Undercover police unit closed down over unjustified surveillance, spycops inquiry told

A covert British police unit that spied on tens of thousands of political activists has been shut down. The Special Demonstration Squad conducted unjustified surveillance and was poorly run, the spycops public inquiry has heard. Jon Boutcher, a senior police officer who took responsibility for the unit, concluded within months that it needed to be closed after finding it infiltrated groups that posed no genuine threat. The inquiry was told this caused incalculable harm.

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