CAMPAIGNERS fighting their own battles for justice against the police said today that the findings of the Daniel Morgan report “ring true” with their own experiences. 

The long-awaited report, published on Tuesday, found “institutional corruption” in the way the Metropolitan Police concealed or denied failings in its investigation into the private investigator’s unsolved murder. 

It also found that the Met had prioritised concerns over its reputation ahead of the search for the truth. 

Inquest director Deborah Coles said that this finding will “ring true” for many of the families it has supported who’ve lost loved ones in state-related deaths. 

“There are so many similarities in the Daniel Morgan case and the culture of delay, denial and defensiveness after state-related deaths, with institutions more concerned with reputation management than being accountable and transparent,” she said. 

“Families should not have to fight for the truth, as Daniel’s have fought for decades.”

Mr Morgan was found dead in a pub car park in south-east London in 1987, with an axe embedded in his head. Despite five police investigations, his death remains unsolved. 

The panel’s findings were a victory for the Morgan family, who have led a 34-year campaign for justice. 

Campaigners subjected to police spying said the way the Met attempted to obstruct the report, with Met Commissioner Dame Cressida Dick personally criticised, draws a parallel with how the force has treated the ongoing Undercover Policing Inquiry. 

“The police attempted a judicial review, demanded special treatment and extra restriction orders at every turn,” Tom Fowler of the Campaign Opposing Police Surveillance told the Morning Star. 

“[They showed an] unwillingness to co-operate with justice in any way. In a way, you could say the Met Police are at war with justice.”

Mr Fowler is also a core participant in the spycops inquiry, which is investigating abuses by officers who infiltrated more than 1,000 protest groups over 40 years. 

Police Spies Out of Lives, a campaign and support group of women deceived into relationships by undercover officers, said they have also struggled to hold the police to account. 

A spokeswoman said: “They attempted to have our cases struck out, have withheld and even destroyed documentation, and resisted any disclosure.

“We have faced a police service with an attitude of defensiveness and reputational self-interest and we support the panel's recommendation that protections for police whistleblowers must be strengthened.”

She added: “We send love and solidarity to the Morgan family. Your fight is our fight and vice-versa.”

Following the report’s publication, Dame Cressida apologised for the Met’s failings in investigating Morgan’s murder, saying that it was a “matter of great regret” that no-one has been brought to justice.