UK police asked to stop using dead children's IDs
British lawmakers say that police must stop stealing the identities of dead children to build aliases for undercover operations, calling the practice abhorrent.
British lawmakers say that police must stop stealing the identities of dead children to build aliases for undercover operations, calling the practice abhorrent.
In a report published on Friday, lawmakers called for an overhaul of regulations covering undercover operations, which have been engulfed by scandal following the collapse of a high-profile case involving a police spy in 2011.
It has since emerged that undercover officers had sexual relationships with the female activists they were watching, and that one had even fathered a child while on the job.
Earlier this month the Guardian newspaper said some undercover officers had stolen the identities of dead children to help fill out their back stories.
The House of Commons' Home Affairs Select Committee said the practice was "ghoulish" and "must never occur again."