Profile: undercover officer Jim Boyling

The few details known about Jim Boyling provide an intriguing insight into the lives and actions of undercover officers.

Boyling, now believed to be with the Met's counter-terrorism unit, spent five years undercover with environmental activists from 1995 to 2000.

Using the name Jim Sutton, or "Jim the Van", he infiltrated direct action group Reclaim the Streets.

In 1996 he took part in an occupation of the headquarters of London Transport which resulted in his prosecution under the name Jim Sutton.

By 1999 he was involved in organising the Carnival Against Capitalism, one of the major anti-capitalist demonstrations of the past two decades.

That year he met fellow activist Laura and the couple fell in love. In a recent interview she said they moved into a flat in East Dulwich in February 2000. But Boyling's moods grew erratic and he left in September 2000.

After a year Laura tracked him to Kingston. They began a relationship again and Laura became pregnant. By now, Boyling had admitted he was a policeman but refused to leave the force. The couple married in 2005 and had two children but divorced two years ago.

According to Laura: "Jim complained one day that his superiors said there was to be no more sexual relations with activists any more - the implicit suggestion was that they were fully aware of this before.

"He was scoffing at it, saying it was impossible not to expect people to have sexual relations. He said people going in had 'needs' and I felt insulted. He also claimed it was a necessary tool in maintaining cover."