HOME Secretary Theresa May is resisting Scottish Government calls to extend a judge-led inquiry into the undercover policing scandal north of the border.
The UK Government is “not minded” to alter the Inquiry’s remit, in spite of mounting evidence that rogue officers operated in Scotland.
The Home Secretary tasked Lord Justice Pitchford to investigate secret policing amid revelations about the behaviour of police officers who infiltrated protest groups.
Detectives for the Special Demonstration Squad and the National Public Order Intelligence Unit – controlled by the Met and the Association of Chief Police Officers – have been criticised for having sex with their female targets.
The Met paid compensation to seven victims for what Scotland Yard admitted was “'abusive, deceitful, manipulative and wrong” behaviour.
However, the Pitchford remit covers only undercover operations in England and Wales since 1968 and excludes Scotland.
This is in spite of former mole Mark Kennedy being deployed north of the border on 14 occasions.
His most famous assignment was embedding himself in anti-G8 groups during the global summit in Gleneagles in 2005.
Campaigner and filmmaker Jason Kirkpatrick has also said he suspects a female undercover officer targeted him during the high profile event.
Matheson responded to growing demands for a Scottish inquiry by calling on May to extend the Pitchford remit.
As revealed last week, May offered discussions with her Scottish Government counterpart.
An enquiry by the Sunday Herald to the Home Office last week resulted in the same statement being issued.
However, a Home Office source said: “The Home Secretary is not minded to expand the terms of reference at this time.”
John Finnie, a Highlands and Islands MSP and former police officer, said: “It is disappointing to hear the Home Secretary’s position. I have always held the position that these are matters for the Cabinet Secretary for Justice, as criminal justice and policing fall within the competence of his remit. If there is no UK inquiry, there should be a Scottish inquiry.”
Liberal Democrat MSP Alison McInnes said: "Scots are entitled to expect the highest standards of policing and we need to get the full facts over how clandestine officers have been operating. But almost as soon as the Home Secretary offered talks on widening the official probe, extending the inquiry seems to have been taken off the table.
"The most important thing here remains getting to the truth and ensuring that appropriate mechanisms are in place to prevent any repeat of these abuses of power. If the UK inquiry cannot deliver this for Scotland, Michael Matheson will need to make alternative arrangements."
A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “We have received a response from the UK Government in which the Home Secretary has offered to discuss the matter further with Mr Matheson. The Justice Secretary intends to take her up on her offer in due course.”
Mike Penning, the UK Government Minister for Policing, Fire, Criminal Justice and Victims, said: "The Pitchford Inquiry's terms of reference specify it should specifically consider undercover police operations conducted by English and Wales police forces. The inquiry has an independent status under the Inquiries Act 2005 and it is for them to consider evidence against the terms of reference.”
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