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Spycops's practice of stealing dead children’s identities was inspired by The Day of the Jackal, inquest hears

AN UNDERCOVER police officer has admitted to a public inquiry that the practice of stealing dead children’s identities was inspired by political thriller The Day of the Jackal. 

The officer, who used the cover name Paul Gray during his deployment in the 1970s, is one of at least 42 spycops who stole elements of deceased children’s identities to help them spy on protest groups. 

These identities were used to shore up the fake profiles of officers serving in Scotland Yard’s Special Demonstration Squad (SDS) and another unit, which together infiltrated more than 1,000 protest groups over 40 years. 

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