The Special Demonstration Squad has dominated the work of the Undercover Policing Inquiry (UCPI). Much of the early years of the UCPI were taken up with applications made by the Metropolitan Police and the officers themselves for anonymity, that is restriction orders which covered both their real and cover names.
About two thirds of the undercovers’ cover names have been released by the Inquiry, though most have had their real names restricted. Many of the names of the managers and back office staff have been released.
Of those undercovers and their managers still living, the Inquiry has requested witness statements and called a number of them to give live evidence. As such, they have been grouped into three separate tranches broken up by time period.
The Inquiry has also disclosed a large volume of SDS intelligence reports, Annual Reports and other documents produced by the unit.
A number of officers are core participants in the Inquiry in their own right, but most are represented by the Designated Lawyers team provided by the Metropolitan Police.