Woman deceived by spy cop sees relationship as rape, inquiry hears

An undercover police officer has been accused of lying to a public inquiry by a woman who said that he deceived her into a sexual relationship that she regards as rape.

The woman, known only as Madeleine, told the inquiry that the police spy, Vince Miller, deceived her into a sexual relationship that lasted a couple of months. He has claimed that they had a sexual encounter that lasted one night.

Madeleine said he started the relationship with her at a time when she was “fragile and vulnerable” after the end of an abusive marriage.

She said she regarded her relationship with Miller as rape. She added that she had trusted him but he had betrayed her.

She is the first woman who was deceived into forming a sexual relationship with an undercover officer to be questioned in a public hearing at the inquiry.

A retired judge, Sir John Mitting, is heading the inquiry that is looking at the conduct of around 139 undercover officers who spied on more than 1,000 political groups since 1968.

Miller infiltrated the leftwing group, the Socialist Workers party, between 1976 and 1979. He has previously told the inquiry that he had “one night stands” with four women during his deployment.

On Monday, Madeleine told the inquiry: “Vince Miller’s account of the nature of the relationship he had with me is untrue and there is no possible justification for it ever having taken place.”

Madeleine said that she would have been devastated if she had discovered the truth about him at the time. “I trusted him … it would have been an absolute betrayal … I know that I would have regarded, as I do regard it now, as rape”.

She met Miller in 1977 when he started attending meetings of the SWP branch in east London that she belonged to.

Her marriage to a “controlling and possessive” man ended in 1978, leaving her “utterly devastated”.

“At that time in my life I was very shy and reserved. I was also quite vulnerable as a result of my marriage ending, and initially I was wary of jumping into a new relationship. I now think Vince probably saw me as easy pickings,” she added.

Her relationship with Miller occurred in 1979. “As we spent more time together, I began to open up to him, and my feelings grew. We got on really well and I liked him very much. The relationship seemed to hold out promise.”

“After the first night we spent together, he would never stay the whole night, saying he had to wake up in own bed. He said that this was because being too close to me made him feel vulnerable and that he had to protect himself. He never invited me to stay at his and I don’t think he told me where he lived.” A friend’s diary from the time noted their relationship.

In September 1979, their relationship ended when Miller claimed he was unable to get too close to her and was thinking of “escaping to west California to find himself”. He then disappeared completely.

Documents disclosed to the inquiry show that the undercover police had recorded in 1976 that Madeleine had got married. Reports from the late 1970s also noted that she had got work in a school and later as a bus conductor, along with her physical description and her home address.

The inquiry continues on Tuesday when Miller is due to give evidence.