About the Inquiry
The Undercover Policing Inquiry was set up in 2015 to get to the truth about undercover policing across England and Wales since 1968 and provide recommendations for the future.
SECTIONS
Background
In 2015 the then Home Secretary, Theresa May announced that there would be a judge-led inquiry into undercover policing.
This was in response to independent reviews by Mark Ellison QC, which found “appalling practices in undercover policing”. In a statement that accompanied the publication of the Inquiry’s terms of reference, Theresa May said:
“Undercover policing is an essential tactic in the fight against crime but any allegation that the police misused this power must be taken seriously…This inquiry will not only look at historical failings but make recommendations to ensure those unacceptable practices are not repeated in the future.”
The Chairman delivered his opening remarks (PDF, 545.16 KB) on 28 July 2015.
Purpose and scope
The work of the Inquiry covers the full scope of undercover policing work across England and Wales. Two undercover policing units – the Special Demonstration Squad (SDS) and the National Public Order Intelligence Unit (NPOIU) – have particular prominence for the Inquiry; however, its work is not restricted to these units.
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 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.
Modules and tranches
The Inquiry’s investigations are broken down into three modules:
- Module One: Examination of the deployment of undercover officers in the past, their conduct, and the impact of their activities on themselves and others.
- Module Two: Examination of the management and oversight of undercover officers, including their selection, training, supervision, care after the end of an undercover deployment, and the legal and regulatory framework within which undercover policing was carried out.
- Module Two (a) will involve managers and administrators from within undercover policing units.
- Module Two (b) will involve senior managers higher in the chain of command as well as police personnel who handled intelligence provided by undercover police officers. Module Two (c) will involve other government bodies with a connection to undercover policing, including the Home Office.
- Module Three: Examination of current undercover policing practices and of how undercover policing should be conducted in future.
The Inquiry has divided its work for Modules One and Two into the following five “tranches”:
- Special Demonstration Squad officers and managers and those affected by deployments (1968-1982) including the management & oversight by mid and senior officers, other agencies and government departments.
- Special Demonstration Squad officers and managers and those affected by deployments (1983-1992) including the management & oversight by mid and senior officers, other agencies and government departments.
- Special Demonstration Squad officers and managers and those affected by deployments (1993-2007) including the management & oversight by mid and senior officers, other agencies and government departments.
- National Public Order Intelligence Unit officers and managers and those affected by deployments including the management & oversight by mid and senior officers, other agencies and government departments.
- Other undercover policing and those affected by deployments including the management & oversight by mid and senior officers, other agencies and government departments.
Reports
The Inquiry published it’s interim report for Tranche 1 on 29 June 2023. In this report, the Chairman discusses findings on as many of the issues and as much of the evidence heard in Tranche 1 as possible. Justification of deployments during the Tranche 1 era will be within scope of the report, as will the relevant law.
The report does not cover the following deployments, which have been transferred to Tranche 2 and therefore fall outside the scope of Tranche 1:
- HN 67 “Alan Bond”
- HN 12 “Mike Hartley
- HN 20 “Tony Williams”
- HN 85 “Roger Thorley”
- HN 65 “John Kerry”
- HN 19 “Malcolm Shearing”
- HN 83
HN86 and HN337’s deployments are being considered in Tranche 1 but on paper only and in closed.
At the Inquiry’s conclusion, it intends to publish a final report covering all other tranches.
The story so far…
In this video, you’ll see the key milestones of the Undercover Policing Inquiry from July 2015 to April 2021.
Terms of Reference
The Inquiry’s Terms of Reference set out the Inquiry’s purpose and scope in full and were published by the Home Secretary when the Inquiry was established.
Update notes
Inquiry update notes provide a snapshot of the Inquiry’s recent, current and planned work in getting to the truth of undercover policing and delivering recommendations for the future. Download the latest update note from July 2023.
FAQs
Which police units are being investigated? What is the timeline for the Inquiry? How will the evidence hearings work? Find the answers to these questions and more in the FAQs section.
Inquiry team
Sir John Mitting
Chair
Sir John Mitting is a former High Court judge and served as the Chairman of the Special Immigration Appeals Commission from 2007 to 2012.
Sir John was appointed as the Inquiry’s Chair in 2017. Before that, the Chair was Sir Christopher Pitchford, who had to step down due to ill health.
Supporting the Chairman is a team of around 90 staff.
David Barr KC
Lead Counsel to the Inquiry
David Barr KC has a wide experience of civil litigation. His administrative and public law work includes public inquiries, inquests, human rights and other cases. He was called to the Bar in 1993 and served on the Attorney General’s panels of civil counsel from 1999 until he took silk in 2014.
Zaqia Rashid
Solicitor to the Inquiry
Zaqia Rashid is a Partner and Head of the Public Inquiries and Public Law team at TLT solicitors. Previously, Zaqia worked for Central Government for 25 years, most recently heading up the Government’s Public Inquiries, Reviews and Litigation Team. Within that role, she managed the provision of legal services for some of the highest profile public inquiries and reviews in the UK.
Cecilia French
Secretary to the Inquiry
Cecilia French is a civil servant with a range of policy, operational delivery, legislative and programme management expertise. She has worked across a number of departmental portfolios and was also Secretary to the Al Sweady Inquiry. She was appointed as Secretary to the Undercover Policing Inquiry in March 2019, succeeding Dawn Eastmead.
Diversity
The Undercover Policing Inquiry is staffed by a highly motivated, skilled and diverse workforce. The Inquiry is committed to promoting and ensuring equality and valuing diversity. Further information can be found in the Inquiry’s equality and diversity policy (PDF, 160.0KB).
The available data on the Inquiry’s workforce as of September 2023 can be found on the ‘Diversity statistics‘ page.
Timetable
The Inquiry is committed to publishing its final report by the end of 2026, subject to receiving the necessary funding from its sponsor Department, the Home Office.
To manage such a broad remit, the Inquiry has currently divided its work for Modules One and Two into the following five “tranches”:
- Special Demonstration Squad officers and managers and those affected by deployments (1968-1982) including the management & oversight by mid and senior officers, other agencies and government departments.
- Special Demonstration Squad officers and managers and those affected by deployments (1983-1992) including the management & oversight by mid and senior officers, other agencies and government departments.
- Special Demonstration Squad officers and managers and those affected by deployments (1993-2007) including the management & oversight by mid and senior officers, other agencies and government departments.
- National Public Order Intelligence Unit officers and managers and those affected by deployments including the management & oversight by mid and senior officers, other agencies and government departments.
- Other undercover policing and those affected by deployments including the management & oversight by mid and senior officers, other agencies and government departments.
Module 3 will examine current undercover policing practices and make recommendations for how undercover policing should be conducted in the future.
The timetable below is subject to change depending on the Inquiry’s continuing investigations and planning which may affect the date for when hearings for each tranche start. Some dates may need to fall outside those published below, for example because of participant availability or other operational issues.
The table will be updated on a quarterly basis and the date for the start of hearings for each tranche will be finalised six months in advance.
The detailed timetable listing the times and days when witnesses will be giving evidence will be published on the hearings pages of this website two weeks before the start of hearings.
Completion of anonymity applications (T1)
Complete
Obtaining witness statements from officers and those affected by deployments (T1)
COMPLETE
Obtaining witness statements from managers (T1)
COMPLETE
Obtaining witness statements from other agencies, government departments and senior decision-makers (T1)
COMPLETE
Phase 1 evidence hearings (T1)
COMPLETE
Phase 2 evidence hearings (T1)
COMPLETE
Phase 3 evidence hearings (T1)
COMPLETE
Closing submissions (T1)
Complete
Interim report (T1)
Complete
Completion of anonymity applications (T2)
Complete
Obtaining witness statements from officers and managers (T2)
Complete
Obtaining witness statements from those affected by deployments (T2)
Ongoing
Obtaining witness statements from other agencies, government departments and senior decision-makers (T2)
Ongoing
Anticipated commencement of hearings (T2)
July 2024
Completion of anonymity applications (T3)
Complete
Obtaining witness statements from officers and managers (T3)
Ongoing
Obtaining witness statements from those affected by deployments (T3)
Ongoing
Obtaining witness statements from other agencies, government departments and senior decision-makers (T3)
Ongoing
Anticipated commencement of hearing (T3)
February 2025
Completion of anonymity applications (T4)
Ongoing
Obtaining witness statements from officers and managers (T4)
Ongoing
Obtaining witness statements from those affected by deployments (T4)
Ongoing
Obtaining witness statements from other agencies, government departments and senior decision-makers (T4)
Ongoing
Anticipated commencement of hearing (T4)
October 2025
Obtaining witness statements (T5 and M3)
Ongoing
Anticipated commencement of hearing (T5 and M3)
TBA
Closing submissions
TBA
Warning letters
TBA
Publication of final report
December 2026
Costs
As part of the Inquiry’s commitment to transparency, it publishes details of its expenditure. The table below covers total expenditure up to the end of December 2023. Costs are updated on a quarterly basis.
| Description | Cost (£) |
|---|---|
| Inquiry staffing, including secretariat | 19,766,700 |
| Inquiry counsel and legal services | 31,143,000 |
| Core participant and witness costs including hearings | 10,365,700 |
| Running costs, including accommodation and IT | 16,931,300 |
| TOTAL COSTS | 78,206,700 |
Notes on costs
All figures have been rounded up to the nearest hundred.
The final costs of the Inquiry will be published at the close of the Inquiry once all invoices have been received and settled. The categories in the table may be subject to some adjustment during the progress of the Inquiry.
The Inquiry directly funds its own legal team and all such costs are listed under the first two rows above, with the costs relating to the Chairman included in the first row.
Due to a change in the way in which Government Legal Department (GLD) services are charged for, the costs up to September 2018 of GLD solicitors engaged by the Inquiry are included in the first line, and the costs from October 2018 are included in the second line.
Expenditure relating to core participants or witnesses to the Inquiry is made per this protocol (PDF, 230.1KB). The Home Secretary has also made a determination (PDF, 157.3KB) setting out the conditions under which the Chairman should make awards for legal representation.
The Inquiry’s costs are met by the Home Office who sponsor the Inquiry. A joint management statement (PDF, 284.2KB) exists to ensure clear roles and responsibilities are in place facilitate the running of the Inquiry, in accordance with the provisions of the Inquiries Act 2005 and the Inquiry Rules 2006.
Key statistics
The statistics below are accurate as of 31 December 2023 and will be updated quarterly.
1This figure only includes witness statements requested in relation to the Inquiry’s substantive investigations. This does not include the total number of requests for information made by the Inquiry including those in relation to preliminary issues such as deceased children’s identities, privacy, standard of proof and undertakings.
2This figure only includes witness statements received in relation to the Inquiry’s substantive investigations. This does not include the total number of requests for information which have been fulfilled, including those in relation to preliminary issues such as deceased children’s identities, privacy, standard of proof and undertakings.