Undercover officer allegedly used public money for romantic break in Venice

The Guardian - World NewsEN 3 min read 100% complete by Rob EvansMarch 1, 2026 at 09:00 AM

AI Summary

medium article 3 min

An undercover police officer, Carlo Soracchi, is accused of misusing public funds for a romantic trip to Venice with a woman he was deceiving. The spycops public inquiry heard that Soracchi, who infiltrated socialist and anti-fascist groups between 2000 and 2006, allegedly used Metropolitan Police funds, intended for a trip with UK campaigners to connect with Italian socialists, for a personal getaway with "Lindsey," who he was in a year-long relationship with. Lindsey testified that the three-day trip was a romantic break for the two of them. Soracchi is also accused of deceiving other women into relationships, including a two-year relationship with Donna McLean. The inquiry, led by Sir John Mitting, is investigating the use of undercover officers to infiltrate political groups between 1968 and 2010. Soracchi is scheduled to be questioned next week.

Key Entities & Roles

Key Player Opposition Context

Special Demonstration Squad 30% Sir John Mitting 40% United Kingdom 40% Donna McLean ×250% Metropolitan Police 60% Venice ×570% Lindsey ×670% Carlo Soracchi ×890%

Keywords

undercover police officer 90% carlo soracchi 80% spycops inquiry 80% deceptive relationship 70% venice 60% public money 60% infiltrate campaign groups 50% socialist 40% anti-fascist 40%

Sentiment Analysis

Very Negative

Score: -0.70

Source Transparency

Source

The Guardian - World News

Classification Confidence

90%

This article was automatically classified using rule-based analysis.

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undercover police officer carlo soracchi spycops inquiry deceptive relationship venice public money infiltrate campaign groups socialist anti-fascist

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