An inquiry into undercover policing and the operation of the Metropolitan Police's Special Demonstration Squad is being established by Home Secretary Theresa May.
It will be led by judge Lord Justice Pitchford.
The inquiry will consider the deployment of police officers in undercover roles by police forces in England and Wales.
It will also make recommendations about how undercover policing is conducted.
And it will scrutinise the use of undercover officers by the SDS and National Public Order Intelligence Unit.
'Essential tactic'Mrs May said that the work of barrister Mark Ellison and Operation Herne - an investigation into undercover policing at the Metropolitan Police - has unearthed "serious historical failings" in undercover policing practices.
Mr Ellison - who in 2012 successfully prosecuted Gary Dobson and David Norris for the murder of teenager Stephen Lawrence - has been examining police corruption during the original investigation into the killing in 1993.
She added: "As I said last year, I was profoundly shocked by Mark Ellison's findings and committed to establishing a public inquiry to thoroughly investigate undercover policing and the operation of the SDS.
"While I initially said that Mark Ellison's further work and criminal investigations needed to conclude before the inquiry commences, it has become apparent that these pieces of work were much larger than initially envisaged.
"In the interest of learning the lessons of past failures, I have decided to establish the inquiry now while ensuring existing work is not affected.
"Undercover policing is an essential tactic in the fight against crime but to improve the public's confidence in undercover work we must ensure there is no repeat of these failings in the future."
SDS scrutinyMrs May had announced her intention to set up a judge-led public inquiry following the report of the independent Ellison Inquiry in March last year.
That had found Scotland Yard had spied on Stephen Lawrence's family.
And Operation Herne found that the now-defunct SDS had carried out undercover operations to gather information on 18 justice campaigns over 35 years.
This included the campaign regarding Jean Charles de Menezes, shot by police after being mistaken for a terrorist in the days following the London Underground bombings in 2005.
The SDS was set up in 1968 to infiltrate pressure groups and remained operational until 2008.
It has been the focus of controversy over claims that some undercover officers had sexual relationships and fathered children with campaigners, to help build trust in their false identities.
Home Office reviewMeanwhile, Mrs May has also published an independent review of the Home Office's knowledge of SDS activities, commissioned in March last year.
It found there was no evidence to suggest that the Home Office was aware of:
• The practice, by some officers, of using the identities of dead children
• The risk of SDS officers forming relationships with individuals within groups under false pretences
• Any justice campaign groups being targeted by the SDS
• Any direct knowledge of any criminal activity and court appearances by SDS operatives that could lead to miscarriages of justice
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