Recommendation DM-11: IPCO inspections of informant policies
From The Report of the Daniel Morgan Independent Panel, published 15 June 2021.
Recommendation
The Panel is concerned that the policies and procedures relating to the use of informants by law enforcement agencies still allow scope for corrupt practices, and it recommends that the Investigatory Powers Commissioner takes this into consideration during inspections.
In brief (written by this site)
The Panel recommended that informant inspections take corruption risks into consideration. In June 2023, the Home Office stated that the Investigatory Powers Commissioner's Office independently oversees these powers and conducts annual inspections to ensure compliance by law enforcement agencies (Home Office response, Jun 2023). The department explained that inspectors conduct interviews with handler and controller staff and scrutinise authorisation paperwork to ensure individual agencies mitigate risks (Home Office response, Jun 2023). It noted that handling risks associated with covert human intelligence sources is a key focus, though corrupt practices were not mentioned (Home Office response, Jun 2023).
Sources
AI-generated summary of the record on this page, checked by a second model and automatic checks, 1 Oct 2026. The record below is the sources' own words.
Government response
2.1.8. The Investigatory Powers Commissioner’s Office (IPCO) independently oversees the use of these powers and conducts annual inspections to ensure compliance by law enforcement agencies. Experienced inspectors will also carry out further ad hoc inspections as required, should particular concerns arise, and overall findings are reported publicly in IPCO’s Annual Report. Handling the risks associated with the use of CHIS is a key focus for IPCO. Inspections include interviews with those in handler and controller roles and detailed scrutiny of the paperwork around the authorisation and management of CHIS, to ensure that risks are properly understood and mitigated by individual agencies.
Delivery
No statement on delivery from Investigatory Powers Commissioner's Office has been found in the sources searched (last checked 30 January 2026). This is separate from the response above.
Source
Responsible bodies
Themes and tags
Who has spoken
- Home Office
Response