Met Faces Legal Action Over Spies’ Use of Dead Children’s Identities

London: In a tactic that was used routinely for more than three decades, at least 42 undercover officers created fake personas based on the details of dead children. The relatives of dead children whose identities were stolen by undercover police officers have launched legal action against the Metropolitan police over their resulting trauma. The bereaved families were devastated after discovering police spies who infiltrated political groups had used the identities of their young relatives without consulting or informing them. The victims include a boy who died at birth, a five-year-old who was killed in a plane crash, a severely disabled boy who died at the age of six, and a teenager who drowned at sea.

Four families have started legal action against the Met, saying they are appalled and angered at the conduct of the undercover officers. Their legal action, which has been submitted in a formal claim to Scotland Yard, alleges the Met misused private information and intruded on their personal grief, causing them distress and damaging their mental health. Before the start of their deployments, the officers spent hours trawling through birth and death certificates in official archives to select suitable candidates. They were then issued with fabricated identity records, such as driving licences and passports, in the name of the dead child.

Read more: Rob Evans, Guardian, https://is.gd/xWnJar