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67-488: The Undercover Policing Inquiry is an independent statutory inquiry into undercover policing in England and Wales . It was announced by Theresa May , the then Home Secretary , on 6 March 2014, and its terms of reference were published on 16 July 2015. The Inquiry has been chaired by Sir John Mitting since July 2017, following the resignation due to ill-health of Sir Christopher Pitchford . Theresa May commissioned

134-517: A new variant that originated in the UK becoming dominant, began in the autumn and peaked in mid-January 2021, and was deadlier than the first. The UK started a COVID-19 vaccination programme in early December 2020. Generalised restrictions were gradually lifted and were mostly ended by August 2021. A third wave, fuelled by the new Delta variant , began in July 2021, but the rate of deaths and hospitalisations

201-593: A novel coronavirus was the cause of a respiratory illness in a cluster of people in Wuhan City, Hubei , China, which was reported to the WHO on 31 December 2019. The case fatality ratio for COVID-19 has been much lower than SARS of 2003 , but the transmission has been significantly greater, with a significant total death toll. Scientists used statistical analysis of data from genetic sequencing, combined with epidemiological and estimated travel data, to estimate

268-542: A conviction. The disclosures also led to the closing of the units concerned, and a public inquiry titled the " Undercover Policing Inquiry ", concerning the conduct of police in undercover operations, led by Christopher Pitchford , a Lord Justice of Appeal and member of the Privy Council . Several policemen who carried out undercover operations are profiled in the book Undercover: The True Story of Britain's Secret Police (2013). The play Any Means Necessary

335-739: A further increase in cases that surpassed previous records, although the true number of infections was thought to be higher. It became mandatory for people to show proof of full vaccination or proof that they are not infected to enter certain indoor hospitality and entertainment venues. On 9 January 2022, the UK became the seventh country worldwide to pass 150,000 reported COVID-19 deaths. All remaining legally enforced COVID-19 related restrictions concluded in Northern Ireland and England during February 2022, with that step being taken in Scotland (partially extended into April) and Wales by

402-506: A hospital appointment, and 37% of older people felt less confident going to a GP surgery. Research by The Sunday Times reported that in 2021, the proportion of private school pupils receiving A*, a mark for exceptional achievement, was 39.5 per cent, rising from 16.1 per cent in 2019. The highest record in terms of increase came from the North London Collegiate School , where senior fees could surpass £21,000

469-563: A significant impact on people's mental health—with particular damage to the mental health of foreign-born men whose work hours have been reduced/eliminated. The pandemic has had far-reaching consequences in the country that go beyond the spread of the disease itself and efforts to quarantine it, including political, cultural, and social implications. Sophie Grégoire Trudeau , the wife of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau , tested positive for COVID-19 upon her return from WE Day events in

536-481: A unit solely for covert policing operations. One of the forces that makes extensive use of surveillance-led policing is Greater London 's Metropolitan Police . The Metropolitan Police unit was formerly a Specialist Operations designation devoted to covert policing, which was SO10 . Since then, most of the Specialist Operations units have been disbanded or merged, giving way to SO10 being merged into

603-690: A year and the proportion of A* grades rose from 33.8 per cent in 2019 to 90.2 per cent in the summer of 2021. At 25 schools, the number of A* grades trebled or even quadrupled. These and other findings led MPs to call for an inquiry into the "manipulation" of the exam system during the COVID-19 crisis. The pandemic was widely disruptive to the economy of the United Kingdom, with most sectors and workforces adversely affected. Some temporary shutdowns became permanent; some people who were furloughed were later made redundant. The economic disruption has had

670-532: Is Spring 2024. Criticisms levelled against the Inquiry have included concerns about long delays in its work (the Guardian said: "The inquiry has performed to perfection its dual function of creating the illusion of a political response, while firmly kicking the issue into the long grass"), the perceived suitability of Sir John Mitting as chair, and his decisions to allow many undercover officers giving evidence to

737-601: Is a Fiction Factory co-production with S4C, Tinopolis and All3Media International for S4C, BBC Wales, BBC 4 and Netflix. COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom The COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom is a part of the worldwide pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 ( COVID-19 ) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 ( SARS-CoV-2 ). In the United Kingdom , it has resulted in 25,012,428 confirmed cases, and

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804-482: Is associated with 232,112 deaths. The virus began circulating in the country in early 2020, arriving primarily from travel elsewhere in Europe. Various sectors responded , with more widespread public health measures incrementally introduced from March 2020. The first wave was at the time one of the world's largest outbreaks. By mid-April the peak had been passed and restrictions were gradually eased. A second wave, with

871-632: Is based on the infiltration of the Ratcliffe-on-Soar power station protest. It was the staged at Nottingham Playhouse in February 2016. Spanner films in 2014 planned a television drama series based on the story of the undercover officers. The police detective drama series Hinterland - Y Gwyll was broadcast from 2013 to 2016. It was set in Wales and shot in English and Welsh. The series

938-471: Is the best way to compare outcomes between countries. The study found that, compared to other countries, the UK tended to attribute more deaths to COVID-19. A Cambridge University epidemiologist, Raghib Ali, said that the study would correct "widespread misconceptions" about the way the UK had handled the pandemic, and that there was "no clear relationship between levels of excess mortality and different levels of restrictions... across western Europe or indeed

1005-649: The Ellison review , presented to Parliament on 6 March 2014, found a number of serious concerns relating to undercover policing practices. Ellison also highlighted a possible link between an allegedly corrupt police officer involved in the Lawrence campaign, and the 1987 murder of private investigator Daniel Morgan . The Inquiry is investigating undercover police operations conducted by English and Welsh police forces in England and Wales since 1968. It primarily examines

1072-481: The Specialist Crime Directorate to be designated SCD10. Now designated as SC&O 10, it falls under the purview of Specialist Crime & Operations . The concept of covert policing evolved from that of community policing , but as criminality advanced, covert policing was seen to be needed to combat this. CID detectives have usually worn civilian clothes rather than a uniform since

1139-532: The severe economic impact . It also forwent the procurement process in contracts in response to shortages of PPE and medical equipment , major issues in the early months of the outbreak, and for developing a contact tracing app . There has been some disparity between the outbreak's severity in England , Scotland , Wales and Northern Ireland – health-care in the UK is devolved , each constituent country having its own publicly-funded healthcare system run by devolved governments. The COVID-19 pandemic led to

1206-415: The 20th-highest death rate worldwide. Since early 2021 the UK has had one of the world's highest testing rates. In March 2022, The Lancet published a study showing that, compared to other western European countries, with 127 per 100,000 population, the UK had a lower excess deaths rate during the pandemic than the average, and lower than Italy (227), Portugal (202), Spain (187), Belgium (147), and

1273-675: The Inquiry to remain anonymous. In March 2018 campaigners and their legal teams walked out of an Inquiry hearing, calling for Mitting to stand down or appoint a full panel. A number of the CPs (Core Participants) involved in the inquiry are campaigning together. They are the Campaign Opposing Police Surveillance (COPS) and Police Spies Out of Lives. Covert policing in the United Kingdom Most British police forces have formed

1340-562: The Netherlands (140), that the difference between the UK, France (124), and Germany (121) was not statistically significant, and that Ireland (13) and the Scandinavian countries had a lower rate. The UK rate is marginally more than the world average of 120. The study was of excess mortality in 191 countries over the years 2020 and 2021 during the pandemic, the method that the chief medical officer of England , Chris Whitty , said

1407-600: The Omicron wave continued. Economic support was given to struggling businesses, including a furlough scheme for employees. As well as the major strain on the UK's healthcare service , the pandemic has had a severe impact on the UK's economy , caused major disruptions to education and had far-reaching impacts on society and politics . On 12 January 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) confirmed that

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1474-534: The Streets , Red Action , Republican Forum, Revolutionary Socialist Students Federation , Socialist Party (England and Wales) , Socialist Workers Party , South London Animal Movement (SLAM), Tri-Continental , Troops Out Movement , Vietnam Solidarity Campaign , West London Hunt Saboteurs, Workers Revolutionary Party , Young Haganah, Young Liberals , Youth against Racism in Europe . The Undercover Research Group has published an extensive list of known spycops and

1541-584: The UK and were given special permission to visit a dying parent. The women had entered the country on 7 June, after first flying into Doha and Brisbane . A 2021 study suggested that the SARS-CoV-2 Alpha variant , which was first detected in Kent , spread internationally via flights originating in London in late 2020. This article presents official statistics gathered during the COVID-19 pandemic in

1608-500: The UK introduced advice for travellers coming from affected countries in late January and February 2020, and began contact tracing , although this was later abandoned. The government incrementally introduced further societal restrictions on the public as the virus spread across the country in the following weeks, initially resisting more stringent measures introduced elsewhere in Europe and Asia . Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced

1675-437: The UK went into a third lockdown . The second wave peaked in mid-January with over 1,000 daily deaths, before declining into the summer. The first COVID-19 vaccine was approved and began being deployed across the UK in early December, with a staggered rollout prioritising the most vulnerable and then moving to progressively younger age groups. The UK was the first country to do so, and in early 2021 its vaccination program

1742-832: The UK; on 12 March 2020 the Trudeau family entered two weeks of self-isolation. The first patient in Mauritius was a 59-year-old man who returned from the United Kingdom on 7 March 2020. When he arrived in Mauritius, the Mauritian had no symptoms. Other cases of the novel coronavirus resulting from travel to the UK were subsequently reported in India and Nigeria. On 16 June 2020, it was widely reported in British media that New Zealand's first COVID-19 cases in 24 days were diagnosed in two British women, both of whom had travelled from

1809-495: The Undercover Policing Inquiry in 2015, in response to a string of allegations about the activities of undercover units, including the disclosure that police had spied on campaigners fighting for justice for Stephen Lawrence . In 2012 Theresa May had commissioned Mark Ellison KC to review allegations of corruption relating to the initial police investigation of the 1993 murder of Lawrence. The report from

1876-546: The United Kingdom. Reports from the Medical Research Council's Centre for Global Infectious Disease Analysis at Imperial College , London have been providing mathematically calculated estimates of cases and case fatality rates. In February 2020, the team at Imperial College, led by epidemiologist Neil Ferguson , estimated about two-thirds of cases in travellers from China were not detected and that some of these may have begun "chains of transmission within

1943-418: The aim is to reduce the health impact of the epidemic but not to stop transmission completely; and suppression, where the aim is to reduce transmission rates to a point where case numbers fall. Until this point, government actions had been based on a strategy of mitigation, but the modelling predicted that while this would reduce deaths by approximately 2/3, it would still lead to approximately 250,000 deaths from

2010-610: The conduct of two now disbanded units: the Metropolitan Police's Special Demonstration Squad (SDS) and the National Public Order Intelligence Unit (NPOIU). It is looking at allegations that undercover officers infiltrated and disrupted social justice groups and movements, deceived women into intimate relationships , stole the names of dead children to create fake identities , and concealed evidence in court cases. As of April 2018

2077-522: The countries they entered". They forecast that the new type of coronavirus could infect up to 60% of the UK's population, in the worst-case scenario. In a paper on 16 March 2020, the Imperial College team provided detailed forecasts of the potential impacts of the epidemic in the UK and US. It detailed the potential outcomes of an array of 'non-pharmaceutical interventions'. Two potential overall strategies outlined were: mitigation, in which

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2144-460: The country's healthcare system , leading to long waiting lists for medical procedures and ambulances, also led to an indirect increase in deaths from other conditions. It also had a major mental health impact . In August 2021, a report from Age UK found that 27% of people over 60 could not walk as far and 25% were living in more physical pain earlier this year compared to the start of the pandemic. 54% of older people felt less confident attending

2211-581: The country, localised lockdowns, social distancing measures , self-isolation laws for those exposed to the virus and rules on face masks were introduced (though certain exemptions were permitted), as well as efforts to expand COVID-19 testing and tracing. In autumn and winter 2020, further nationwide lockdowns were introduced in response to a surge in COVID-19 cases and the Alpha variant . A COVID-19 vaccination programme began in December 2020. In mid-2021,

2278-473: The delay in the reporting of deaths from the virus meant there was a risk of underestimating the steepness of the rising epidemic trend. In December 2021 scientists from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine predicted that Omicron could cause from 25,000 to 75,000 deaths in England over the five months to April 2022 unless there were more stringent restrictions, and would probably become

2345-481: The disease and the health systems becoming overwhelmed. On 16 March, the Prime Minister announced changes to government advice, extending self-isolation to whole households, advising social distancing particularly for vulnerable groups, and indicating that further measures were likely to be required in the future. A paper on 30 March 2020 by the Imperial College group estimated that the lockdown would reduce

2412-410: The dominant variant by the end of 2021. As of 20 December 2021, there had been 11.4 million confirmed cases – the most in Europe and fourth-highest worldwide. By that date there had been 232,112 deaths among people who had recently tested positive – the world's seventh-highest death toll and 28th-highest death rate by population . This is Europe's second-highest death toll after Russia , and

2479-512: The early to mid-20th century consisted of police officers walking a beat , one in each neighbourhood. This gave rise to the term "bobbies on the beat" and "golden age policing", as the officers patrolled the streets on foot rather than from police cars . Possibly the most accurate television portrayal of the archetypal British policing was the BBC programme Dixon of Dock Green (1955 to 1976). The Criminal Intelligence Branch (which Covert Policing

2546-686: The early weeks of the pandemic, case numbers were underestimated, obscuring the extent of the outbreak. A legally-enforced Stay at Home Order, or lockdown , was introduced on 23 March, banning all non-essential travel and contact with other people, and shut schools, businesses, venues and gathering places. People were told to keep apart in public. Those with symptoms, and their households, were told to self-isolate , while those considered at highest risk were told to shield . The health services worked to raise hospital capacity and established temporary critical care hospitals , but initially faced some shortages of personal protective equipment . By mid-April it

2613-581: The end of March. Cases rose following the relaxation of restrictions but began, along with hospitalisations and deaths, to fall shortly after. The UK Health Security Agency publishes a weekly "national influenza and coronavirus (COVID-19) report", which summarises COVID-19 levels and other seasonal respiratory illnesses. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom, the UK Government introduced various public health and economic measures to mitigate its impact. Devolution meant that

2680-487: The first national lockdown on 23 March 2020 and Parliament introduced the Coronavirus Act 2020 , which granted the devolved governments emergency powers and empowered the police to enforce public health measures. As the governments began lifting the nationwide stay-at-home order, policies and approaches diverged between the four nations. The Scottish government uniquely pursued an elimination strategy . Across

2747-488: The foundation of the CID. Because detectives are often concerned with the evidence-gathering stage of an investigation, they are assumed by many to be the officers required to surveille suspects as they go about their daily routines. However, this is not the case. There are Specialist Surveillance Teams that deploy a number of covert tactics to gather intelligence and evidence of suspects. Much of Britain's police service throughout

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2814-699: The four nations' administrative responses to the pandemic differed; the Scottish Government , the Welsh Government , and the Northern Ireland Executive produced different policies to those that apply in England. Numerous laws were enacted or introduced throughout the crisis. The UK government had developed a pandemic response plan in previous years. In response to the first confirmed COVID-19 cases in January 2020,

2881-545: The government lifted most restrictions during the third wave driven by the Delta variant , until the "winter plan" reintroduced some rules in response to the Omicron variant in December that year. Remaining restrictions were lifted in England from 24 February 2022 under a " living with COVID " plan announced by the government on that date. Economic support was provided to struggling businesses and to furlough employees to mitigate

2948-580: The groups they spied upon. Tranche 1, Phase Hearings of the inquiry took place in November 2020 and took evidence about the SDS between 1968-1972 from non-state witnesses and undercover police officers. The inquiry started hearing evidence on 2 November 2020, with seven days of opening statements then seven days of evidence hearings. The hearings were conducted remotely due to the COVID-19 pandemic . The inquiry

3015-535: The highly transmissible SARS-CoV-2 Delta variant . However, mass vaccination continued to keep deaths and hospitalisations at much lower levels than in previous waves. Infection rates remained high and hospitalisations and deaths rose into the autumn. In December, the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant was confirmed to have arrived and begun spreading widely in the community, particularly in London , driving

3082-940: The inquiry has confirmed that undercover police had infiltrated the following groups and movements: Anarchist groups, Animal Liberation Front , Anti-Apartheid Movement , Anti-Fascist Action , Big Flame , Black Power movement , Brixton Hunt Saboteurs, Anglia Ruskin Churchill Society (Young Conservatives), Colin Roach Centre, Dambusters Mobilising Committee, Dissent! , Earth First! , Essex Hunt Saboteurs, Friends of Freedom Press Ltd , Globalise Resistance , Independent Labour Party , Independent Working Class Association , International Marxist Group , International Socialists , Irish National Liberation Solidarity Front , London Animal Action, London Animal Rights Coalition, London Boots Action Group, London Greenpeace , Militant , No Platform , Antifa, Operation Omega, Reclaim

3149-409: The largest fall in life expectancy in England since records began in 1981. On average, British COVID-19 victims lost around a decade of life; the last time deaths rose so sharply in the UK was during World War II . In 2020, the disease was the leading cause of death among men, and second leading cause among women. Research in 2021 suggests over 1 million people in the UK have had Long COVID , with

3216-478: The majority reporting substantial impacts on day-to-day life. Professor Danny Altmann of Imperial College London said in March 2022, "It's kind of an anathema to me that we've kind of thrown in the towel on control of Omicron wave infections and have said 'it's endemic, and we don't care any more, because it's very benign'," he said. "It just isn't. And there are new people joining the long Covid support groups all

3283-467: The number of dead from 510,000 to less than 20,000. This paper and others relied on data from European countries including the UK to estimate that the combined non-pharmaceutical interventions reduced the reproduction number of the virus by 67–87%, enough to stop infections from growing. However, followup work concluded that the effectiveness of interventions was lower in later waves of infections. In April 2020, biostatistician Professor Sheila Bird said

3350-405: The police for ruining his life and failing to "protect" him from falling in love with one of the environmental activists whose movement he infiltrated. It later emerged that Kennedy had previously undertaken criminal acts as part of his role for other countries, including Denmark , where he stated that, in the guise of an environmental activist, he was used by the police forces of 22 countries and

3417-664: The protest". CPS lawyer Ian Cunningham faced dismissal after a report by Sir Christopher Rose criticised him for his lack of candour. In November 2015 the Metropolitan Police force apologized unreservedly to seven women "tricked into relationships" over a period of 25 years by officers in the Special Demonstration Squad (SDS) and the National Public Order Intelligence Unit (NPOIU). The officers involved had eventually "vanished", leaving questions and deceit behind, described by victims as " psychological torture ". Financial settlements estimated at £3 million for

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3484-581: The revelation of undercover police involvement, in which the police were described as having been not just observers, but agent provocateurs , and the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) was forced to withdraw the case after Kennedy confessed to the set-up, evidence of which the CPS had withheld from the defence, along with secret tapes "that could have exonerated six activists, known as the 'deniers' because they claimed not to have agreed to join

3551-753: The seven claimants were also made as part of the settlement. Crown Prosecutors declined to bring charges against any police officers or their supervisors, including charges for rape and other sexual crimes (covering sex under false pretences, unconsented sexual acts, and other potential offences). The CPS statement stated that misrepresenting identity, and obtaining sexual consent due to a false identity, did not generally create an offence of rape in English law , other than in specific statutory-defined situations, and therefore rape charges would be unlikely to succeed. For similar reasons, indecent assault , procurement for sexual intercourse by false pretences, and misconduct in office were also felt to lack sufficient basis for

3618-458: The source locations of the virus in the UK up to the beginning of March 2020, and following the initial importations which were likely from China or elsewhere in Asia. From this analysis they estimated that about 33% were from Spain, 29% from France, 12% from Italy and 26% from elsewhere. Notes: Though later reporting indicated that there may have been some cases dating from late 2019, COVID-19

3685-567: The time with their disabilities. It's really not OK, and it's heartbreaking." The Office for National Statistics estimated that the number of people in the UK with continuing COVID symptoms like fatigue, muscle pain and breathing problems had doubled in a year from one million in May 2021 to two million in May 2022. The Guardian reported in June 2022 that treatment facilities for patients with long COVID were inadequate. The pandemic's major impact on

3752-412: The virus is thought to have originated in Kent around September 2020. Once restrictions were lifted, the novel variant rapidly spread across the UK. Its increased transmissibility contributed to a continued increase in daily infections that surpassed previous records. The healthcare system had come under severe strain by late December. Following a partial easing of restrictions for Christmas, all of

3819-427: Was a branch of before SO designations were devised) was formed in March 1960 and provided surveillance on known criminals, keeping pace with criminal methodology and technology. A Select Committee report on the 2009 G-20 London summit protests revealed that 25 undercover officers were deployed and were mixing with demonstrators. The overall charge, Bob Broadhurst , claimed that the deployment of undercover officers

3886-675: Was a police officer in a role as part of their official duties. Various legal actions followed, including by eight women who took action against the Metropolitan Police and the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO), stating they were deceived into long-term intimate relationships by five officers, including Mark Kennedy , the first officer identified in 2010 as infiltrating social and environmental justice campaigns, and Mark Kennedy himself who claimed in turn that he had been incompetently handled by his superiors and denied psychological counselling . The Guardian reported that Kennedy sued

3953-651: Was at the time one of the largest worldwide. By the autumn, COVID-19 cases were again rising. This led to the introduction of social distancing measures and some localised restrictions. Larger lockdowns took place in all of Wales, England and Northern Ireland later that season. In both England and Scotland, tiered restrictions were introduced in October, and England went into a month-long lockdown during November followed by new tiered restrictions in December. Multi-week 'circuit-breaker' lockdowns were imposed in Wales and Northern Ireland . A new variant of

4020-420: Was confirmed to be present in the UK by the end of January 2020 with the first confirmed deaths in March. Subsequent epidemiological analysis showed that over 1000 lineages of SARS-CoV-2 entered the UK in early 2020 from international travellers, mostly from outbreaks elsewhere in Europe , leading to numerous clusters that overwhelmed contact tracing efforts. Limited testing and surveillance meant during

4087-507: Was introduced on 23 March 2020 and lifted in May, replaced with specific regional restrictions. Further nationwide restrictions were introduced later in 2020 in response to a surge in cases. Most restrictions were lifted during the Delta-variant-driven third wave in mid-2021. The "winter plan" reintroduced some rules in response to the Omicron variant in December 2021, and all restrictions were lifted in February and March 2022 as

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4154-415: Was lower than with the first two waves – this being attributed to the mass vaccination programme. By early December 2021, the Omicron variant had arrived, and caused record infection levels. The UK government and each of the three devolved governments (in Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales) introduced public health and economic measures , including new laws , to mitigate its impact. A national lockdown

4221-493: Was one of the fastest in the world. By August 2021, more than 75% of adults in the UK were fully vaccinated against COVID-19. Quarantine rules for all incoming travellers were introduced for the first time in late January. Restrictions began to ease from late February onwards and almost all had ended in Great Britain by August. A third wave of daily infections began in July 2021 due to the arrival and rapid spread of

4288-405: Was reported that restrictions had " flattened the curve " of the epidemic and the UK had passed its peak after 26,000 deaths. The UK's overall death toll and by population surpassed that of Italy on 3 May, making the UK the worst affected country in Europe at the time. Restrictions were steadily eased across the UK in late spring and early summer that year. The UK's epidemic in early 2020

4355-692: Was responsible for the closing down of the Youth House community centre in Copenhagen, and in Germany, for German police, including arson . The use of undercover officers caused the collapse of trials, and led to the revelation of unlawful withholding of evidence by the Crown Prosecution Service . The trial of six activists accused of conspiracy to commit aggravated trespass at Ratcliffe-on-Soar Power Station collapsed following

4422-541: Was to focus on the deployment of about 140 undercover police officers to spy on over 1,000 political groups over more than 40 years. Tranch1, Phase 2 Hearings in April and May 2021 heard evidence about SDS activities between 1970-1979. In May 2022, Tranche ,1 Phase 3, the inquiry mainly heard evidence from SDS police managers over the period 1968-1982. The Inquiry published its interim report for Tranche One on 29 June 2023. The expected commencement of Tranche Two hearings

4489-420: Was unknown to him at the time, and that the plainclothes officers were "evidence gatherers". Around the end of 2010 and during 2011 it was disclosed in UK media that a number of undercover police officers had, as part of their 'false persona', entered into intimate relationships with members of targeted groups and in some cases proposed marriage or fathered children with protesters who were unaware their partner

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