Brit paper in ’66 outed Scientology spy ops that spookily anticipate Leah Remini’s case
One reason why Leah Remini’s lawsuit is so important is that it is taking head-on the practice by Scientology to stalk, smear, and in general retaliate against people it considers its enemies with the use of private investigators.
Her legal team has already expended considerable energy not only providing examples of these “Fair Game” practices by the church in Leah’s case, but they’ve also been putting it in context of how this kind of smeary activity is baked into Scientology’s DNA and was put there by its founder, L. Ron Hubbard.
So when our helper who dives into newspaper archives found this gem for us from a 1966 issue of The People, which so skillfully exposes these practices years before the Snow White Program and the ensuing FBI raid of 1977 made them more widely known, we immediately thought about how well it bolsters what Leah is saying in court right now.
This is a remarkable piece by Derek Ive, a celebrated foreign correspondent who died in January at the age of 84, Read this excellent remembrance of this brave man who was so far ahead of his time as far as uncovering L. Ron Hubbard’s mob-like activities.
Can you imagine the American press today speaking this plainly about what Hubbard’s successors are doing to Leah Remini at this very moment?
One man Britain can do without…
(The People, Sunday, March 20, 1966)
Behind the elegant walls of a country mansion in Sussex, a nasty enterprise is being directed by the head of a strange American cult.
It is an evil plan which will offend every fair-minded citizen in this country.
The man is Lafayette Ron Hubbard, an American, and head of a pseudo-psychological movement called Scientology, which he brought to Britain 15 years ago.
And his latest scheme is the setting up of an investigation team to spy on people and compile dossiers on their activities.
It is a project loaded with venom.
Anyone who dares to express doubts about Mr. Hubbard’s organization runs the risk of having his private life investigated — presumably in the hope that some unsavory details may be revealed.
Towards this end, Mr. Hubbard has recruited a team of three investigators to carry out his spy work.
They are paid up to £35 a week and they are given the use of a car.
Mr. Hubbard is prepared to spend £300 a week on his team of spies, who have been given the James Bond-style code name of Div. 1 Section 5.
Hubbard got his investigators by advertising in the “Daily Telegraph.”
The first man to answer the advertisement was Mr. Vic Filson, an experienced private investigator.
SHOCK
He went to the headquarters of the movement, Saint Hill Manor, near East Grinstead, and there met Mr. Anthony Phillips, an official of the organization.
Mr. Filson had a shock when he was invited to take an “E-Meter” test.
It is an electronic device, working on the lie detector principle, used in the scientology movement to assess the subject’s emotional state.
Mr. Filson held two “tins,” one in each hand, and a series of questions were fired at him. A girl took readings from a meter to record his reactions. Mr. Filson, who left the organisation after a week, said:
“There was one ‘shock’ question they kept asking — ‘Who sent you here to spy on us?’
“I insisted I had seen the advertisement in the ‘Daily Telegraph’ and that was the only reason for my presence.
“I seemed to have passed all right, and I was taken back to Phillips.”
Mr. Filson went on: “Phillips told me dossiers were to be built up on special subjects. But the truth didn’t really dawn until I got a memorandum from Hubbard himself.
“It was horrifying. It was a set of instructions to investigate the activities of psychiatrists in Britain and to prepare a dossier on each.
“And I was told that the first victim who was to be investigated was Lord Balniel, chairman of the National Association for Mental Health.”
How had Lord Balniel, M.P. for Hertford, offended?
Last month he asked Mr. Kenneth Robinson, Minister of Health, to investigate scientology.
“There is a determined effort to smear Lord Balniel through this new investigation bureau,” said Mr. Filson.
In my file at the “People” office, I have the instructions Hubbard has issued to “Div. 1, Section 5.”
DOUBTS
This particular document singles out psychiatrists as the first object of investigation, because psychiatrists have frequently expressed doubts about scientology.
It reads: “A psychiatrist today has the power to take a fancy to a woman, drug or shock her into temporary insanity, use her sexually, sterilise her to prevent conception, kill her by a brain operation to prevent disclosure.
“Psychiatrists violently attack not only persons but groups such as ours. And they have very dirty hands.
“We want at least one bad mark on every psychiatrist in England, a murder, an assault, or a rape or more than one.
“This is Project Psychiatry. We will remove them.”
Violent words. Dangerous words. But, on the orders of the man who wore them, eminent doctors and men like Lord Balniel — men of the highest probity — will have Mr. Hubbard’s spies put on to them.
Lord Balniel told me: “I know quite a bit about what is going on in Mr. Hubbard’s organisation. But I do not intend to take any action until after the Election.”
My hopes of tackling Mr. Hubbard on his activities were dashed when I visited the headquarters. I was told he was in the Canary Islands.
Instead I saw Mr. Reg Sharpe, Mr. Hubbard’s personal assistant. He said: “We can investigate whom we like. There is no law against it.”
He became extremely angry when I told him I had the confidential instructions issued by Hubbard.
As I left, he shouted: “We will defeat all our enemies. Scientology is the truth.”
Well, Mr. Sharpe is entitled to his opinion. Men who oppose scientology are similarly entitled to express their views — without becoming the victims of a vicious smear campaign.
Mr. Hubbard would do this country a favour if he decided never to come back here again. He is one man we can afford to do without.
— Derek Ive
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Technology Cocktail
“I have done or reviewed thousands of hours of auditing in forming and organizing and testing Routine 2. It is the most gratifying (and sometimes hair-raising) auditing I have ever done or viewed. You can’t oversell Routine 2. You just can’t. For it is the first gateway to light, life and liberty for all Mankind at last.” — L. Ron Hubbard, 1962
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THE PROSECUTION OF DANNY MASTERSON
We first broke the news of the LAPD’s investigation of Scientology celebrity Danny Masterson on rape allegations in 2017, and we’ve been covering the story every step of the way since then. At this page we’ve collected our most important links as Danny faces a potential sentence of 45 years to life in prison. NOW WITH TRIAL INDEX.
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THE PODCAST: How many have you heard?
[1] Marc Headley [2] Claire Headley [3] Jeffrey Augustine [4] Bruce Hines [5] Sunny Pereira [6] Pete Griffiths [7] Geoff Levin [8] Patty Moher [9] Marc Headley [10] Jefferson Hawkins [11] Michelle ‘Emma’ Ryan [12] Paulette Cooper [13] Jesse Prince [14] Mark Bunker [15] Jon Atack [16] Mirriam Francis [17] Bruce Hines on MSH
— SPECIAL: The best TV show on Scientology you never got to see
[1] Phil Jones [2] Derek Bloch [3] Carol Nyburg [4] Katrina Reyes [5] Jamie DeWolf
— The first Danny Masterson trial and beyond
[18] Trial special with Chris Shelton [19] Trial week one [20] Marc Headley on the spy in the hallway [21] Trial week two [22] Trial week three [23] Trial week four [24] Leah Remini on LAPD Corruption [25] Mike Rinder 2022 Thanksgiving Special [26] Jane Doe 4 (Tricia Vessey), Part One [27] Jane Doe 4 (Tricia Vessey), Part Two [28] Claire Headley on the trial [29] Tory Christman [30] Bruce Hines on spying [31] Karen de la Carriere [32] Ron Miscavige on Shelly Miscavige [33] Karen de la Carriere on the L’s [34] Mark Bunker on Miscavige hiding [35] Mark Plummer [36] Mark Ebner [37] Karen Pressley [38] Steve Cannane [39] Fredrick Brennan [40] Clarissa Adams [41] Louise Shekter [42] John Sweeney [43] Tory Christman [44] Kate Bornstein [45] Christian Stolte [46] Mark Bunker [47] Jon Atack [48] Luke Y. Thompson [49] Mark Ebner [50] Bruce Hines [51] Spanky Taylor and Karen Pressley [51] Geoff and Robbie Levin [52] Sands Hall [53] Jonny Jacobsen [54] Sandy Holeman
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“I heard about something the other day that made me feel rather bad. I dropped the I-76 or the Imperial Japanese Navy Trans-Pacific Submarine down into the mouth of the Columbia River, dead duck. And it went down with a resounding furor. And that was that. I never thought about it again particularly except to get mad at all the admirals I had to make reports to because of this thing, see? This was one out of 79 separate actions that I had to do with….My dad suddenly sprung on me the fact that my submarine had been causing a tremendous amount of difficulty in the mouth of the Columbia River….It’s got jagged steel sticking out at all ends and angles, and it’s a big submarine! …And the fishermen coming in there and fishing are dragging their nets around in that area, and it’s just tearing their nets to ribbons — they’ve even hired a civilian contractor to try to blow the thing up and get it the devil out of there — and has evidently been raising bob with postwar fishing here for more years than I’d care to count….I was asking my father for the address of the fishermen’s association up there to write them a letter of apology.” — L. Ron Hubbard, October 23, 1956
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“RIGGS ECKELBERRY is assigned as Intell Officer I/T, FSO. He is replaced as Expeditor in Dissem Div by Gary Reisdorf, DFP. Riggs is to groove Gary in on all his current cycles before moving on to his new post. Riggs is to be programmed in Dept 13 for the study required to meet all requirements he has not completed. He is also to be programmed for all requirements needed for this new post. He will then report to the Dean of the Hatting College for enrollment and part time study after post hours.” — The Commodore, October 23, 1971
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“I am sure he hung with Allister Crowley in the late 40’s, I’m sure he was in financial stress in the 50’s. I’m sure he did all sorts of dark things in his personal life. But all that just endears him to me. I never judge a man for what he was. I judge him for what he has done for people. LRH has done MORE than his share of good things for people. It’s easy to dig into a guys past and find dirt on him, make the dirt seem uglier than it really is and then use the trumped up ‘dirt’ to do him in because of it. This is the way of man.”
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1995: Scientology has still not returned Dennis Erlich’s seized property, as Dennis reported this week. “Currently there is an excellent motion before MoFo to find the scienos in contempt. They refuse to relinquish the ‘fruits’ of the illegal search.”
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“When they landed on the Moon, the adults in my neighborhood were crying. I couldn’t understand it at the time.”
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Full Court Press: What we’re watching at the Underground Bunker
Criminal prosecutions:
— Danny Masterson charged for raping three women: Found guilty on two counts on May 31, remanded to custody. Sentenced to 30 years to life on Sep 7.
— ‘Lafayette Ronald Hubbard’ (a/k/a Justin Craig), aggravated assault, plus drug charges: Grand jury indictments include charges from an assault while in custody. Next pretrial hearing October 30.
— David Gentile, GPB Capital, fraud.
Civil litigation:
— Leah Remini v. Scientology, alleging ‘Fair Game’ harassment and defamation: Complaint filed August 2, Scientology submitting anti-SLAPP response Oct 26.
— Baxter, Baxter, and Paris v. Scientology, alleging labor trafficking: Forced to arbitration. Plaintiffs allowed interlocutory appeal to Eleventh Circuit.
— Valerie Haney v. Scientology: Forced to ‘religious arbitration.’
— Chrissie Bixler et al. v. Scientology and Danny Masterson: Discovery phase.
— Jane Doe 1 v. Scientology, David Miscavige, and Gavin Potter: Case unsealed and second amended complaint filed. Scientology moves for religious arbitration.
— Chiropractors Steve Peyroux and Brent Detelich, stem cell fraud: Ordered to mediation.
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After the success of their double-Emmy-winning, three-season A&E series ‘Scientology and the Aftermath,’ Leah Remini and Mike Rinder continue the conversation on their podcast, ‘Scientology: Fair Game.’ We’ve created a landing page where you can hear all of the episodes so far.
LEAH REMINI: SCIENTOLOGY AND THE AFTERMATH
An episode-by-episode guide to Leah Remini’s three-season, double-Emmy winning series that changed everything for Scientology watching. Originally aired from 2016 to 2019 on the A&E network, and now on Netflix.
SCIENTOLOGY’S CELEBRITIES, from A to Z
Find your favorite Hubbardite celeb at this index page — or suggest someone to add to the list!
Other links: SCIENTOLOGY BLACK OPS: Tom Cruise and dirty tricks. Scientology’s Ideal Orgs, from one end of the planet to the other. Scientology’s sneaky front groups, spreading the good news about L. Ron Hubbard while pretending to benefit society. Scientology Lit: Books reviewed or excerpted in a weekly series. How many have you read?
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THE WHOLE TRACK
[ONE year ago] Jim Meskimen confirms it: The new Scientology ads are about the L.A. mayoral campaign
[TWO years ago] Jon Atack: Is Scientology really a ‘church’?
[THREE years ago] VALERIE HANEY PETITION DENIED: She’ll have to go through Scientology ‘arbitration’ to appeal
[FOUR years ago] Scientologist defendants plead not guilty as Medi-Cal fraud trial scheduled for Nov 21
[FIVE years ago] In 1949, psychiatrists wouldn’t touch Dianetics — so L. Ron Hubbard invented one who would
[SIX years ago] Despite Scientology’s best efforts, a Bunker reader attended Saturday’s grand opening
[SEVEN years ago] Vote for Xenu! Scientologists are looking to L. Ron Hubbard for advice on the coming election
[EIGHT years ago] The technology of ‘ruining’ people: Jefferson Hawkins on Scientology’s opening pitch
[NINE years ago] L. Ron Hubbard explains to a friend the real reason he wrote ‘Dianetics’
[TEN years ago] LIVE FROM LOS ANGELES: Summary Judgment Hearing in DeCrescenzo Forced-Abortion Lawsuit
[ELEVEN years ago] British Newspaper The Sun Sneaks Reporter into Scientology Annual Gala!
[TWELVE years ago] Scientology Targeted South Park’s Parker and Stone in Investigation
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Bernie Headley (1952-2019) did not see his daughter Stephanie in his final 5,667 days.
Valerie Haney has not seen her mother Lynne in 3,191 days.
Katrina Reyes has not seen her mother Yelena in 3,706 days
Sylvia Wagner DeWall has not seen her brother Randy in 3,256 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his grandson Leo in 2,246 days.
Geoff Levin has not seen his son Collin and daughter Savannah in 2,127 days.
Christie Collbran has not seen her mother Liz King in 5,431 days.
Clarissa Adams has not seen her parents Walter and Irmin Huber in 3,302 days.
Doug Kramer has not seen his parents Linda and Norm in 2,407 days.
Jamie Sorrentini Lugli has not seen her father Irving in 4,854 days.
Quailynn McDaniel has not seen her brother Sean in 4,196 days.
Dylan Gill has not seen his father Russell in 12,762 days.
Melissa Paris has not seen her father Jean-Francois in 8,681 days.
Valeska Paris has not seen her brother Raphael in 4,848 days.
Mirriam Francis has not seen her brother Ben in 4,430 days.
Claudio and Renata Lugli have not seen their son Flavio in 4,691 days.
Sara Goldberg has not seen her daughter Ashley in 3,727 days.
Lori Hodgson has not seen her son Jeremy and daughter Jessica in 3,443 days.
Marie Bilheimer has not seen her mother June in 3,007 days.
Julian Wain has not seen his brother Joseph or mother Susan in 1,322 days.
Charley Updegrove has not seen his son Toby in 2,497 days.
Joe Reaiche has not seen his daughter Alanna Masterson in 7,048 days
Derek Bloch has not seen his father Darren in 4,179 days.
Cindy Plahuta has not seen her daughter Kara in 4,517 days.
Roger Weller has not seen his daughter Alyssa in 9,372 days.
Claire Headley has not seen her mother Gen in 4,491 days.
Ramana Dienes-Browning has not seen her mother Jancis in 2,847 days.
Mike Rinder has not seen his son Benjamin and daughter Taryn in 7,150 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his daughter Spring in 3,256 days.
Skip Young has not seen his daughters Megan and Alexis in 3,654 days.
Mary Kahn has not seen her son Sammy in 3,530 days.
Lois Reisdorf has not seen her son Craig in 3,095 days.
Phil and Willie Jones have not seen their son Mike and daughter Emily in 3,608 days.
Mary Jane Barry has not seen her daughter Samantha in 3,862 days.
Kate Bornstein has not seen her daughter Jessica in 14,971 days.
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Posted by Tony Ortega on October 23, 2023 at 07:00
E-mail tips to tonyo94 AT gmail DOT com or follow us on Twitter. We also post updates at our Facebook author page. After every new story we send out an alert to our e-mail list and our FB page.
Our new book with Paulette Cooper, Battlefield Scientology: Exposing L. Ron Hubbard’s dangerous ‘religion’ is now on sale at Amazon in paperback and Kindle formats. Our book about Paulette, The Unbreakable Miss Lovely: How the Church of Scientology tried to destroy Paulette Cooper, is on sale at Amazon in paperback, Kindle, and audiobook versions. We’ve posted photographs of Paulette and scenes from her life at a separate location. Reader Sookie put together a complete index. More information can also be found at the book’s dedicated page.
The Best of the Underground Bunker, 1995-2022 Just starting out here? We’ve picked out the most important stories we’ve covered here at the Underground Bunker (2012-2022), The Village Voice (2008-2012), New Times Los Angeles (1999-2002) and the Phoenix New Times (1995-1999)
Other links: BLOGGING DIANETICS: Reading Scientology’s founding text cover to cover | UP THE BRIDGE: Claire Headley and Bruce Hines train us as Scientologists | GETTING OUR ETHICS IN: Jefferson Hawkins explains Scientology’s system of justice | SCIENTOLOGY MYTHBUSTING: Historian Jon Atack discusses key Scientology concepts | Shelly Miscavige, 15 years gone | The Lisa McPherson story told in real time | The Cathriona White stories | The Leah Remini ‘Knowledge Reports’ | Hear audio of a Scientology excommunication | Scientology’s little day care of horrors | Whatever happened to Steve Fishman? | Felony charges for Scientology’s drug rehab scam | Why Scientology digs bomb-proof vaults in the desert | PZ Myers reads L. Ron Hubbard’s “A History of Man” | Scientology’s Master Spies | The mystery of the richest Scientologist and his wayward sons | Scientology’s shocking mistreatment of the mentally ill | The Underground Bunker’s Official Theme Song | The Underground Bunker FAQ
Watch our short videos that explain Scientology’s controversies in three minutes or less…
Check your whale level at our dedicated page for status updates, or join us at the Underground Bunker’s Facebook discussion group for more frivolity.
Our non-Scientology stories: Robert Burnham Jr., the man who inscribed the universe | Notorious alt-right inspiration Kevin MacDonald and his theories about Jewish DNA | The selling of the “Phoenix Lights” | Astronomer Harlow Shapley‘s FBI file | Sex, spies, and local TV news | Battling Babe-Hounds: Ross Jeffries v. R. Don Steele
Tony Ortega at The Daily Beast
