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Core Participants in the UK Undercover Policing Inquiry have written to the Home Office calling for the immediate withdrawal of its ‘consultation’ on the future of the Inquiry.
Core participants criticise use of Hillsborough Law to threaten the future of a public inquiry. In the letter, written today, they expressed shock and deep concern at the Government's proposals to curtail the Inquiry, and the perverse use of the Public Office (Accountability) Bill (the Hillsborough Law) to justify weakening a statutory public inquiry before the legislation has even been enacted.
Kate Wilson of Police Spies Out of Lives said: “We were so excited about the progress of the Hillsborough Law, and the promises it makes for survivors of state abuse. But the very next day the Home Office did this. It may be no coincidence this consultation was launched in the last days of Starmer’s government: he’s implicated in covering up undercover operations during his time as Director of Public Prosecutions and may have questions to answer himself. But we have a new government now, under Andy Burnham. He built his political career on the fight for justice after Hillsborough. Is denying us truth and accountability really going to be one of the first things his government does?”
The letter is accompanied by submissions from Peter Weatherby KC, who acts for a number of the victims and helped draft the Hillsborough Law. He argues the Inquiry’s statutory powers are essential to uncovering the truth, and describes the consultation as “misconceived”, joining calls for it to be withdrawn.
Since public hearings began in 2020, the UCPI has exposed serious police abuses - sexual misconduct, criminal behaviour, agents provocateur activity, interference in democratic processes, misleading the courts, unlawful intrusion into the lives of thousands of people, and catastrophic failings that go all the way up the chain of command. However, some of the most significant evidence is yet to be examined, such as the work of the National Public Order Intelligence Unit (NPOIU), who deployed Mark Kennedy; abuse by undercover officers in criminal investigations (such as the case of ‘Mary’); and failures in the policing of racist criminal gangs. These, more recent, operations took place under the Human Rights Act and the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act—the very legal framework that is supposed to protect the public today. Core Participants say it is essential the Inquiry completes its work in order to make recommendations and prevent future abuse.
Dave Morris of the Campaign Opposing Police Surveillance said: “It’s no surprise that the state wants to shut down this Inquiry – it is a disaster for the Metropolitan Police. Just yesterday, ex-Commissioner Baron Condon said in evidence that these were not isolated incidents but a result of systemic failures and a ‘culture of paranoia’ in Special Branch. The public deserves the full truth, and the Home Office must not bow to vested interests seeking to prevent that.”
The letter calls on the Home Office to withdraw the consultation, appoint new leadership to the Inquiry, ensure adequate resources to complete its work, and urgently meet with Core Participants to discuss ways forward. The group is asking people not to fill in the consultation, and states it will publicly oppose any attempt to curtail the Inquiry and will continue campaigning to ensure that the full truth about undercover policing is uncovered.
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