Ex-counter terrorism head chases new career as a TV hunter

A retired counter terrorist police chief leads a team of ‘hunters’ in a new television drama, starting tonight.

And Brett Lovegrove, a former Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) detective chief inspector and Head of Counter Terrorism at City of London Police, is tasked with chasing down 14 volunteer contestants literally on the run.

Mr Lovegrove, the first senior officer in command of the 7/7 suicide bombings in London ten years ago, heads a dedicated team of professional trackers and hackers in the Channel 4 programme Hunted.

The six-part series puts Mr Lovegrove and his second-in-command, Peter Bleksley – who left the MPS after 21 years’ service – in pursuit of the runaways. Their aim is to stay one step ahead of the chasing pack to evade capture for 28 days.

Mr Lovegrove, now a security consultant and CEO of the City Security and Resilience Networks (CSARN), told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “I do think that people don’t know how difficult it is to disappear for 28 days.

“And it’s wholly possible in these days of information and the footprint that we create for ourselves to get caught. And the reason why is because we don’t take care of our information we put out there, sometimes really freely.

“A typical fugitive hunt will begin with some basic details, but within hours we know almost everything about the individual,” added Lovegrove. “And, as the days go by, we end up knowing more about them than their friends and family.”

Each of the hunted 14 have a cameraman with them and the hunting is done by mostly ex-police, some currently serving, and ex-Security Service personnel, said Channel 4.

“We don’t have state powers, I want to make that clear,” he added, with the hunters relying on open source information: “And that’s the scary bit.”

The hunters check emails, and mobile phone data, “but for anybody malevolent with some knowledge and some open source information, it can be easy”, he said.

“We’re raising these issues in a thrilling but factual way,” Mr Lovegrove said. “Most of the information that the state can gather is actually out there on social media anyway, it’s not secret.

“It’s like hanging out your washing. You are putting pages of your life out on the line and allowing everybody to see it.”

Since retiring from his 30-year career with the service, he has worked with international corporate organisations and governments – including the US Congress, the European Government in The Hague, Georgia, the National Counter Terrorism Board in the Netherlands plus Danish and Croatian Parliaments – all in an advisory capacity.

Former MPS officer Mr Bleksley told the Guardian that while technology has revolutionised police work since he left the service in 1999, old-school methods are still effective.

“At some point, somebody’s going to come up for air. They’re going to make contact with loved ones and we’ve got to identify that moment and exploit it,” he added.

The first one-hour episode screens tonight at 9m.