The undercover copper who spied on Keir Starmer and seduced the activist the young Leftie lawyer was representing By Jane Fryer Published: 20:33 EDT, 17 October 2024 | Updated: 20:39 EDT, 17 October 2024 e-mail View comments John Barker was well-built, fit, muscular and attractive with thick, dark hair cut long at the back and shaved at the sides into a mullet, as was the fashion in the late 1980s. He was sociable, easy to get along with, but also surprisingly open and empathetic. Or at least he was to Helen Steel, a 23-year-old, part-time bartender, gardener and environmental campaigner for London Greenpeace who, in the early 1990s, found herself embroiled in the trial of the century defending a defamation claim by McDonald's, known as the McLibel case.
John, a fellow activist, talked to Helen about everything. The death of his father. The sudden death of his mother back in New Zealand .
His sadness at having no siblings. His dreams of having six children. His anxieties and insecurities.
Gradually, they became closer. Soon, they were not just campaigning together, but living together, loving one other, taking holidays to Scotland and Camber Sands on the south coast, all while making plans for the future. They had so much in common.
As if by magic, everything she liked, he seemed to be interested in, too. Dave and Helen outside a McDonald's restaurant in 2005 as part of the television programme, McLibel A young Sir Keir Starmer is pictured being interviews on Life Stories by .