London - British police on Friday issued an
"unreserved apology" to seven women deceived into sexual
relationships with officers on undercover assignments, one of which led to the
birth of a child.
Metropolitan Police accepted the women were tricked into
"abusive, deceitful, manipulative and wrong" relationships and said
that settlements had been reached.
"I acknowledge that these relationships were a
violation of the women's human rights, an abuse of police power and caused
significant trauma," said assistant commissioner Martin Hewitt.
"I unreservedly apologise on behalf of the
Metropolitan Police Service. I am aware that money alone cannot compensate the
loss of time, their hurt or the feelings of abuse caused by these
relationships."
The officers were working for two units - now disbanded -
that infiltrated groups promoting radical political action on issues such as
environmental campaigns, anarchy and animal rights.
Hewitt said that such relationships "should never
have happened", calling them "a gross violation of personal dignity
and integrity."
He warned that any future officer who had a sexual
relationship under similar circumstances faced prosecution.
The women accused the force of "institutional
sexism".
"Although no amount of 'sorry', or financial
compensation, can make up for what we and others have endured, we are pleased
the police have been forced to acknowledge the abusive nature of these
relationships and that they should never happen," they said in a
statement.
"By linking our cases together we have been able to
evidence a clear pattern of abusive, discriminatory behaviour towards women
which amounts to institutional sexism by the Metropolitan Police."
Five former undercover officers were found to have had
relationships while undercover, one of which led to the birth of a child.
That case was settled separately last year for more than $610
000.
Known only as "Jacqui", the woman said she had
received psychiatric treatment since discovering the true identity of her
child's father in a newspaper in 2012.
"He presented himself as Bob Robinson, a long-haired
leftwing radical," the woman known as "Jacqui" told the
Guardian.
"In reality he was a member of a secret police unit,
the special demonstration squad, and was embarking on a five-year mission to
infiltrate environmental and animal rights groups."
The man disappeared from her life when the child was two
years old, going back to his original wife, children and identity.
