Inquiry into police spying begins

Lord Justice Pitchford today opened the public inquiry into police spying on justice campaigners and political activists between 1968 and 2010, BBC News reports. 

Theresa May ordered the inquiry after it was revealed that undercover police officers had spied on the family of Stephen Lawrence, Labour MPs, trade unionists and justice campaigns such as anti-racism groups.

Some undercover police officers also entered into sexual relationships with women involved in campaign groups without revealing their real identities (often using the stolen identities of dead children), and in some instances fathered their children. 

In his opening remarks Pitchford said, 'This is the first time that undercover policing has been exposed to the rigour of public examination'.

He raised the potential for immunity from prosecution for former undercover officers who give potentially incriminating evidence to the inquiry. 

In February we held a conference in conjunction with The Monitoring Group about police spying. You can watch all the footage from the event, including speeches by people who were spied on by the police.