World | UK
Undercover police allowed to tango under the covers
Extremist groups likely to use sex as litmus test
- — Daily Mail
- Published: 00:00 February 3, 2012
London: Undercover police cannot be banned from having sex with their targets because extremist groups would use the rule as a ‘litmus text' to identify officers, a watchdog has admitted.
The Chief Inspector of Constabulary said officers who infiltrate groups of suspected activists have never been stopped from striking up romantic liaisons.
But Sir Denis O'Connor admitted that while there were rules governing officers' behaviour, these must remain secret to stop the guidelines being used to ‘out' police spies.
The police watchdog was called in after several high-profile cases led to a secretive unit being branded the "under the covers squad".
String of affairs
Among them was Met officer Mark Kennedy who conducted a string of affairs over seven years with eco-activists. His former colleague Jim Boyling married a campaigner and fathered two children after infiltrating the anti-capitalist movement Reclaim The Streets.
Sir Denis said last night: "The code expects the best from police officers. They are governed by regulations and the law when they're undercover as they are when they're wearing the uniform. But it would be unwise for us to get into details about their behaviour because there are people who study these things and they would automatically become tests for those individuals."
The former Surrey chief constable spoke as he unveiled a report into undercover operations.
He revealed anonymous officers have helped stop bombs and guns getting into the hands of extremists and disrupted plots aimed at disrupting power supplies and railway lines.
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