A former police informer who once infiltrated environmental and animal rights campaigns has been handed a life sentence after being convicted of 38 paedophile offences, including arranging to rape children as young as six years old.
Judge Describes Offences as 'The Stuff of Nightmares'
Nick Gratwick, 68, from Mitcham in Surrey, was sentenced at Guildford Crown Court where Judge Harden-Frost described his crimes as "utterly depraved and manipulative, and the stuff of nightmares." The judge emphasised that Gratwick would not be eligible to apply for parole for 19 years, labelling him a "dangerous" offender who had shown no admission of guilt.
Details of the Paedophile Offences
Between 2023 and last year, Gratwick engaged in extensive criminal activities that shocked the court. He exchanged hundreds of encrypted messages with other abusers, discussing how to harm children for sexual pleasure and advising others on methods to drug and abuse young victims.
Among the most disturbing revelations was his arrangement to pay a Romanian mother to allow him to rape her 10-year-old daughter. Gratwick was arrested at Stansted Airport as he prepared to fly to Bucharest to carry out this horrific plan.
Police discovered more than 1,300 photographs and videos of child abuse in his possession, painting a picture of systematic exploitation. During his six-week trial, the jury rejected his defence that he had created a false identity to infiltrate paedophile networks with the intention of gathering evidence for law enforcement.
Covert Past as Police Informer Revealed
The trial also uncovered Gratwick's previous role as a police informer during the 1990s and 2000s, where he spied on environmental and animal rights activists. Court documents confirmed that between 1995 and 2003, he provided information to police for approximately six years, focusing on animal rights and environmental matters.
Infiltration of Newbury Bypass Protests
One of his most significant covert operations involved the high-profile campaign against the Newbury bypass in Berkshire during the 1990s. Activists had established 30 camps along the planned nine-mile route, constructing treehouses, digging tunnels, and climbing trees to disrupt construction.
Gratwick, known by the nickname "Radio Nick," played a crucial organisational role that enabled him to gather intelligence on campaigners. As a radio engineer, he helped set up a network of CB radios allowing activists to communicate along the route and warn each other about police movements.
He also assisted with acquiring and distributing equipment such as ropes and harnesses. Thames Valley Police, which oversaw the protests, had previously disclosed paying a private security firm to infiltrate the campaign due to escalating policing costs, with that firm subsequently hiring Gratwick for surveillance duties.
Animal Rights Campaign Surveillance
Beyond environmental activism, Gratwick also infiltrated animal rights groups, including campaigns targeting Huntingdon Life Sciences laboratory. His covert activities only came to light during interviews with the National Crime Agency following his arrest in March last year on suspicion of paedophile offences.
The judge noted that the jury had seen through Gratwick's attempts to justify his actions and had effectively "unmasked" him as a predatory offender rather than an undercover investigator.
