Relatives of 42 dead children whose identities were assumed by undercover police officers will not be told that it happened, a report has confirmed.
The Metropolitan Police offered a general apology for the "shock and offence" the practice had caused.
But Commissioner Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe said revealing the identities used would endanger the officers concerned.
The report, led by Derbyshire Chief Constable Mick Creedon, follows press claims about tactics used in the 1980s.
Earlier this year, the Guardian reported that undercover police stole the identities of about 80 children who had died at an early age.
Anonymity 'vital'Sir Bernard said 14 families had contacted the Met to ask whether the identities of their relatives had been used by undercover officers.
- Established by Special Branch in wake of violent anti-Vietnam War demonstrations in 1968 in London
- Aimed to infiltrate suspected "subversives" in the alternative society
- Police officers trawled through national birth and death records for the names of young children who would have been a similar age
- An identity was then "resurrected" as the adult the dead child would have become
- Members were estranged from friends and family for several years
- Became known as "the hairies" because of the long hair and beards considered essential to blend in with some of the groups being targeted
The Met had apologised to them, and to another family that had heard separately that it might be affected by the revelations, he said.
"Undercover officers are brave men and women" and maintaining their anonymity is "vital", Sir Bernard said.
He explained: "There are criminals behind bars and at large today who would have no qualms in doing serious harm if they discovered a former close confidant had been working for the police.
"That's why undercover officers spent so much time building up their 'legend' or false identity, and why that identity must be protected forever."
The report confirmed that the identities of 42 dead children were used by the Metropolitan Police's Special Demonstration Squad (SDS) and the National Public Order Intelligence Unit (NPOIU), which the Met has overseen since January 2011 and was previously under the auspices of the Association of Chief Police Officers (Acpo).
The earliest known use of the tactic occurred between 1976 and 1981 and it was phased out from 1994 in the SDS, the report concluded.
'Swept under the carpet'But it also found that the practice might have been used by the NPOIU as recently as 2003, and that it was "highly possible" that its use was more widespread.
The report said: "A range of officers at different ranks and roles have been interviewed by the investigation team. The information provided corroborates totally the belief that, for the majority of the existence of the SDS, the use of deceased children's identities was accepted as standard practice."
Jules Carey, a solicitor acting for Barbara Shaw, who is concerned that her son Rod Richardson's identity was used, said: "What we heard this morning was not an apology but a PR exercise.
"The families of the dead children whose identities have been stolen by the undercover officers deserve better than this.
"They deserve an explanation, a personal apology and, if appropriate, a warning of the potential risk they face, in the exceptional circumstances, that their dead child's identity was used to infiltrate serious criminal organisations.
"The harvesting of dead children's identities was only one manifestation of the rot at the heart of these undercover units which had officers lie on oath, conduct smear campaigns and use sexual relationships as an evidence-gathering tool."
He added: "Ms Shaw has told me that she feels her complaint has been 'swept under the carpet" and she has instructed me to appeal this outcome."
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