The Undercover Policing Inquiry (UCPI) is entering Tranche 3 (Phase 2), with evidential hearings to begin on 2 February 2026. Sarah Hemingway is First Junior Counsel to the Inquiry.
Tranche 3 hears evidence from Special Demonstration Squad (SDS) officers deployed during the period between approximately 1993 to 2008 and former SDS managers. The Inquiry is also hearing from numerous non-state witnesses, many who represent groups that were infiltrated and women deceived into sexual relationships with the officers.
Between October and December 2025, during Tranche 3 (Phase 1) hearings, the Inquiry heard from undercover officer and whistle-blower HN43 Peter Francis, HN15 Mark Jenner, and HN16 James Thomson as well as some of the civilians affected by their deployments.
Sarah Hemingway acted as Counsel to the Inquiry at the hearing held on 20 November 2025 when Baroness Lawrence, the mother of Stephen Lawrence, who was murdered in a racist attack in 1993, gave evidence to the Inquiry. This followed the revelation that undercover officers reported on the family’s campaign in the 1990s, which aimed to achieve justice and launch a private prosecution against the murder suspects. Baroness Lawrence was shown undercover officers’ intelligence reports, which were written in 1998. Subsequently, in 1999, the Stephen Lawrence Inquiry led by Sir William Macpherson found the Metropolitan Police to be institutionally racist.
Press Coverage: The Guardian, Independent, The Mirror
The undercover officers due to give evidence in the course of Tranche 3 (Phase 2) are HN14 Jim Boyling, HN3 “Jason Bishop”, HN104 Carlo Soracchi, HN118 “Simon Wellings”, and HN18 Robert Hastings, along with some of the civilians affected by their deployments. Phase 2 will run to March 2026.
Channel 4 News Coverage:
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