Activists win right to appeal over undercover police operation

Fears over convictions after CPS inquiry finds lawyer may have withheld information

Details of covert policing operations will be disclosed to defence lawyers in future, after Director of Public Prosecutions Keir Starmer signed a deal with police and invited 29 people convicted over the 2008 Drax Power Station protest to appeal their convictions.

The move comes after a Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) review found that one of its senior lawyers withheld information about former undercover officer Mark Kennedy’s involvement.

Mr Starmer, who said today that he had “real concerns about any prosecutions involving” the officer, ordered police to look into a host of cases involving him in April this year. (more on independent.co.uk)