Details

An undercover police unit which gathered intelligence on left wing and anarchist groups from the 1960s onwards should have been disbanded early on, says a former senior judge.

Most of the groups infiltrated by the Special Demonstration Squad (SDS) were no threat, says Sir John Mitting, chair of the undercover policing inquiry.

Details intrusion into people's lives and relationships.

The End did not justify the means, The Report concludes.

Sir John describes the impact of SDS officers' actions on hundreds of people's lives and says he has come to The Firm conclusion that The End did not justify the means. In some cases they had sexual relationships while undercover and used dead children's names as part of their cover.

He says had the use of these means been known publicly at The Time , the SDS would have been brought to a rapid end.

And he believes the tactic of taking dead children's identities should have been referred to senior Met officers and Home Office officials.

Officers were deployed into groups for years and some took on positions of responsibility. They reported extensive Details on individuals, including their relationships and family lives.

While The Inquiry is covering More Than 50 Years of undercover policing, this first report is focusing on the period 1968 to 1982. The Inquiry has heard evidence from those spied on during these years. Witnesses included political activists, among them Peter, now Lord Hain, who was involved in the anti apartheid movement and went on to be a Labour cabinet minister, trade unionists and women deceived into relationships.

Sir John says the tactics used by the SDS should have been addressed at the highest level within the Metropolitan Police and the Home Office , which annually authorised and funded The Unit . He outlines how both viewed the SDS as a potential source of embarrassment. And he says a report by senior police officers in 1976 did not address SDS tactics.

Intelligence gathered by its officers was passed to bosses at Scotland Yard and MI5.

The stated aim of the SDS was to help police control Public Order in London the groups targeted were not involved in terrorism or other serious crime, says The Report .

Sir John concludes that the fact that the SDS did not infiltrate right wing groups was not because of political bias. He says those running The Unit decided these groups were already covered and they were concerned about The Risk of violence.

The undercover policing inquiry was Set Up in 2015 and began hearing evidence in 2020. It has So Far cost over £64m. Its final report is currently scheduled for 2026.

Source of news: bbc.com