A woman has revealed how she was left feeling 'numb' after she discovered her partner was an undercover police officer who was being paid to be with her.
Naomi had been working on an environmental campaign when she met a man named Mark Stone.
After a few years of building their friendship, the pair became romantically involved. But just two years on and Naomi discovered the truth; their whole relationship had been a lie.
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Speaking to Metro, Naomi said: "Our relationship was so positive and happy. I felt that he could be a significant part of my future."
The pair ended up parting ways after Mark ended their relationship with a letter, but Naomi explained that they managed to stay friends, until she discovered in 2010 that Mark was actually an undercover cop, whose real name was Mark Kennedy.
Kennedy was unmasked in 2010 after environmental activist Kate Wilson - who was deceived into a nearly two-year relationship Mark - was awarded almost £230,000 compensation after winning a landmark tribunal case against the Metropolitan Police for breaches of her human rights.
"The thing that really gets me is many people were organising that and it was paid for by the state. People pay their tax and national insurance, and then they’re provided with healthcare and protection. This was not protection, this was the opposite of that," Naomi added.
"I physically went into shock. I went numb. It was almost indescribable. I couldn’t understand it.
"I felt scared actually, because when you understand that the police force has been in your life, and in your bed, it is completely destabilising. You don’t know not just who you can trust, but what you can trust.
"It is a terrible, shocking thing to find out that your own government has been paying somebody to sleep with you. I’m still processing that, it’s going to be a lifelong thing."
Naomi's experience is part of a 40-year undercover police operation, which is the focus of new ITV documentary, The Undercover Police Scandal: Love and Lies Exposed.
The operation allegedly saw more than 60 women, often involved in campaigning for environmental causes, the subject of undercover investigations.
Dubbed the 'spy cops scandal' those involved are now part of a decade-long £88 million public inquiry.
"When I first found out about the deceit I felt so shocked, isolated and couldn’t believe it, but meeting these other women, hearing their stories, and working to make sure our voices are heard has been powerful," Naomi added.
A joint statement from the women who feature in the ITV doc explains: "We’ve been working together to expose this policing scandal since we first met in 2011.
"Our lives were devastated by the actions of undercover police and this powerful documentary highlights how we fought back against dehumanising spycops intrusion and abuse, which was sanctioned by the state for decades to undermine progressive campaigns for change.
"By shining a light on the role of these undemocratic, secret, political policing units, we hope the series is part of a dramatic shift away from the culture of misogyny that the police and security services have normalised and puts pressure on decision makers to reverse the current legislation that places undercover officers completely beyond the law."
Meanwhile, Deputy Assistant Commissioner for The Metropolitan Police told ITV: "I’d like to apologise unreservedly for the significant harm and distress caused to the women who were deceived into sexual relationships by undercover officers.
"These were abusive, deceitful, manipulative and wrong. The Met failed to make clear to undercover officers and their managers in the 1980s that such relationships were unacceptable, or provide training and guidance.
"Undercover policing has undergone significant reform since this happened and today is underpinned by strong governance and oversight with clear ethical guidelines and legislative framework".
LADbible has reached out to the Met Police for further comment.
You can watch Undercover Police Scandal: Love and Lies Exposed on ITV Hub now.
Topics: TV and Film, Sex and Relationships, Crime
Lucy Devine