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Police use of dead children's identities 'common' Police use of dead children's identities 'was common practice'
(about 1 hour later)
The use of dead children's identities by Scotland Yard's Special Demonstrations Squad was "common practice", MPs have been told. The use of dead children's identities by the Met Police's special demonstrations squad was "common practice", MPs have been told.
Derbyshire Chief Constable Mick Creedon updated MPs on Operation Herne, which is looking at the Met's undercover operations. In a letter about the Operation Herne inquiry into undercover policing, investigation head Mick Creedon said no affected families had been informed.
Claims about the use of the identities relate to the squad's operations in the 1980s. Claims over use of identities relate to the squad's operations in the 1980s.
Mr Creedon was appointed in February. Home Affairs Select Committee chairman Keith Vaz said families affected must be contacted as a matter of urgency.
The row comes more than two years after an undercover officer was revealed to have infiltrated environmental protests groups where he had relationships with two women.
While the practice of undercover officers using the names of dead children has been known about for at least a decade, an article in the Guardian in February estimated 80 members of the special demonstrations squad had done so.
Chief Constable Mick Creedon said there had been a number of speculative inquires from relatives of children who had died asking the Met to confirm their identities had not been used.
"No families of children whose identities have been used have been contacted and informed," he wrote.
"No answer either positive or negative has yet been given in relation to these inquires from families."
He said the issue was "very complicated and mistakes could put lives in jeopardy".
But he said that, as he got to grips with his role as head of the inquiry - to which he was appointed in February - "addressing this issue and providing some reassurance to the public is one of my foremost concerns".