SEVEN women have received an “unreserved apology” by the Metropolitan Police after they were deceived into having relationships with undercover officers.
The Met has agreed to pay compensation to the women who knew nothing about the officers’ secret remit to spy on them and protest groups.
The Pitchford Inquiry is investigating how the Met’s Special Demonstration Squad and the separate National Public Order Intelligence Unit infiltrated campaign groups for decades.
The most controversial aspect of the scandal is that at least five officers embarked on sexual relationships with female protestors without the women knowing they were working undercover.
One of the officers fathered children and the longest relationship lasted nine years.
Three of the undercover officers were Bob Lambert and Jim Boyling from the Met and the NPOIU’s Mark Kennedy. The two others have been named in Parliament as Mark Jenner and John Dines.
On Friday, Met Assistant Commissioner Martin Hewitt said: “The Metropolitan Police has recently settled seven claims arising out of the totally unacceptable behaviour of a number of undercover police officers working for the now disbanded Special Demonstration Squad, an undercover unit within Special Branch that existed until 2008 and for the National Public Order Intelligence Unit (NPOIU) an undercover unit which was operational until 2011.
"Thanks in large part to the courage and tenacity of these women in bringing these matters to light it has become apparent that some officers, acting undercover whilst seeking to infiltrate protest groups, entered into long-term intimate sexual relationships with women which were abusive, deceitful, manipulative and wrong."
He added: "I acknowledge that these relationships were a violation of the women’s human rights, an abuse of police power and caused significant trauma. I unreservedly apologise on behalf of the Metropolitan Police Service. I am aware that money alone cannot compensate the loss of time, their hurt or the feelings of abuse caused by these relationships."
Kate Wilson, an environmental campaigner, lived with Kennedy between 2003 and 2005.
Another woman, ‘Lisa’, had a relationship with Kennedy for six years that even involved him attending her father's funeral.
"He was my closest friend, my partner and my confidant for most of my thirties," she said.
Another woman, “Naomi”, also had a relationship with Kennedy and was quoted saying: "I would never have consented to the relationship had I known the truth."
MSPs and campaigners have called on the Scottish Government to launch a separate probe into undercover policing, as Kennedy operated extensively at the G8 summit at Gleneagles in 2005.
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