A Debenhams store

A lecturer at the University of St Andrews has been accused of planting a firebomb in a Debenhams department while carrying out undercover police work in the 1980s. Kirsty Paton reports for St Andrew’s The Saint:

St Andrews lecturer, Dr Robert Lambert, has been accused of planting a firebomb in a department store to “bolster” his credibility.

Caroline Lucas, MP for Brighton Pavillion, accused him of planting the bomb in the Debenhams Harrow store in 1987, left, as part of his undercover police work between 1980 and 2006.

Ms Lucas’ claims follow The Saint’s report last October that Dr Lambert had infiltrated various environmental and social justice groups, posing as a peace activist. Ms Lucas alleged that Dr Lambert had been involved in a coordinated attack on three London department stores by the Animal Liberation Front.

Dr Robert Lambert

Dr Lambert had originally provided the evidence that led to the conviction of two men responsible for the attacks, which resulted in £340 000 worth of damage.

In an interview with the Guardian, Dr Lambert denied the allegations: “I did not commit serious crime such as ‘planting an incendiary device at the [Debenhams] Harrow store,’” he said.

He defended his strong association with the activist group, saying: “It was necessary to create the false impression that I was a committed animal rights extremist to gain intelligence so as to disrupt serious criminal conspiracies.”

Full article here.