Undercover police used the identities of at least 19 dead children and had long-term deceitful relationships with their activist targets, raising “profound and wide-ranging concerns”, a public inquiry has been told.
The judge-led inquiry will examine miscarriages of justice and whether the widespread infiltration over four decades of social and environmental groups meant that undercover officers effectively became “political police”.
After a delay of more than five years and a bill so far of £30 million, opening statements at the inquiry into undercover policing began yesterday.
David Barr, QC, counsel to the inquiry, which is being streamed remotely, said that evidence sessions were planned until 2023. It is possible that the panel will not report until more than a decade after it was set up