Free Undercover: The True Story of Britain's Secret Police by Paul Lewis, Rob Evans Page A

United States. Law enforcement on both sides of the Atlantic believed they had been caught off guard by the attacks and there was a major shake-up of counter -terrorism policing.
    Lambert claimed to believe that the ‘war on terror’ developed by US president George Bush, and supported by Tony Blair, was a misguided approach. He publicly advocated that police should develop an outreach approach, engaging with Muslim groups to isolate the more fundamentalist elements that advocated terrorism.
    He and two other former SDS spies were given the resources to set up the Muslim Contact Unit, which was ostensibly designed to build relations with Islamic groups in London. Lambert ran the unit between 2002 and 2007, publicly arguing that policing of Muslim communities should be based on trust, transparency and voluntary civic duty. He claimed to want to empower Muslims and reduce the influence of al-Qaida propagandists in mosques.
    It was a decidedly liberal position for Lambert to take, and a far cry from the culture of intrusive surveillance he had perfected during his many years in the SDS. Indeed, some have asked whether the Muslim Contact Unit was in fact a front for a more sinister intelligence-gathering exercise – an accusation Lambert denies.
    After his retirement from Special Branch, Lambert made an extraordinary decision that would sow the seeds of his downfall. For many years he impressed on his men that discretion was absolutely key to intelligence work. Under Lambert, SDS officers were reminded of the importance of keeping a low profile, even years after their deployment had ended. Lambert made clear this was an obligation for all of his men. He wrote in one Special Branch document that the continuation of cover, even after a deployment is completed, was ‘the golden rule’ of SDS tradecraft.
    The message, in Lambert’s words, was clear: SDS officers had to ‘maintain cover in all situations and at all costs, and later, when returned to normal duties, do nothing to compromise the integrity of the operation’.
    It was with some astonishment then that fellow SDS officers noticed Lambert take on such a public profile after leaving the Met police. It was as though he could not help shuffling himself into the limelight. Building on his professed theories about the policing of Muslim communities, Lambert became an academic. He took on postings at St Andrews and Exeter universities. He became a regular fixture on the speakers’ circuit, giving passionate talks at conferences. He even appeared on television.
    Lambert grew into his latest incarnation as a progressive academic. He now had a grey beard and liked to wear jackets with a shirt and no tie. He spoke at public rallies, joining campaigns against racism and Islamophobia. It was like a small part of him was becoming Bob Robinson again.
    Of course Lambert never concealed the fact he was a former detective inspector from Special Branch. His policing career provided him a certain cachet. Lambert wrote a book,
Countering Al-Qaeda in London
, which airbrushed his SDS years from his long career as a police officer. He began touring the country to promote his book. He was becoming a public face.
    Lambert’s golden rule about never compromising the integrity of the SDS, repeated to spies over the years like a mantra, was going out the window as he basked in the attention of his newfound career as an academic.
    Every time he made a public appearance, the veteran spy was playing with fire. Many SDS officers had murky secrets they hoped would never see the light of day. But few had as many skeletons in the cupboard as Lambert.
    *
    Almost a quarter of a century after Bob Robinson disappeared, pretending he was going on the run to Spain, Charlotte had moved on in life. Her son was now a strapping 25-year-old man. She was proud of what he had achieved, despite his difficult childhood. After those postcards, Lambert had ceased contact altogether. There were not even any child