Deceiving women into sexual relations ‘part of work’ for spycops, inquiry told

Whistleblower says senior managers did not forbid intimate relationships and advised him to use condoms

Senior managers running a covert unit permitted undercover police officers to deceive women into sexual relations, the spycops public inquiry has heard.

Peter Francis, a former undercover officer who has become a whistleblower, said the sexual relations were a routine feature of the covert operations for years. He said they were “an ordinary part of the undercover role … it was regarded by officers and management alike as part of the work”.