The Spies Who Ruined Our Lives

For over 40 years, 140 undercover investigators spied on activists and collected confidential information about their political activities. In total, they infiltrated over 1000 groups. They stole the identities of deceased children to create new identities for themselves. They used the new identities to establish relationships with women, to have sex with them and in some cases they even fathered children with them. Once they had what they wanted, they dropped the women and disappeared without a trace. The women only found out the truth decades later.
"They believed - and probably still believe - that if you hold certain ideals and views, you should be spied on. That's straight out of George Orwell. That's straight out of 20th century totalitarianism. The British have never been caught out with this before, but they're doing exactly the same thing."
When their activities were uncovered, the government took no immediate action but ordered an investigation to be held in private. The true identities of the informers were to be covered up and kept secret. The women had no idea that they were entering into relationships with men who were working as police informers. Some of the undercover agents entered into relationships with more than one woman during their undercover missions. The women involved decided it was time to fight back.
"If I had known at the time that he was an undercover officer, it would have had a devastating effect on me and I would have seen it as rape. He was wearing a mask. I didn't know who he was. I would not have consented to sex with this man. So in that sense it wasn't consensual. It's state-sanctioned rape."
"The spies who ruined our lives" is a documentary produced, directed and edited by Justyn Jones and Madoc Roberts, with Jason Kirkpatrick as co-producer. The film aims to raise awareness of the British "Spycops" scandal and provide a comprehensive historical perspective on it. (Jones & Roberts, UK 2024 - FSK 18 - OmdU)
More information: https://www.spieswhoruinedourlives.com/
Vimeo trailer: https://vimeo.com/907825485
We are showing the film in the original language in English with German subtitles.
Content warning: Depiction of sexualized violence, as well as experiences of discrimination and oppression.