DOZENS of people subjected to police spying have called on a public inquiry to conclude that the undercover unit that targeted them was “unlawful, unjustified and illegitimate” from its inception. 

A short series of hearings summarising the first phase of the judge-led inquiry into undercover policing by the London Met concluded on Wednesday with campaigners urging the probe to “fully and fearlessly” expose police spy abuse.

The probe will now pause before publishing an interim report on the first part of its investigation into industrial-scale police spying on political groups, focusing on the years 1968 and 1982.