COPS THAT INSPIRED BBC TV HIT...
IN BBC show Undercover, Adrian Lester is Nick, a former undercover cop who was involved in infiltrating an anti-racist organisation. He falls in love with Maya, a young activist played by Sophie Okonedo, who marries him and becomes a senior lawyer. His past catches up with him when she starts to dig into the murder of one her friends. Writer Peter Moffat was reportedly inspired by real-life revelations about British police officers who formed long-term relationships with activists, plus the Metropolitan Police’s secret surveillance of the family of murdered teen Stephen Lawrence. port his family through crime. I didn’t have a problem with that.
“It was his choice, he knew the potential consequences of his actions. And he would have to live with them.
“At the time he was about to be nicked, his wife was expecting a baby and the fact was Ray’s son or daughter would be born while he was in prison.
“His wife would have to fend for herself and her life would be unrecognisable overnight. Ray was my pal and him being in this position was my fault. I was ruin-
ing lives by doing my job well. At that moment, I wished I hadn’t done such a good job and wondered if I could somehow warn him what was coming.
“But I knew that I couldn’t and I wouldn’t.”
Regrets
Ray was jailed for more than ten years for drugs offences.
Joe says one of his regrets is that some jobs were cancelled too soon because the police forces were only interested in crime on their own patch.
He said: “As soon as the job reduced crime figures locally and the spend on it could be justified, they were closed and we missed out on getting the really big boys.”
For 20 of his 30 years in the police force, Joe lived a double life in which he wasas a drug dealer and a gangsterster at work then went nt home to his wifefe Sarah and their r family.
Ultimately, his work took over and he paid the e price when hisis marriage to Sarahrah broke down.
He said: “My wifefe is a lovely woman who never did anything wrong in her life. I got my work/ life balance wrong because I loved what I was doing and didn’t do the right thing at home. “I never spoke to her about what I did with work. I couldn’t.” Joe sa said Sarah is not read thet book but he hopeshop she one day does,do so that she getsg an idea of what he was up to all t hose monthsm and years when he was gone. Today, having retired,retir he admits his book has not gone down well with former colleagues. Joe said: “The phone has stopped ringing, as some of them think I am breaking a code by writing about what I did.
“I’ve been very careful not to give away any of our techniques as the last thing I want to do is help criminals.
“All I’ve ever wanted to do was put bad men behind bars – the badder the better.”