Service Specialist Operations Group. The unit was created in 2004 under the Association of Chief Police Officers in Wales and England. The purpose of the unit is to gather intelligence on domestic extremism in society including acts of terrorism motivated by extremism. The unit was developed and put into action in 2004. It was started up again based on

693-493: The Mail on Sunday . The story was about the affair between Prescott and Temple which took place between 2002 and 2004. On 4 May 2006, Clifford announced his intention to expose politicians who fail to abide by the standards expected of them in public office. He called his team of undercover investigators "a dedicated and loyal bunch". Although he usually backed Labour, Clifford supported, and did some publicity work for, UKIP during

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756-503: The South London Press to train as a journalist. After working in newspapers for a few years, writing an occasional record/music column and running a disco , Clifford replied to an advertisement and joined as the second member of the EMI press office in 1962, under Chief Press Officer Syd Gillingham. As the youngest and the only trained journalist in a team of four, Clifford claimed he

819-612: The 2004 European election campaign. Clifford said at the time that "The UK Independence Party and myself are in complete agreement that the British people should be the masters of their own destiny through our parliament at Westminster, not subservient to Brussels." According to his memoirs he handled the publicity for the Daniels family and helped set up the Rhys Daniels Trust from resultant media fees to combat Batten disease . Clifford

882-642: The National Domestic Extremism Unit (NDEU), under the control of ACPO 's National Coordinator for Domestic Extremism, Detective Chief Supt Adrian Tudway . The NPOIU works in conjunction with the National Extremism Tactical Co-ordination Unit (NETCU) and the National Domestic Extremism Team (NDET). The Confidential Intelligence Unit was set up in 1999 through discussions held by the members of

945-588: The National Public Order Intelligence Unit , National Domestic Extremism Team, and National Extremism Tactical Coordination Unit . As of May 2013, the unit is split into two distinct groups: the Protest and Disorder Intelligence Unit (with the purpose of providing strategic analysis in regards to protesting and public disorder) and the Domestic Extremism Intelligence Unit (with the purpose of providing intelligence of domestic extremism overseas and in

1008-777: The Special Demonstration Squad (which served the same purpose as the current NDEDIU) that was developed in the 1960s. It was shut down in 2008 but then took up the role of the Special Demonstration Squad. In November 2010, the three units of the Association of Chief Police Officers was renamed as the National Domestic Extremism Unit. The unit was then brought under the Metropolitan Police Service Business group in 2011. It

1071-571: The Association of Chief Police Officers of England and Wales to observe extremist political groups throughout the UK. The section of the unit is led by an officer of the rank of Detective Chief Inspector . Strathclyde Police were criticised by pacifist demonstrators at the Faslane nuclear submarine base after demonstrators' details were sent to the unit. Anti- genetically modified food protesters and Muslim university students have also been under surveillance by

1134-475: The Clifford appeal court ruling "Nothing Clifford did resembled the disastrous approach taken by Stuart Hall who, prior to pleading guilty to abusing them as girls, denounced his accusers as gold-diggers and liars." Clifford's actions were deemed merely to show no remorse, and not to justify an increased penalty on appeal, although ruling out a reduction in sentence due to mitigating factors; in contrast Hall's sentence

1197-675: The Court of Appeal and his daughter, Louise, continued to challenge his 2014 conviction afterwards posthumously. Clifford's conviction was ultimately upheld on 2 April 2019 and the Court of Appeal comprehensively rejected his appeal on all grounds. Lady Justice Rafferty said: "Nothing we heard came anywhere near imperilling the safety of this conviction". Clifford married Elizabeth Louise Porter at St Barnabas Church in Southfields , London, on 3 June 1967. Porter died of lung cancer in Sutton , on 8 April 2003.

1260-690: The Home Department various questions about the National Public Order Intelligence Unit (NPOIU). In response the Minister of State for Crime and Policing, David Hanson , responded that the main purpose of the unit was to: According to HM Inspectorate of Constabulary the NPOIU "performs an intelligence function in relation to politically motivated disorder (not legitimate protests) on behalf of England, Wales and Scotland." by "co-ordinat[ing]

1323-455: The John Major government, Clifford worked to expose stories to help the Labour Party to power. Although not instrumental in exposing David Mellor 's affair with Antonia de Sancha , Clifford's battle in representing de Sancha against the contrived post-spin story of the "family man Mellor" handled by counter PR Timothy Bell ultimately derailed Major's ' Back to Basics ' agenda. Clifford invented

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1386-696: The NPOIU incorporated the Animal Rights National Index , work that had previously been the responsibility of the various Special Branches . Initially operated as part of the Metropolitan Police Special Branch . and is now part of the Specialist Operations Business Group. On 10 November 2009, in a question in the House of Commons , MP Dai Davies (Blaenau Gwent, Independent), asked the then Secretary of State for

1449-477: The Prevention of Cruelty to Children 's Director of National Services Peter Watt stated: Max Clifford has rightly been unmasked as a ruthless and manipulative sex offender who preyed for decades on children and young women. On 2 May 2014, Judge Anthony Leonard sentenced Clifford to a total of eight years in prison. Judge Leonard told Clifford he should serve at least half his sentence in prison, adding that he

1512-631: The UK). Some notable operations include the tracing of an animal rights campaign titled Stop Huntingdon Animal Cruelty and the infamous letter bomber Miles Cooper . In November 2010, it was announced that the three ACPO units commanded by the National Coordinator for Domestic Extremism would be rebranded as the National Domestic Extremism Unit and brought under the control of the Metropolitan Police Business Group by mid-2011. Two of

1575-557: The World in 2002. Journalist Louis Theroux followed Clifford in the BBC Two series When Louis Met... in a 2002 episode titled When Louis Met ... Max Clifford . During filming, it appeared that Clifford was trying to set up Theroux during a PR stunt in Sainsbury's . It backfired after Clifford was heard lying on his microphone, unaware it was still on. Clifford represented a witness in

1638-477: The World editor Patsy Chapman and drip-fed her the story of Bordes through the investigative reporter she was using on the madam. The story was published in March 1989 under the headline "Call Girl Works in Commons", since it was discovered she had a House of Commons security pass arranged by MPs David Shaw and Henry Bellingham . Clifford claimed Bordes was never his client, and that he earned his fee for "writing"

1701-521: The actors' union Brocklehurst received a call from 'a terrified young actress' who had been persuaded to give a particularly career damaging 'kiss and tell' story about an incestuous relationship to Clifford as a means of giving her career a boost. The story was due to run in the News of the World but the young actress said it had been entirely fabricated and that Clifford and she did not know how to get out of it. Brocklehurst called Clifford and persuaded him to drop

1764-555: The arrest was part of Operation Yewtree which was set up in the wake of the Jimmy Savile sexual abuse scandal . He was taken to a central London police station for questioning. The two alleged offences dated from 1977. On 26 April 2013, he was charged with a further eleven indecent assaults between 1966 and 1985 on girls and women aged 14 to 19. Clifford claimed the allegations were "completely false". On 28 May 2013, Clifford pleaded not guilty at Westminster Magistrates' Court ;

1827-517: The bank of the River Thames . The unit has a staff of 60-70 officers and police staff, seconded from other forces, and has had its budget more than doubled in four years from £2.6 million in 2005/06 to £5.7 million in 2009/10. The unit is led by an officer of the rank of Detective Superintendent , as of 2006 this was Maria Smith of the Wiltshire Constabulary . The NPOIU formed one branch of

1890-415: The case against Gary Glitter . In 2005, Clifford paid damages to settle defamation proceedings brought by Neil and Christine Hamilton after he represented Nadine Milroy-Sloane, who was later found to have falsely accused the pair of sexual assault . Also in 2005, he told reporters that he would not represent Michael Jackson after he was found not guilty of child abuse charges, saying: "It would be

1953-527: The collapse of the trial of six activists, a number of initiatives and changes were announced: National Domestic Extremism Unit The National Domestic Extremism and Disorder Intelligence Unit (formerly, the National Domestic Extremism Unit ) is a national police unit of the National Police Chiefs' Council within the Metropolitan Police Service Specialist Operations Group. The National Domestic Extremism and Disorder Intelligence Unit

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2016-446: The couple had one daughter, Louise (1971–2023). In the late 1970s and early 1980s, Clifford ran and took part in weekly adult parties for his friends and clients around London. This brought him into contact with various madams and prostitutes , a connection which he later used to satisfy the needs of his clients, and introduced him to deviant behaviour. Part of the evidence for his trial of various indecent assaults revolved around

2079-505: The court that Clifford's assault on her (at age 15) had prevented her from having her first sexual relationship with a partner her own age, while another said that in the years following the assault she had cried whenever she saw Clifford on television, and had feared that the police would laugh at her. Clifford dismissed his victims as "fantasists" and "opportunists". The judge concluded that Clifford had caused an "additional element of trauma" to his victims by his "contemptuous attitude" during

2142-446: The global momentum building behind a climate protest movement during the late 2000s. In November 2010 it was announced that the three ACPO units commanded by the National Coordinator for Domestic Extremism would be rebranded as the National Domestic Extremism Unit and brought under the control of the Metropolitan Police Business Group by mid-2011. Following The Guardian articles about the activities and accusations of Mark Kennedy, and

2205-492: The hardest job in PR after [representing] Saddam Hussein ". Following the Jimmy Savile sexual abuse scandal , but prior to his arrest, Clifford claimed that dozens of "big name stars" contacted him and feared they would become implicated in the scandal; he claimed that in the 1960s and 70s they "never asked for anybody's birth certificate" before having sex. Clifford helped clients who wished to conceal their sexual orientation from

2268-422: The highest order.” In January 2022 the tribunal found that Kennedy had “grossly debased, degraded and humiliated” his victim and awarded her £229,000 in compensation. The tribunal described Kennedy as a "highly unreliable narrator" and stated "we do not consider we can put any weight on statements and comments he has made". Former US climate activist Harry Halpin stated that Kennedy's actions "intentionally destroyed"

2331-551: The last century. Clifford later represented various clients, including former Liverpool left-wing politician Derek Hatton , for whom Clifford created an affair to change his image; O. J. Simpson —Clifford claimed to have received death threats while acting as his publicist; Gillian McKeith , whose adverts he believed harmed her image; Rebecca Loos , when she negotiated with the press about her alleged affair with England football captain David Beckham ; and Jade Goody , during

2394-532: The merged units were the National Extremism Tactical Co-ordination Unit and the National Public Order Intelligence Unit . The National Domestic Extremism and Disorder Intelligence Unit collects data and stores it in a massive database known as the National Domestic Extremism Database. This database has information on individuals who have been labeled domestic extremists or who have been associated with domestic extremism and protests including

2457-456: The national collection, analysis, exploitation and dissemination of intelligence on the extremist threat to public order." Evening Standard investigative journalist Andrew Gilligan described it as "a secretive, Scotland Yard-based police taskforce" whose "role in controlling dissent is central". The NPOIU was based in London , either at Scotland Yard , or on the 5th Floor of Tintagel House on

2520-552: The offices of Joe Cocker 's manager, he started off by representing Sinatra, Cocker, Paul and Barry Ryan , Don Partridge , and Marvin Gaye . He later also represented Muhammad Ali and Marlon Brando . Former LWT Press Officer 1980-84, Rosie Brocklehurst said Clifford attempted to elicit favours from LWT press officers in return for other favourable coverage. He was particularly interested in salacious gossip on LWT Light Entertainment celebrities. In 1989 when she had moved to work for Equity

2583-496: The past 20 years. For this reason, and because of his working-class background, Clifford was a traditional Labour supporter who worked to bring down the government of John Major because he felt that the NHS was being mismanaged. In light of Clifford's view of the deteriorating state of the NHS – having obtained treatment for his daughter, who had been diagnosed with juvenile idiopathic arthritis – and moral differences with members of

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2646-468: The past five years whom he advised to stay in the closet because football "remains in the dark ages, steeped in homophobia ". Clifford stated that what motivated him was much more than just money; he said he could not stand hypocrisy in public life, reserved a particular disgust for lying politicians, and watched with growing anger what he thought happened to the National Health Service over

2709-499: The public. He claimed that he was approached twice by major football clubs to help make players present a " straight " image. In an interview with Pink News , reported on 5 August 2009, Clifford said that if a gay or bisexual football player came out , his career would be over: To my knowledge there is only one top-flight professional gay footballer who came out – Justin Fashanu . He ended up committing suicide. I have been advising

2772-401: The reality star's cervical cancer and death. Clifford represented Simon Cowell for over a decade and was credited with shaping his public image; Cowell dropped Clifford following Clifford's 2014 conviction. In 2016, a judge awarded former client Paul Burrell £5,000 damages after Burrell sued Clifford, saying that Clifford forwarded private material in a fax to Rebekah Brooks at News of

2835-449: The size of his penis, with victims describing it as both a micropenis, and enormous. A doctor measured Clifford's penis at five and a quarter inches long when flaccid, and this fact was used in an attempt to discredit the victims' evidence as unreliable. In March 2010, the News of the World settled out of court after Clifford sought legal action against it for intercepting his voicemail. After

2898-436: The story which claimed Mellor made love in a Chelsea F.C. football kit, though he was blocked from mentioning it in his memoirs. Clifford also helped to expose Jeffrey Archer 's perjury in the 1980s during his candidacy for the post of Mayor of London . On 18 February 1995 he was interviewed at length by Andrew Neil for his one-on-one interview show Is This Your Life? , made by Open Media for Channel 4 . Although

2961-471: The story, which ultimately served the purpose of saving the madame from any adverse publicity or court case. Clifford came to public attention after creating the infamous "Freddie Starr ate my hamster" headline in 1986 for The Sun in an effort to draw attention to his client, Freddie Starr . In May 2006 the BBC nominated "Freddie Starr ate my hamster" as one of the most familiar British newspaper headlines over

3024-637: The story. Clifford was approached by a brothel madame, who had provided one of Clifford's clients with various services, worried about publicity from an investigative reporter from the News of the World . Clifford asked the madame to reveal details of her girls and clients, and found that one prostitute, Pamella Bordes , was simultaneously dating Andrew Neil (then editor of The Sunday Times ), Donald Trelford (then editor of The Observer ), Conservative minister for sport Colin Moynihan , and billionaire arms dealer Adnan Khashoggi . Clifford rang News of

3087-666: The topic of public disorder. The database appears to be managed by the Metropolitan Police Service and is designated under the National Special Branch Intelligence System (NSBIS). This database was not revealed until October 2009 by the Guardian. Little information is actually known about this database since it is so secretive. The Guardian revealed a series of documents in which information about citizens attending "lawful demonstrations" and gatherings

3150-539: The trial. On 7 November 2014, Clifford's appeal against his eight-year sentence for sex offences was rejected by the Court of Appeal. The court ruled the sentence handed to Clifford earlier that year was "justified and correct." The court compared Clifford's case with that of broadcaster Stuart Hall in 2013; Clifford had clowned and claimed innocence, but did not directly dispute the claims of his victims. In contrast Hall had publicly denounced his victims and accused one of seeking "instant notoriety". A lawyer commented on

3213-471: The unit. In January 2011, it was reported that Mark Kennedy of the Metropolitan Police was one of the first officers to work as an undercover infiltrator for the NPOIU, and had spent seven years within the environmental protest movement. Kennedy later confirmed in an exclusive interview with The Mail on Sunday , arranged through PR agent Max Clifford , that he as Simon Jenkins suspected suffered

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3276-419: Was a factor in the process of the campaign or protest. The intent of the extremist is usually to prevent an event or change a policy. The act will be completely out of the ordinary and may result in civilian casualties or potentially first responder/military casualties. Attacks range from stabbings and shootings to chemical bomb attacks. Extremist attacks are typically meant to pose threats to the public but not on

3339-434: Was actually increased on appeal. It was reported on 12 March 2015 that Clifford had been arrested again by Operation Yewtree police. On 3 July 2015, Clifford was charged with a single count of indecent assault stemming from an alleged incident from 1981. He pleaded not guilty on 20 October, and was cleared by a jury of the charge on 7 July 2016. Before his death, Clifford had won the right to challenge his conviction at

3402-489: Was also a patron of the Royal Marsden ; however, after his conviction, staff at the hospital stated he was no longer a patron. Also, following his 2014 conviction for indecent assault, Shooting Star CHASE and Woking and Sam Beare Hospices announced that Clifford was no longer a patron for either charity. Clifford was arrested at his home on 6 December 2012 by Metropolitan Police officers on suspicion of sexual offences;

3465-536: Was an English publicist who was particularly associated with promoting " kiss and tell " stories in tabloid newspapers . In December 2012, as part of Operation Yewtree , Clifford was arrested on suspicion of sexual offences . He was sentenced to eight years in prison in May 2014 after being found guilty of eight counts of indecent assault on four girls and women aged between 15 and 19. He died in December 2017 after suffering

3528-509: Was by no means invading personal space or property and they had valid reasoning to watch citizens of the United Kingdom. But at the same time these articles discussed the controversy of activists claiming the police were creating excuses to monitor the public. Domestic extremism is used to distinguish individuals who are involved in campaigns or political groups which have a "militant edge" from terrorist groups or organizations, and where crime

3591-633: Was employed as a PA to the London Vice-President of Morgan Guarantee Trust Bank . Clifford left school at 15 with no qualifications, and he was sacked within four months of his first job at Ely's department store in Wimbledon . His brother Bernard used his print union connections to secure Clifford a job as editorial assistant on the Eagle . When the publication moved premises, Clifford decided to take redundancy, buying his first house and finding work with

3654-561: Was estimated that over 9000 members were a part of this unit in 2013. The unit began with the name National Coordinator for Domestic Extremism (NCDE) then was renamed National Domestic Extremism Unit (NDEU). It is now referred to as the National Domestic Extremism and Disorder Intelligence Unit (NDEDIU). The unit was headed by the Detective Chief Superintendent Chris Greany but is now vacant after he

3717-619: Was given the job of promoting the then relatively unknown Beatles , including during their first tour of the United States. After Gillingham left EMI, he asked Clifford to join him at Chris Hutchins 's PR agency. Among the artists they represented were Paul and Barry Ryan , who introduced Clifford to their stepfather, impresario Harold Davidson, who handled the UK affairs of Frank Sinatra and Judy Garland . In 1970, aged 27, and after Gillingham retired, Clifford left Hutchins and started his own agency, Max Clifford Associates. Based in

3780-682: Was granted a decree nisi , subsequently ending her four-year marriage to Clifford. On 18 August 2014, Clifford was allowed out of HM Prison Littlehey , handcuffed to a prison officer, to attend his brother Bernard's funeral at the North East Surrey Crematorium in South West London. This was also to be his last public appearance, three years before his death on 10 December 2017. On 7 December 2017, Clifford collapsed in HM Prison Littlehey after trying to clean his cell. He

3843-657: Was promoted to Commander and then departed in September 2014. Chris Greany is now said to be with the National Police Coordination Centre (NPCC). When the National Domestic Extremism Unit was under the Association of Chief Police Officers it consisted of multiple police units. Some of these units were actually known by the public for their use of force in protests and their deployment and mobilization of undercover police units in activist and political movements throughout Greater London. Some of these units included

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3906-421: Was recorded and documented even though these civilians had nothing to do with extremism attacks. Prior to releasing information about the database, the Guardian had been posting news articles about United Kingdom police forces arresting and detaining protestors for disturbing peaceful protests. This media outlet was also reporting that the police had been claiming that all of the extensive background research they do

3969-457: Was sure Clifford had also assaulted a 12-year-old girl in Spain, although this charge could not be pursued in the British courts. The judge added that if the offences had taken place after the law was changed in 2003 , several of the offences of which Clifford was found guilty would have been tried as rape, which carries a maximum penalty of life imprisonment . One of Clifford's victims explained to

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