Met undercover unit shredded files ahead of inquiry
POLICE officers shredded documents following the announcement of a public inquiry into undercover policing, a watchdog has found.
Members of the Met’s National Domestic Extremism and Disorder Intelligence Unit (NDEDIU) destroyed the material in 2014 despite an order not to do so, according to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC). Inspectors
said the documents may have been relevant to the inquiry, launched in 2014 after revelations over the conduct of undercover officers.
It emerged some officers spied on the family of Stephen Lawrence, the murdered black teenager, had sexual relationships with those they were monitoring and even stole the identities of dead children.
The inquiry, led by Sir John Mitting, a retired judge, had been due to hear evidence in public on June 1. But earlier this week, the scheduled hearings were postponed due to coronavirus.
The IOPC found that when the inquiry was announced in May 2014, the Met’s police intelligence unit destroyed files over a number of days. This was despite an instruction to retain them being circulated throughout the force.
The watchdog said one Met officer would have faced gross misconduct charges if they had still been serving, after failing to act when they were told documents may have been shredded.
Some retired officers have also refused to engage with the investigation.
Sarah Green, the IOPC regional director, said: “This investigation has uncovered serious failings in the NDEDIU and how it handled materials relevant to the undercover policing inquiry.
“Managers should have done more to be clear about what material should be retained, and ensure they had an auditable process for destroying any material believed to be duplicates or not relevant to the inquiry. Our investigation also found that one former officer would have had a case to answer for gross misconduct if still serving, in relation to their failure to take the proper action when the shredding allegation was first reported.
“It is extremely unfortunate that a number of former police managers have refused to engage with this investigation to provide evidence about what steps, if any, were taken to ensure the documents were preserved for the undercover policing inquiry.
“The investigation had no power to compel them to do so although the inquiry may do if it considers their evidence on these issues may be relevant.”
The IOPC also investigated claims by Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb that the unit destroyed information relating to her. But it found no evidence to suggest officers had breached standards of professional behaviour, or that it deliberately targeted the Green Party member, although “passing references” to her were found in its database.