Avon and Somerset Police have issued an apology.
An undercover British police officer used his fake identity to mislead a woman into a 19-year relationship, during which they had a child together. The truth came to light in 2020, shortly after their engagement, according to The Guardian.
The newspaper further reported that it remains unclear why the officer developed the relationship, as there was no indication that the woman was the intended subject of any surveillance operation. The Avon and Somerset Police have issued an apology in response to the situation.
"While working in an undercover role, a former officer engaged in an inappropriate relationship with a member of the public using their pseudonym. The member of the public has no connection with policing, and until recently they were entirely unaware of their links to an undercover police officer," the police force said in the apology.
"We are sorry. We recognise and understand the devastating and appalling impact this has had on all those affected, and we have taken and continue to take our duty of care to them extremely seriously. Our commitment to support them is unwavering, and our genuine and sincere intention is to ensure they're getting the support they need both now and in the future," the police department said.
The newspaper further mentioned that the police officer had concealed his real identity from the woman for the duration of that period, never telling her his real occupation and using his fictitious identity on the birth certificate of their son.
In 2020, after the couple were engaged to be married, the woman discovered that her fiance, whom she believed to be a businessman, was in fact a police officer who had subjected her to a sophisticated deception lasting almost two decades.
An investigation is currently underway against the senior officers at Avon and Somerset Police, who were fully aware of the undercover officer's relationship with the woman dating as far back as 2013.