PRESS RELEASE: UNDERCOVER POLICING INQUIRY – CLOSING SUBMISSIONS PUBLISHED (21.2.2023)

Today at 2pm the Undercover Policing Inquiry  will hear closing submissions by Charlotte Kilroy KC on behalf of 25 women deceived into relationships by undercover police officers (UCOs), a child of one of those relationships and a man deceived into a close long-term friendship. The written submissions are published here. They highlight a buried report published in 1983 detailing the depths of misogyny in the Metropolitan police force and reveal that the MPS has known about these attitudes for forty years. (paragraph 37, p 15 Category H written submissions). We believe this to establish a clear link between the abuse of our clients at the hands of the UCOs and the police misogyny now being exposed in the media.

Paragraph 19 of the closing submissions says: “In this Closing [the women] accordingly invite the Chair to find that the misogyny and institutional sexism which was (and as recent events have demonstrated remains [fn1]), endemic in police culture was a strong contributing factor in:

1. The fact that UCOs entered into sexual relationships with members of the public in T1;
2. The failure of more senior officers in the SDS and MPS to take any steps to eliminate the obvious risk of such relationships;
3. The persistence of the sexual misconduct of UCOs over the T1 period, and beyond.”

We direct any press inquiries to media@policespiesoutoflives.org.uk. The PSOOL press release including a summary of the closing submissions is available here.

FOOTNOTE 1: Operation Hotton Learning Report published in January 2022 found “an underlying culture allowed conduct issues to permeate and behavioural problems went unchallenged.” Available at: https://www.policeconduct.gov.uk/sites/default/files/Operation%20Hotton%20Learning%20report%20-%20January%202022.pdf; the Angiolini Inquiry was established in November 2021 to investigate the issues raised by the abduction, rape and murder of Sarah Everard by Wayne Couzens, a serving Metropolitan police officer. The Terms of Reference for the Inquiry were updated in February 2023 to include the case of former PC David Carrick.  https://www.angiolini.independent-inquiry.uk/. On 25 January 2023, Sir Mark Rowley, MPS Commissioner admitted that two to three Met Police Officers will appear in court every week including for sexual offences. L. Dearden, Two to three Met Police officers including alleged sex offenders to appear in court every week. 25 January 2023 https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/met-police-officers-court-rape-rowley-b2268832.html

 BIRNBERG PEIRCE 21 FEBRUARY 2023