For those of you who missed 'the ABC Secrecy trial  40 years on' event you can listen to the event podcast here and also read more about the background to the ABC trial in Duncan Campbell's interview with The Bristol Cable - click here to read.

Thanks again for those who joined us and donated to the ABC 40 years on event and are pleased to report that we have raised over £1,400 with donations still coming in!

We also have video from the event on vimeo - Part 1 here and Part 2 here 

Friday 3rd November 2017                                                          
Arnolfini, Bristol                                                                         
7.00 - 9.00pm (Networking & Drinks from 6.00pm)

Every post-war generation has had its own whistleblower who has tried to expose the extent to which governments monitor public communications. For the 1970s it was the ABC trial. This shone a light on the darker corners of state surveillance and sparked a ferocious attempt by the government to criminalise journalists. At this special event, hear from those involved and the contemporary relevance in our post-Snowden world. This unique panel discussion will look at the events from those involved and consider how much has really changed and the threats to journalists and whistleblowers today.

Background to the Event
This event marks 40 years since the joint arrests of Crispin Aubrey, John Berry and Duncan Campbell. In the early seventies, Crispin Aubrey became a leading figure in the campaign to prevent the government deporting two Americans on national security grounds  - former CIA case officer Philip Agee and Time Out journalist Mark Hosenball - after Phillip Agee had exposed CIA malpractices and Hosenball and Duncan Campbell co-wrote the first ever article on the GCHQ intelligence agency. Then, whilst researching an article for Time Out to expose British government secrets, he was arrested with Duncan Campbell under the Official Secrets Act for receiving classified information from John Berry, a former signals intelligence operator. 

Crispin Aubrey, John Berry and Duncan Campbell appeared in court in what was known as the ABC trial (an acronym of their surnames). The ABC case attracted huge public interest as the government mounted a prosecution by turns farcical and ferocious. The case became notorious for a number of reasons, including jury vetting after the defence discovered that the jury foreman was a former SAS officer and that two other jurors had signed the official secrets act, as well as the prosecution of journalists under section 1 of the Official Secrets Act. The trial revealed much about government surveillance and also the lengths it would go to keep its activities secret. Following the trial, Crispin wrote the book Who’s Watching You: Britain's Security Service and the Official Secrets Act (1981).

In 2012, Crispin Aubrey sadly passed away and this event has been organised by his family as part of the Crispin Aubrey Legacy Fund set up to support aspiring journalists and in conjunction with the University of West of England's Film and Journalism Department and Bristol Festival of Ideas.

Event Format 

18.00 - 19.00      Drinks and networking

19.00                   Opening address from the Crispin Aubrey Legacy Fund
 
19.10                    Panel Discussion One : Reflections from the trial and campaign
                             Chaired by Andrew Kelly, Bristol Festival of Ideas     
                             ABC defendant, John Berry
                             Sue Aubrey, wife of ABC defendant, Crispin Aubrey

20.00                 Panel Discussion Two: Lessons from the trial and legacy today 
                            ABC campaigner and Statewatch Director Tony Bunyan
                            Sarah Kavanagh, NUJ Senior Campaigns and communications officer 
                            ABC defendant, Duncan Campbell

Entry - to register for the event please click here. There is a suggested £5 donation (to be paid on the door) to the Crispin Aubrey Legacy Fund.

@CrispinLegacy #ABC40

​For more information about the trial and this event download the background reading material below. 

​As my friends and family know, I have always been extremely career driven. At the tender age of ten I was ordering every university in the county’s prospectus’ to my family home, dreaming of a successful career. After completing an eye-opening internship in my first year, I was determined to get more experience under my belt.

Whilst I am terribly lucky to have had such a worthwhile first internship at an amazing beauty and lifestyle agency, and forever grateful, it really put my aspirations into perspective. I learnt I wanted to develop a career in a cause more worthwhile of my time; the environment. Luckily for me, I learnt of a volunteering opportunity going in the Soil Association’s press office from a fellow student. A few phone calls and emails later, and it was in the bag. With this week being my last, I have recognised considerable differences in myself – as a student and as a person.

My first day started with a surprising lie-in in comparison to my university wake-up call, with still enough time to avoid having to frantically run to catch the bus. Arriving five minutes earlier than told, I was keen to make a good first impression on team – and I think it worked. Despite one of the press office managers telling me they were juggling a few volunteers over April, I was the only one in that day which made it slightly less daunting. After being introduced to the team, greeted with a bar of Green & Blacks and briefed on the all things organic, I got cracking with measuring the organisations coverage for the day and distributing it out to the necessary teams. Whilst I knew measuring coverage was the backbone of public relations, it was interesting to be able to use new tools I had not been exposed to before in a real-life situation. After refueling on a Bearrito, I focused on the creative side of press office duties, summarising some key organic and environmental stories for their weekly newsletter before returning home.

In my first week, I expressed my eagerness to be part of some pitching as this is one practical element of PR that we don’t experience at university. As this is quite an important task, I didn’t think I would be allowed to phone journalists so soon into my time with the Soil Association, but the team were very encouraging for me to get involved. So much so that they thought it would be an insightful for me to follow a story from searching for relevant contacts, to writing the press release, to getting it published. Whilst the local story was far from going global, I was over the moon when my journalist phone conversation led to the story becoming a nib in local London paper. Whilst I had heard about the rush practitioners get, it was hard to relate from the 4 corners of a classroom, however, the press office was just as proud as I was of my mini accomplishment.

My third week happened to be the week before the launch of the Soil Associations latest greenwashing within the beauty industry campaign, and the whole press office seemed to be in overdrive. Amongst my usual routine of measuring coverage and writing about important news stories for their weekly Organic News, I was asked to help compile a list of all the press contacts we could pitch to on the day of the launch. Whilst this job doesn’t sound super exciting, I quite enjoyed searching for important media contacts knowing that on launch day, I could be pitching to any one of them.

And finally, Campaign for Clarity’s launch day was finally here. It was far less hectic than I originally anticipated, and after an informal meeting with the team, my anxiety was put at ease. Armed with all the information I could possibly need and some Pukka mint tea (a bonus of working for an organic NGO I will miss terribly), I was ready to get pitching to the mass media. And it didn’t go too badly either. There were some curve-ball questions thrown at me, and some uninterested receptionists, but other than that the experience was positive and thrilling.

Rhys Buchanan was awarded a CALF scholarship in 2015, he has a background in music journalism and is passionate about fighting climate change. Rhys has been mentored by the Guardian's Online Environment editor Adam Vaughan and through the support of the fund has established his own online E-zine called The Know, which brings together is passion for social issues together with his love of music. Here Rhys tells you about The Know...

The concept 

The concept behind the already growing website is to act as a platform for musicians in Bristol and Portland to gain exposure internationally. I feel it’s important for the site to use it’s growing following to discuss important issues such as the struggle of local music venues as well as wider ethical and global issues. Why Bristol and Portland? Both cities are forward thinking in terms of their political values, creative and collaborative scenes and have a focus away from major destinations such as London and New York. It offers us a quirky and unusual base to start from.

The benefits 

It offers us a starting point in two locations which means we have a much bigger reach from the get go. Subsequently this means we can access larger artists and musicians for interviews. (For example a band might be big in England but still emerging in the USA) so we could use tours to get access to them.  It offers us a starting point in two locations which means we have a much bigger reach from the get go. Subsequently this means we can access larger artists and musicians for interviews. (For example a band might be big in England but still emerging in the USA) so we could use tours to get access to them. 
The reaction 
This has already been received very well amongst both scenes and with PR companies. I’ve spoken to The Bristol Post and student radio about it. We’ve had a stage at local festival Dot To Dot Bristol and acted as a judge for Glastonbury Festival Emerging Talent Competition. 
We’re growing at a fast rate and feel a print issue would be a key way in making The Know sustainable going forward through advertising. The first print issue would primarily be distributed in key cultural hubs across Bristol and some in Portland. There is the need to go large to attract advertisers so I feel like a goal of 5000 copies is important to reach. To fund this amount of 32 page magazines will cost approximately £800 through Mixam. I feel that the scholarship would really help achieve this but we could also get some advertising revenue which would lower the cost. 
The Crispin Aubrey Legacy Funding toward the website have been invaluable. It’s given it a professional appearance and enabled me to move it away from being a Wordpress blog to something with hosting and it’s own URL. This was vital to be taken seriously by PR companies and future advertisers. Read The Know Magazine.

​The rain held off to allow for a fourth successful Crispin Aubrey Legacy Fund walk to take place in Hackney on Saturday 1st October 2016.
 
The walk took in cultural and political sights of Hackney plotting some of Crispin’s experiences of living in the East End in the 1970s. The walk began in London Fields with a nod to Martin Amis and an appreciation of the Hothouse - built as a creative hub to nurture local creative talent (against the backdrop of high rise luxury flats) by Free Form Arts Trust, a community-led arts and regeneration organisation and contemporaries of Crispin.
 
The walk continued with further stops at Broadway Books, which provided an opportunity to hear about Crispin’s work developing Hackney People’s Press. A pause at Elizabeth Fry’s house in Mare Street to hear about her work in prison reform for women prisoners and a stop at Hackney Town Hall to hear about Crispin’s involvement in the ABC Trials from John Berry a formal corporal in signals intelligence that was interviewed by Crispin in the 1970s while working in Time Out that led to his later prosecution under the Official Secrets Act.
 
We would like to say a special thanks to all who joined and sent donations, we raised over £700 to support our scholarship programme. If you are interested in finding out about future events, please contact info@crispinaubrey.org

Thanks to everyone who joined us or sent donations for our annual Crispin Aubrey Legacy Walk in Hackney yesterday. It was a fascinating and inspiring day and wonderful to reconnect with friends and supporters. More on the blog about the event soon.