Undercover police officer set fire to Debenhams store, public inquiry told

Evidence has emerged to suggest that an undercover police officer set fire to a high street department store while posing as a committed animal rights activist, causing damage worth £340,000, a public inquiry has heard.

- Rob Evans

The accusation against Bob Lambert, who also fathered a child while undercover and later became a senior police officer, is contained in testimony from one of the conspirators in the arson plot.

At the undercover policing inquiry yesterday, Paul Gravett, an activist, admitted he was part of the coordinated plot, even though he has never been prosecuted for his role in it. Gravett has been given immunity from future prosecution to detail the alleged involvement of Lambert and himself in the clandestine plot to set fire to Debenhams stores in protest against the fur trade in 1987.

Questions had previously been raised in parliament about Lambert's involvement in the arson attack - which he has always denied. However, Gravett's testimony, after years of silence, has been described by David Barr, the inquiry's barrister, as "particularly striking". Four other witnesses have also alleged to the inquiry that Lambert participated in the conspiracy.