Conduct of Evidence Hearings

The Undercover Policing Inquiry acknowledged that it would be dealing with numerous sensitive issues, e.g. security issues around the use of tactics, and the needs of victims of undercover policing. Because of this, the Inquiry recognised that it needed to consider the manner in which evidential hearings would be held.

Central to some of these discussions was balancing the need to protect Restriction Orders over information and identities against the need to have the Inquiry held in public as much as possible.

The Inquiry consulted on a number of issues: Press Notice: Undercover Policing Inquiry seeks views on how hearings should run, 30 Aug 2018, UCPI.View Document

• venue and facilities for those attending hearings;
• communication, recording of proceedings, and live streaming;
• the handling of evidential documents;
• the giving of oral evidence; and
• facilities and support for witnesses on the day they gave evidence.

In 2019, this process cumulated in a Hearing Protocol in which the Inquiry set out how it generally expected to manage things. Hearings Protocol, 18 Dec 2019, UCPI.View Document  Exceptions to the process or requests outside the above topics are considered special measures and require specific applications.

Following the Tranche 1 Phase 1 evidential hearings in November 2020, it was recognised that some issues needed reviewing, including the use of a rolling text transcript for those not able to attend the Inquiry hearings in person, and the use of Rule 10 questions. These were dealt with in the ‘Directions Hearing’ of January 2021 and updated in the Directions issued by the Inquiry Chair on 1 March 2022 ahead of the Tranche 1 Phase 3 hearings. Directions on the conduct of the Tranche 1 Phase 3 hearings, 1 Mar 2022, UCPI.View Document  

In 2024, the Inquiry issued a refinement of the Hearings Protocol, Hearings Protocol – June 2024, 5 Jun 2024, UCPI.View Document  though without submissions or hearings from other parties.

There have been other issues discreet issues, separate to the Hearings Protocol, considered from time to time. These include how to handle breaches of Restriction Orders, and the use of social media during the evidential hearings. There have also been bespoke hearings on Restricted Reporting Orders Reporting Restriction Orders Full page: Reporting Restriction Orders  and special measures as relating to the evidence of officers such as HN109. HN109 HN109 was an SDS undercover officer in the 1970s, the exact dates and groups he infiltrated have not been disclosed. Even their gender is restricted. They returned to the Special Demonstration Squad as a Detective Inspector and manager of the unit from October 1987 until April 1990. Full page: HN109  A list of such procedural hearings are in the following table: The P numbers refer to the internal list of procedural hearings, as distinct from the evidential ones.