In February 1820, British authorities stormed a hayloft on Cato Street in London, arresting a group of radical conspirators planning to assassinate Prime Minister Lord Liverpool and his entire Cabinet. Led by Arthur Thistlewood, the group intended to display the decapitated heads of ministers on pikes and ignite a revolution. However, the plot was not entirely born of spontaneous radical zeal; it was largely nurtured and financed by George Edwards, an undercover government agent provocateur.
Working for the Home Office, Edwards infiltrated the Spencean Philanthropists, a radical political group. Finding a desperate, impoverished faction, Edwards provided money for weapons, suggested the specific target of a Cabinet dinner at Lord Harrowby's home, and even designed explosive grenades. While the conspirators were undeniably vengeful and willing to commit violence, Edwards actively shaped their vague anger into a concrete, treasonous operation so the government could make a dramatic arrest.
Once the raid occurred, Edwards vanished under state protection with a hefty reward, leaving Thistlewood and four co-conspirators to be hanged and decapitated. The scandal exposed the dark tactics of British state surveillance during the early nineteenth century.