HN314 Detective Chief Inspector Julian McKinney was the penultimate senior officer of the SDS, who took over from HN36 Michael Dell in autumn 2005, just before Special Branch was merged with the Anti-Terrorism Branch, to become SO15 Counter-Terrorism Command.
Alongside HN275 Frankie Flood, he was one of the pair of senior Metropolitan Police officers who were brought in from outside Special Branch in its last years. This led to a perception from many of the SDS undercovers that they were there to close down the SDS, rather than manage it. At least on paper, they were brought in to modernise it, but found it impossible to do so.
He submitted a written statement to the Inquiry on 23 January 2025, but was not called as a 'live' witness.
Full profile to follow.