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Spycops' victims threaten to walk away from nearly 10 year-long inquiry
Campaigners from Police Spies out of Lives speak to the media after the publication of first part of the report from the Undercover Policing Inquiry, at Blackfriars Settlement, south east London, June 29, 2023

MORE than 100 victims have threatened to walk away from the long-running “unfair” spycops inquiry.

A total of 92 individuals and 20 activist groups have signed an open letter alleging mistreatment by the probe which began in July 2015.

They have threatened to withhold giving evidence to the next stage of the inquiry covering abuses by the Metropolitan Police’s political undercover units between 1993 and 2014.

The non-state “core participants” called for “full disclosure and reasonable timetables” and that “witnesses must not be excluded as a result of insufficient time to prepare — we seek assurances our evidence will be heard.”

Last month the inquiry announced that it was postponing the next round of hearings from April to October 2025 to allow “adequate time for witnesses, core participants, recognised legal representatives and the inquiry team to prepare their evidence.”

But victims said that their six-week deadline to submit witness statements has been left unchanged.

They have called this “deeply unfair” as they only began receiving court documents for “tranche 3” at the end of 2024, while police have had years to prepare.

The core participants yet to receive disclosure are likely to need 12 weeks, the letter says.

It adds: “Despite claiming to take a ‘trauma-informed approach,’ the inquiry has rejected numerous collective submissions asking for more time.

“This approach feels intimidating, punitive and disrespectful. It goes against the spirit of participation and disregards the efforts we have put in.

“We refuse to allow this unfairness to happen again and are taking a collective stand to protect the most vulnerable among us.

“We will not submit our evidence until the inquiry engages substantively and meaningfully with these concerns.”

An inquiry spokesperson said: “The chair and the inquiry team are reviewing the points raised in the 10 March letter and will respond to the letter directly.”

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