‘Spycops left my life shattered’
Inquiry told deceived women were made to feel worthless after being ‘used as mere objects to prop up lies of fake activists’

by Bethany Rielly
WOMEN coerced into intimate long-term relationships with spycops were exploited as “mere objects” to prop up the fake identities of officers, their lawyer told a public inquiry yesterday.
Speaking on behalf of 21 women, Phillippa Kaufmann QC told the Undercover Policing Inquiry that the relationships were “driven by institutional sexism” in the police.
Many took place in the last 20 years, with the most recent ending as recently as 2015.
More from this author

In an exclusive investigation, BETHANY RIELLY looks at how the state targeted leading politicians and campaigning groups — labelling many well-known figures 'extremists' and 'subversives' for attempting to hold the police to account

On September 4, 16 Eritrean asylum-seekers were arrested at a protest against their country’s dictatorship and its supporters here. Since then, questions have been raised about whether the British authorities are doing enough to protect activists and asylum-seekers from the ‘long arm’ of the regime in Asmara