THE key whistleblower in the undercover policing scandal has called on the Met to reveal if any identities stolen from dead babies came from Scotland.

Peter Francis told the Sunday Herald that officers working for a rogue police unit took on the names of deceased youngsters born outside England and Wales.

The Special Demonstration Squad (SDS) and the National Public Order Intelligence Unit (NPOIU), both under the control of the Met, were set up to plant undercover officers in protest groups and other organisations deemed to be subversive.

However, it has since emerged that a number of the officers, including the notorious Mark Kennedy, had long-term sexual relationships with women they spied on.

Another controversial practice was officers adopting a fake name and life story from a dead child.

Policemen would browse cemeteries to find their “legend” – a new identity – before locating the death and birth certificates.

The police plants would then learn about where the child grew up and develop a back story for use in the group they infiltrated.

It is understood the Met used the tactic on dozens of occasions, but the force is refusing to release the names of children whose identities were stolen.

The Pitchford Inquiry, set up to examine the two units and the wider issue of undercover policing, is looking at whether the names should be published.

However, the inquiry applies only to undercover activity in England and Wales and not Scotland.

Francis, a former SDS officer, came forward as a whistleblower in 2013 and revealed the unit had spied on the family of murdered teenager Stephen Lawrence.

He has spoken at length about how he took a dead child’s identity in the 1990s as part of his undercover work.

Speaking to the Sunday Herald, Francis said the identities of dead children born outside England and Wales were “certainly used” by the Met.

Asked if he was sure of this fact, he said: “One hundred percent, because my identity was born neither in England or Wales.”

He said he did not know if any Scottish identities were used, but said: "They just might have done."

He added: "Personally I think the Met Police should inform and fully apologise to all the parents of the deceased children whose identities were used without their knowledge and consent. Including those in Scotland, if that is known to have happened."

Labour MSP Neil Findlay, who has campaigned for the Pitchford Inquiry to be extended to Scotland, said: "Week after week we discover more and more about the practices carried out by the SDS and NPOIU. To use the identity of dead children to spy on social justice and environmental campaigners is a real low even by SDS standards.

“There is now overwhelming evidence that many Scots were affected by or involved in this appalling organisation. One of two things must now happen: either the Pitchford inquiry be expanded to Scotland, or we have a separate Scottish inquiry.”

Findlay has secured a debate in Holyrood this week on the undercover policing controversy.

MSPs are expected to ask SNP Justice Secretary Michael Matheson for an update on his talks with Home Secretary Theresa May about the Inquiry.

Matheson had previously written to May about Scotland’s exclusion, but she has yet to extend the Inquiry’s remit.

Green MSP John Finnie, a former police officer, said: “That the identities of deceased children had been used by the Metropolitan Police for their undercover officers of the SDS rightly sickened most people. It is very troubling now to hear that it is possible that the identities of deceased children from Scotland may have been stolen by the Met.

“While the Pitchford Inquiry will not be examining undercover policing activities in Scotland, it must tackle and examine the allegation that the use of deceased children’s identities included those born in Scotland."

A spokesperson for the Met said: "The MPS is already working to establish whether close relatives can be identified, so there is no unnecessary delay in the process of informing relatives if the Judge rules that an undercover officer's cover name should be made public. Work is also being done by the MPS now, so that we can apologise in person to close relatives where we already know that undercover officers, whose identities were based on those of a deceased child, will be identified at the Public Inquiry.

"Of course, no assumptions can be made that all families want the same level of disclosure or for the information to be placed in the public domain.

"The MPS is cooperating fully with the Public Inquiry and this, importantly, includes considering how to allay the fears of those families whose child’s identity was not in fact used."