23 Oct 2017

Anonymity

Today, Sir John Mitting, Chairman of the Undercover Policing Inquiry, is publishing a supplementary ‘Minded to’ note in respect of anonymity applications for former undercover police officers HN16, HN81, HN26, HN58, HN104 and HN330.

HN16, HN81 and HN26

The Chairman has considered submissions in closed session on the anonymity applications of HN16, HN81 and HN26. Following his review of the restriction order application in respect of real and cover names, and having considered the submissions made, the Chairman is minded to put the cover names of these three officers into the public domain.

The undercover police deployments of all three of these individuals are of real interest to the Inquiry and the Chairman is of the view that there is no means of getting to the truth without the cover names being made public.

HN58, HN104 and HN330

The supplementary ‘Minded to’ note also refers to HN58, HN104 and HN330. In particular, the Chairman is now minded to consider publishing the real name of HN58.

Summary of minded to decisions

  • HN16 – minded to publish cover name, make restriction order for real name
  • HN81 – minded to publish cover name, make restriction order for real name
  • HN26 – minded to publish cover name, make restriction order for real name
  • HN58 – further submissions invited
  • HN104 – non-police, non-state core participants asked to reconsider their position
  • HN330 – minded to publish cover name

Hearings

The Inquiry is announcing a three-day hearing on 20, 21 and 22 of November 2017.

The hearing that was booked for 1 November 2017 has been postponed following a request by the non-police, non-state core participants.

Chairman’s statement

The Chairman’s statement on the future conduct of the Inquiry will now take place on 20 November 2017. A copy of the statement will be circulated immediately before it is made and posted onto the Inquiry’s website.

Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974

Following his statement on 20 November, the Chairman will move directly onto matters relating to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974. This part of the hearing will be in relation to the use of evidence of spent convictions and the proposal to seek an exemption from section 4(1) of the 1974 Act. The directions for this hearing remain the same as those published previously (save for the date). The Chairman is publishing a statement today explaining how spent convictions play a small but necessary part in the process of deciding anonymity in a very small number of cases.

Anonymity

The three-day hearing will also permit oral submissions on the issues raised in the ‘Minded to’ notes. Directions (PDF, 31KB) in respect of these hearings are being published today.

Timetabling

The Inquiry is also today publishing a further direction specifying further members of the Special Demonstration Squad who must make any application for anonymity by 31 October 2017. The Inquiry intends to publish further such directions to the Metropolitan Police Service on a monthly basis. The Chairman will make observations about the Metropolitan Police Service’s progress making anonymity applications in his opening remarks on 20 November 2017.

Background

The purpose of the Undercover Policing Inquiry is to investigate and report on undercover police operations conducted by English and Welsh police forces in England and Wales since 1968. The Inquiry will examine the contribution undercover policing has made to tackling crime, how it was and is supervised and regulated, and its effect on individuals involved – both police officers and others who came into contact with them.

The work of the Inquiry ranges across the full scope of undercover policing work and will look at the work of the Special Demonstration Squad, the National Public Order Intelligence Unit and police forces in England and Wales. The Inquiry will also examine whether people may have been wrongly convicted in cases involving undercover police officers, and refer any such cases to a separate panel for consideration. The work of the Inquiry will fall into three modules:

  1. Module one will look at what happened in the deployment of undercover officers in the past, their conduct, and the impact of their activities on themselves and others.
  2. Module two will look at the management and oversight of undercover officers, including their selection, training, supervision and care after the end of an undercover deployment. This section will also look at the law and other rules covering undercover policing.
  3. Module three will make recommendations about how undercover policing should be conducted in future

 

NOTES TO EDITORS

  1. The background documents to the Special Demonstration Squad anonymity applications can be found on the Inquiry’s website, here.
  2. Decisions on applications for anonymity are made in line with the legal principles ruling dated 3 May 2016 (PDF, 583KB)
  3. The documents associated with the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 this can be found here.
  4. The Undercover Policing Inquiry is constituted under the Inquiries Act 2005 (PDF, 207KB)
  5. The Inquiry’s terms of reference were announced by the Home Secretary on 16 July 2015.
  6. The Inquiry’s Frequently Asked Questions (PDF, 96KB) document provides more information on the Inquiry more generally, as do five published update notes and the Inquiry’s two year update (PDF, 385KB)
  7. The Inquiry’s website is www.ucpi.org.uk and the Inquiry can be found on Twitter @ucpinquiry

For further information please contact the Inquiry’s press officer, Jo Coles:

Email: [email protected]

Tel: 07827 818 460