An undercover police officer committed arson and criminal damage before masterminding a bomb plot that caused almost £10m worth of damage, a public inquiry has been told.

Bob Lambert infiltrated groups like Greenpeace London, Animal Liberation Front (ALF) and Islington Animal Rights in the 1980s, using the name “Bob Robinson”.

But the Undercover Policing Inquiry – or Spy Cops Inquiry – has heard testimony that Lambert actively suggested, planned and executed a series of dangerous crimes.

He is accused of hatching an ALF plot to plant explosive devices in Debenhams shops in Romford, Harrow and Luton, because the chain sold real fur at the time.

Lambert has previously denied involvement in the 1987 scheme, which led Debenhams to stop selling fur.

Attacks

He has also been accused at the inquiry of carrying out an arson attack in 1986 on a property owned by a director of an Islington animal testing firm called Biorex.

Witness Paul Gravett, formerly of ALF, testified that Lambert told him he had committed the crime.

“He told me he’d gone there with another activist and poured petrol or another flammable liquid through the letterbox,” he told the inquiry.

Mr Gravett said Lambert also told him he had attacked a director’s car with paint stripper.

“I am pretty sure he said that he pretended or was jogging while he did it… because no one suspects a jogger when they are running,” said the witness.

“It was quite clever actually – someone running down the road as a jogger, dressed in shorts, wearing trainers, and he told me he just quickly went past and poured it over the vehicle.”

He testified that Lambert also boasted of damaging windows at a Golders Green McDonald’s with glass etching fluid.

“Lambert was an enthusiast for the use of glass etching fluid,” Mr Gravett told the inquiry.

“Did you buy etching fluid for Bob Lambert?” he was asked.

“I did,” he replied.

Another witness, Gabrielle Bosley, formerly of London Greenpeace, testified that Lambert asked her to buy the fluid for him as well.

The ‘Lookout’

The inquiry also heard from the former ALF activist who allegedly accompanied Lambert on the 1986 arson attack: Geoff Sheppard.

“I was acting as lookout, so I was looking in the other direction, really,” he testified.

“I think for about one second I cast him a quick glance and that was when I saw him – he was at the letterbox shoving something through the letterbox.”

He added: “I was literally a passenger in this whole thing… I was driven there by Lambert in his vehicle, in his van. He knew exactly where he was going. I didn’t know exactly where I was going. All I knew was that I was going to act as his lookout.”

Soon after that attack, said Mr Sheppard, Lambert called a meeting to discuss further “direct action”.

Over 10 to 20 subsequent meetings, the “charismatic” and “forceful” Lambert steered a plot to plant explosive devices in Debenhams stores, he alleged.

“He was definitely pushing the plans forward. But there again, so was I… I was also probably pushing it forward.

“He was definitely very active, pushing things… his temperament was kind of a leader rather than a follower… my feeling is that it would often be Bob who was arranging these meetings.”

Bomb plot

In his witness statement, Mr Sheppard wrote: “Once we had decided to do Debenhams stores, we chose a store each and we went there in advance to check the stores out. Lambert had selected Harrow and I chose Romford.”

Mr Sheppard told the inquiry: “I reported back that there was no fur store in the Romford branch. I was in two minds: Do I carry on with Romford or do I not?

“Bob basically said to me, ‘No, no, it’s – you know, it is a Debenhams store and some Debenhams do have fur departments and therefore it is a legitimate target. And I did accept that what he said was actually correct.”

The incendiary devices, planted in July 1987, caused almost £9million worth of damage to the Luton store, £350,000 in Harrow and £205,000 in Romford.

Mr Sheppard told the inquiry that Lambert had told him he personally planted the Harrow device.

“I remember him saying to me that he had been able to place one of the devices at the Harrow store, but that he hadn’t – he had not been able to place the second device,” he testified.

More from Newsquest on the Spy Cops inquiry:

Mr Gravett, also party to the bomb plot, testified that he felt there was “an element of grooming” by Lambert.

“He brought me along as an activist, increased my confidence a little bit,” he said.

Lambert was undercover for the Metropolitan Police’s Special Demonstration Squad from 1984 to 1989, also infiltrating North London Hunt Saboteurs.

He is due to be questioned at the inquiry in the first week of December.