Official police inspectorate cancels publication of report into police spies after Guardian investigation
Rob Evans and Paul Lewis
A major inquiry into the use of undercover police officers to infiltrate protest groups has been thrown into chaos after the Guardian revealed damaging allegations that police chiefs had authorised undercover police officers to give false evidence in court.
The government’s official police inspectorate dramatically cancelled the planned publication of a report by Bernard Hogan-Howe, the new Metropolitan police commissioner, into the use of police spies.
The announcement came just hours after the Guardian revealed it has obtained documents showing an undercover officer had concealed his identity from a court when he was prosecuted alongside a group of protesters for occupying a government office. Jim Boyling gave a false name and occupation when he was arrested and maintained the fiction even when giving evidence under oath. (more on guardian.co.uk)
