Avon and Somerset police apology over undercover officer’s ‘inappropriate relationship’

Full text of apology over undercover officer who deceived a woman into a 19-year relationship

• Revealed: undercover UK police officer deceived woman into 19-year relationship

Avon and Somerset police are under investigation in relation to an undercover police officer who deceived a woman into a 19-year relationship. Senior officers at the force are accused of waiting seven years before telling the woman about the identity of her fiance.

Her family, who say Avon and Somerset have for years put pressure on them to stay silent over the matter, accuse the force of seeking to co-opt them into a cover-up. On Wednesday, after the Guardian's publication of a story about the case, the force issued this apology: