Boom Bo the story of undercover police who set up a fake music studio in London

Key points

• It was the undercover police operation that led to 37 people being jailed after officers set up a fake recording studio and record shop on a north London housing estate.
• Now, a four-part television documentary has brought Operation Peyzac back under the spotlight, prompting renewed scrutiny of the tactics used by undercover officers and calls for the operation to be examined by the UK’s ongoing spycops inquiry.
• After a spate of violence, including five murders in the area, the Metropolitan police launched the operation in 2008, tasking officers to pose as music industry figures in a recording studio called Boombox to gather intelligence on gang crime, drugs and firearms offences.
• The studio offered aspiring musicians access to recording facilities and mentorship, creating what participants described as a rare opportunity in an area with few resources for young people.
• But 18 years on, opinions remain divided over the ethics of the...