The key facts

  • Andrew Coles, 66, worked undercover in the Metropolitan Police's SDS from 1990–1995 under the name Andy Davey
  • Jessica claims he deceived her into a relationship; Coles denies this, the police acknowledged the relationship
  • In 2026, UCPI chairman Sir John Mitting is to decide who is telling the truth

The controversial story of a 'creepy' undercover officer

Andrew Coles, 66, brother of TV presenter the Reverend Richard Coles, lives in Cambridgeshire, sings in a church choir and takes part in local Conservative Party politics. From 1990–1995 he served in Scotland Yard's special unit, the Special Demonstration Squad (SDS), which infiltrated political and protest groups. Under the name Andy Davey, taken from a deceased child, he infiltrated the Animal Liberation Front (ALF) after several of its members were convicted of arson and bombings. Coles tells the BBC that to maintain his legend he broke the law: he used cannabis, threw 'acid' over a butcher's shop window and took part in a raid on a poultry farm.

Jessica's account

In 1991, 19-year-old activist Jessica (a pseudonym, now 54) met Davey. According to her, he was older — not 24 but 32, was married and had children, and was secretly gathering intelligence. She claims he 'groomed' her, slept in her bed several times a week, and calls what happened abuse: 'It was like being raped by the state.' Coles admits he once shared her bed but denies any sexual contact: 'Her story does not correspond to reality,' although under the pressure of evidence he conceded: 'She is very difficult to refute.'

Letters and evidence

Two handwritten letters from 1993, in which Jessica mentions a relationship with 'Andy', play an important role. Coles believes the second letter is a later forgery, pointing to different handwriting. Jessica showed the BBC other letters from the same period, also written in different handwriting, explaining this by her mood. Forensic graphologist Kate Barr told the BBC that Jessica's handwriting 'varied', and it is possible both letters were written at roughly the same time. Three witnesses claimed they saw intimacy between Coles and Jessica; he calls their accounts 'completely fabricated'.

The inquiry and consequences

Coles was unexpectedly exposed by his brother in a 2014 autobiography; in 2018 his identity as operative HN2 was confirmed under the Undercover Policing Inquiry (UCPI), launched by Theresa May in 2015. In 2017 the police investigated the alleged relationship — no charges were brought, but it was reported that he would have faced a gross misconduct hearing had he not resigned (he left the police in 2012). Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley wrote that the MPS acknowledged Coles's relationship with Jessica and was 'disappointed that he did not tell the truth to the inquiry'. Coles calls the campaign against him 'retribution, plain and simple'. After being exposed, he lost a Peterborough council election in 2024 and twice stood unsuccessfully again.

Leadership and apologies

In 1995 Coles wrote a 'Tradecraft Manual' for officers with a section 'Sexual Liaisons', in which he advised that when relationships with activists became inevitable ('weary'), one should aim for 'fleeting, failed relationships'. He denies encouraging sexual relationships and claims he does not remember writing the heading. According to the group Police Spies Out of Lives, undercover officers deceived more than 60 women; Jessica and eight other women received official apologies and a share of multi-million-pound compensation.

What next

The UCPI is behind schedule and has no end date. Next year, outgoing chairman Sir John Mitting is expected to rule on who is telling the truth — Coles or Jessica. She continues her campaign: 'People need to know, and I don't want him to do this to anyone else.' Coles, for his part, states: 'I don't think about her. That's my distant past, it has no bearing on today.'

A head and shoulders shot of Andrew Coles sat on a chair in his living room. He is wearing spectacles, a shirt and a blue jacket. He has a bald head and greying hair.
Image caption,

Andrew Coles says a campaign against him is

A head and shoulders photo of Kemi Badenoch who stands on the left wearing thick-rimmed glasses, beside Andrew Coles in a green turtle neck jumper.Image source, X.COM
Image caption,

Andrew Coles, pictured with Tory leader Kemi Badenoch, is a former councillor and president of Peterborough Conservative Association

An image of Andrew Coles in a blue knitted jumper, round-rimmed spectacles, a black beanie hat and beard. A woman in the foreground has been blurred out to protect her identity.Image source, Noor Admani/ARROW
Image caption,

Coles posed as an animal rights activist in the early 1990s in order to infiltrate the Animal Liberation Front

An image showing Andrew Coles and Jessica with their backs to the camera. Both are wearing boots and trousers. They are standing in a farmer's field along with some 20 or so other activists and two police officers wearing motorcycle helmets.
Image caption,

The only known image of Coles and Jessica (foreground, left) shows them with the Brixton Hunt Saboteurs in 1992

A black and white image from the inside of a laying hen unit. Two people are standing on the slatted floor in the middle. One is leaning over. The other, Jessica, is wearing a balaclava and clutching a chicken to her chest.Image source, Andrew Coles
Image caption,

Andrew Coles took this photograph of Jessica (left) during the raid on Hookley Farm in Elstead, Surrey, in June 1992

Jessica is kneeling down behind some sun loungers stroking a black dog behind a wire fence. She is wearing blue jeans and a white jumper. The profile is blurred out.
Image caption,

Jessica wrote to her best friend from France in 1993

A composite image showing extracts of two letters. The first is written in a large, slightly messy hand. The second is written in a neat, joined up cursive.Image source, Undercover Policing Inquiry
Image caption,

Jessica wrote two letters in different hands, which allude to her relationship with Andrew Coles

Andrew Coles, wearing a dark suit and tie, holds a Bible in his right hand and is presented with the oath on a piece of paper by the court usherImage source, Undercover Policing Inquiry
Image caption,

Coles swore on a Bible at the inquiry to tell the truth

A rear side profile of Andrew Coles head. He has a short beard and is wearing round-rimmed spectacles. His long hair is tied back in a ponytail.
Image caption,

Coles, pictured in his undercover days, wrote a manual for other officers involved in spying

A head and shoulders image of Reverend Richard Coles who is wearing spectacles and a black suit with a clerical collar. He is standing in front of a backdrop with the Strictly Come Dancing logo and glitterballs.Image source, Matt Crosswick/PA Wire
Image caption,

The Reverend Richard Coles outed his brother as an undercover officer in his autobiography

Jessica is wearing a grey cap, with a scarf pulled over her nose, obscuring the lower part of her face. The exposed part of her face is blurred. She is wearing a red and white checked shirt. She is holding a guinea pig in her left hand and feeding it some lettuce from her right.Image source, Acacia Redding/BBC
Image caption,

Jessica now fosters guinea pigs

It is nighttime and Jessica is wearing a cap and a red scarf across her face. She is standing on the pavement holding a bunch of leaflets.Image source, Dorothy Allen Pickard
Image caption,

Jessica was pictured handing out leaflets outside Peterborough Town Hall in 2024

A picture of Coles in a beanie hat is projected on to the central tower of the High Court building alongside a strip of blue and white police tape withImage source, Police Spies Out of Lives
Image caption,

In 2020 a campaign group projected images of Coles and other undercover police officers on to the High Court in London

Jessica is wearing a white shirt and cap and is walking through the large security gates in front of the Houses of Parliament flanked by two police officers.
Image caption,

In July, Jessica was invited to the House of Lords for the reading of a bill that would make it illegal for covert operatives to have sexual relationships while deployed

Man in dark jacket and tie gives evidenceJean Charles de Menezes smiles at the camera in the sunshine. He has short brown hair and is wearing a pale sleeveless top.Five men flanked by police officers holding back an angry crowd leave the Stephen Lawrence inquiry in 1998