Spycops inquiry victims condemn Home Office bid to limit probe

Victims of intrusive police surveillance have accused the UK government of attempting to obstruct a public inquiry into widespread misconduct by undercover officers. The criticism follows revelations that Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood has expressed concerns regarding the inquiry’s duration and its projected cost of £144 million.

The independent, judge-led investigation is examining how officers conducted surveillance on tens of thousands of political activists over a period exceeding four decades. The probe is scrutinizing serious abuses, including instances where officers deceived women into sexual relationships and fathered children through fraudulent identities.

According to victims, efforts to curtail the scope or timeline of the inquiry risk resulting in a cover-up of the systemic failures identified during the examination of these historical abuses.