In April 2008, The Times reported that Toby Kendall, a 24-year-old employee of private intelligence firm C2i International, had allegedly gone undercover inside Plane Stupid using the name “Ken Tobias.” The environmental protest group said the episode amounted to infiltration by an international espionage agency, raising concerns about private-sector surveillance of political activists opposing airport expansion. The reported operation targeted a loose, donation-funded network whose demonstrations had disrupted airport operations and challenged BAA’s plans for Heathrow and Stansted.
BAA confirmed that it had been in contact with C2i International but denied hiring the firm. The source provides no definitive public finding establishing who commissioned Kendall’s alleged activity or what information was collected, so the central allegation remains contested rather than proven. The episode nevertheless illustrates the privacy risks created when private intelligence contractors monitor activist groups, particularly where corporate interests and public-infrastructure campaigns overlap. The source records no resulting prosecution, regulatory sanction, or confirmed legal reform.
