Police paid protester to 'spy'
Updated on 25 April 2009
Strathclyde police offered a protester tens of thousands of pounds to become an informant.
They wanted her to spy on fellow protesters and were prepared to pay for information, claims Tilly Gifford, an anti-aviation activist, who has apparently recorded two undercover officers from Strathclyde police offering her money.
The force has defended its actions, saying it had a duty to gather intelligence.
But in the wake of the G20 demonstrations and the pre-emptive arrest of activists targeting a power station, it has rekindled arguments about the policing of protest groups.
