HN807 Paul Condon was the Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police between January 1993 and January 2000, when he retired, after being under pressure due to his force being declared 'institutionally racist' by the Stephen Lawrence Inquiry and the subsequent Macpherson Report.
As the Commissioner, he had ultimate responsibility for the Special Demonstration Squad, although he would not have been involved operationally.
He visited the unit at one of their safe houses in the week after the protests at Welling in 1993, presenting each undercover officer with a bottle of whisky.
Paul Condon has since become a crossbencher in the House of Lords.
He appeared at the Inquiry on 21 July 2026, in which he began with an apology:
I personally apologise for every individual who has been damaged by the actions of officers in the Special Demonstration Squad over the decades, and I am appalled by what I have learnt in the process of this Inquiry.
Full profile to come.