A notorious former MI5 informant linked to a series of terrorist murders is working for far-right activist Tommy Robinson to spy on his opponents, including some of the UK’s most prominent anti-fascists, a new book claims.
Peter Keeley, who operated as a mole in the IRA for the UK security services under the name Kevin Fulton, has been working for the former leader of the English Defence League as “surveillance officer” since 2020, covertly following and recording people of interest, including Nick Lowles, chief executive of anti-fascist campaign group Hope not Hate.
In June, Keeley was with Robinson – real name Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, who has convictions for fraud, assault, stalking, using threatening behaviour and contempt of court – when they confronted Lowles outside his house.
“Keeley spent days watching my house and filming our movements,” said Lowles. “He would park up in the roads around my house, filming me with a camera hidden in a coffee cup that was sitting on his dashboard. There were times when he tried to follow me on foot as well.”
Under the Fulton pseudonym, Keeley spent more than a decade inside the IRA for British intelligence, first as a bomb maker and then as part of its infamous internal security team, rising through the terrorist group ranks to become one of MI5’s most important informants within the paramilitary organisation.
He was lauded as a hero by some when his role was finally revealed, but it was not without controversy. Keeley has subsequently admitted he targeted and bombed for the cause, allegedly often with the prior knowledge of his British handlers.
In his new book, Tommy, which is published this Monday, Lowles reveals that in early 2020, Keeley became part of Robinson’s team, gathering information against alleged child sex offenders in Telford, Shropshire.
Keeley’s apparent role was to conduct surveillance, according to the book, often using a white van, which was kitted out with darkened windows, curtains and numerous camera and video mounts. Sources close to Robinson told Lowles that these included a camera in an adapted coffee cup, which he would leave on his dashboard.
However, when targeting Lowles alleges that Robinson and Keeley opted for more direct tactics: they challenged him outside his house.
“The confrontation went on for 35 minutes. Lennon [Robinson] was shouting questions at me, filming with his phone. Keeley initially stood behind filming on a video camera, before returning to his vehicle and following from a close distance as I tried to walk off down the street.”
It is not known whether Keeley has a contract to work for Robinson, or if he has been paid.
In Keeley’s autobiography, Double Agent, a foreword by a former special forces soldier says: “Kevin Fulton was a British agent actively encouraged to take part in operations that were immoral and illegal. In effect, he was handed a licence to kill by British military intelligence, through its secret wing, the force research unit (FRU).
“Be under no illusion that Fulton took part in operations that resulted in murders, with the full knowledge of the FRU. His police handlers knew it. His military handlers knew it. The British state knew it. And later, so did the families of his victims.”
Lowles said: “The idea that a former IRA bomb maker and someone involved in the deaths of several people, has been sitting outside my house for Lennon is deeply unsettling.”
He also called for the government to reconsider any deal to provide housing for the former secret agent.
“There are huge questions outstanding over Keeley’s past and even current connections to the security services and what his handlers knew about his illegal activities.”
During his time inside the IRA, Keeley operated predominantly inside its South Down brigade, as well as concentrating on the intense IRA activity in South Armagh.
The former British spy is currently facing up to 25 lawsuits in connection with a series of paramilitary murders and attacks, which, if they come to court, threaten to blow the lid on exactly what the British government knew in advance about his illegal activities.
In his autobiography, Keeley claims to have passed on information about a planned attack while meeting his MI5 handlers in London. Keeley has never been charged with any offences related to the attack.
The Observer made numerous attempts to contact Keeley but he did not respond.
• This article was amended on 17 November 2022. An earlier version referred to a former soldier, Richard Inman, said to be involved in the project to gather information on alleged child sex offenders in Telford. The article said Mr Inman had allegedly been a member of “a special unit in Northern Ireland”. To clarify: while in the army, Mr Inman worked in a specialist bomb disposal and search regiment (the 33 Engineer Regiment) deployed in Northern Ireland. We regret any concern caused to Mr Inman by the original phrasing regarding his service in Northern Ireland.
