Surveillance expert ‘unfairly’ refused job at intelligence regulator after MI5 intervened

by Joseph K. Clark

One of the leading experts in UK surveillance law was “unfairly” refused security clearance for a senior role overseeing the intelligence services after MI5 raised “serious reservations” over his former associations with privacy campaigning groups. Eric Kind, a visiting lecturer at Queen Mary University London specializing in criminal justice and surveillance technologies, had been due to become the first head of investigations at the surveillance watchdog, the Investigatory Powers Commissioner’s Office (ICPO).

Kind had high-level support from the ICPO and current and former police and intelligence services members, including David Anderson, the former independent reviewer of terrorism legislation, for the job. But the Home Office reversed a decision to give him security clearance after MI5 raised concerns that his work with non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to reform surveillance meant he was “insufficiently deferential to the sanctity of confidentiality”, it emerged today.

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Judges found on 26 March 2021 that the Home Office had failed to reconsider Kind’s application with an open mind and that the decision not to give security clearance was “effectively prejudged”. The “whole tenor is of a decision-making process which was designed to appear to tick the boxes”, they said in a 20-page ruling.

Call for the independent appeal process.

After the decision, Kind – previously known as Eric King – said he hoped an independent appeals process for those joining oversight bodies would now be implemented. “Robust independent oversight is essential for democracy and trust in the security and intelligence services. It requires a diversity of perspectives and expertise. That can only be achieved through a fair and impartial vetting process, which the court has found was not provided to me,” he said.

Kind was “insufficiently deferential.”

Kind, former director of Don’t Spy On Us – which campaigned for reforms to the UK’s controversial Investigatory Powers Act 2016, known as the “Snoopers’ Charter” – and former deputy director of Privacy International, had been due to become the watchdog’s first head of investigations in 2018. According to the judgment, the Home Office reversed its decision to award Kind developed vetting (DV) security clearance after MI5 wrote to the Ministry of Defence’s vetting unit, raising “strong reservations” about his appointment on national security grounds.

MI5 said it had concerns Kind was “insufficiently deferential to the sanctity of confidentiality and the authority and knowledge of those charged with protecting confidence and the wider public interest”. “He had associated, and may still associate, with individuals whose outlook and approach increases the dangers posed by inadvertent disclosure,” said MI5.

Vetting U-turn

Kind’s vetting officer initially recommended that he be given DV security for the job. He wrote that Kind’s background in “civil liberties culture”, his many friends who pursue civil liberties causes against the government, and his extensive knowledge of surveillance law was “precisely why he has been employed”.

Kind had given “credible reasons” at the interview why he would not disclose details of his work to others. The evidence uncovered in the judgment shows that government vetting officers backtracked following MI5’s intervention. In a phone call, a senior vetting officer told Kind he had no concerns about his honesty during the vetting process. Still, his refusal of security clearance had “much to do with previous work and associations”.

Officials decided to take further representation from Kind, knowing that they had already decided that they would not reinstate his security clearance, the judges found. Government officials wrote: “Our decision will not be received well by ICPO as the subject was targeted for the job because of their background.” Their assessment will require “careful handling” as “it is based on information provided by Thames House [MI5], who IPCO is there to oversee”.

Past links Julian Assange and WikiLeaks

Kind, vetted for the job by UK Security Vetting, then an agent for the Ministry of Defense, disclosed in his vetting form that he had previously spent time with members of WikiLeaks, including founder Julian Assange. He had worked with WikiLeaks on the release of SpyFiles, which disclosed companies unlawfully selling surveillance technologies to repressive countries and had visited him at the Ecuadorian Embassy. “I am unsure whether WikiLeaks’ actions are intended to overthrow or undermine Parliamentary democracy by political, industrial, or violent means. But I can understand why someone might take that view of them. Certainly, at the time, that was not the purpose of spending time with them,” King wrote.

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