Britain's most senior police officer says he would back a public inquiry into claims that undercover officers hunted for information to smear the family of murdered teenager Stephen Lawrence.
However, Met Police Commissioner Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe warned the process could be lengthy and inconclusive.
Former officer Peter Francis has said he was told to dig up "dirt" on Neville and Doreen Lawrence shortly after 18-year-old architecture student Stephen was killed in an unprovoked racist attack at a bus stop in southeast London in April 1993.
Mr Francis said he was also asked to target Stephen's friend, Duwayne Brooks, who witnessed the murder, and other campaigners angry at the failure to bring his killers to justice.
Bernard Hogan-Howe warns an inquiry could be lengthy Speaking on radio station LBC, Sir Bernard said: "If you do have a public inquiry, it can take a long time and it's not always conclusive at the end of it.
"Secondly, if there is more wrongdoing discovered, it still has to come back to the police or to the IPCC (Independent Police Complaints Commission) to investigate and prosecute.
"A public inquiry can decide who did what, but if you want to get into a criminal prosecution or a misconduct process, it still has to fall back to the police. You might end up having two parallel things.
Stephen's father, Neville, now lives in Jamaica "I'm content that the investigation has to continue to establish the facts, and if the Government or Parliament decides that it would prefer a public inquiry, then of course we would support that."
London mayor Boris Johnson said the arguments for a judge-led inquiry are powerful, but quicker processes should be considered.
He said: "Everybody understands that it is important to have an investigation into what happened that is not conducted exclusively by the Metropolitan Police Service. We cannot have them investigating their own alleged malfeasance.
"It has got to be done by somebody independent, as Neville quite rightly says.
"The question is: is a judicial process the right way forward or is there another approach we could take that is quicker, less drawn-out, and which will give the Lawrence family the satisfaction they deserve?"
Theresa May making a statement to the Commons on Monday He suggested that the new Chief Inspector of Constabulary for England and Wales, Tom Winsor, could be asked to speed up his inquiry instead.
"Everybody has been shocked by the idea the police could mount a barrage of denigration and deprecation of people who were campaigning for justice - that is just not right," said Mr Johnson.
"Everybody can see how wrong it was for somebody to issue those orders, if that is indeed what happened, and we need to get to truth as fast as possible."
Mrs Lawrence said "nothing could justify" smear tactics Neville Lawrence has called for a judge-led inquiry into suggestions of a smear campaign, dismissing as "completely unsatisfactory" Home Secretary Theresa May's announcement that they would be examined by two continuing inquiries.
In a statement issued from his home in Jamaica, Mr Lawrence said: "I understand that the Home Secretary has announced that she will extend the inquiries of Mark Ellison QC and Operation Herne, I would like to make it clear that I find this completely unsatisfactory.
"I am convinced that nothing short of a judge-led public inquiry will suffice and I have no confidence that the measures announced today will get to the bottom of this matter."
He added: "I've always felt that my family was under greater investigation than those guilty of killing my beloved Stephen. It is unthinkable that in the extremely dark days and months after my son's murder that my family were subject to such scrutiny."
Referring to the claims, Mr Lawrence's ex-wife Doreen told The Guardian newspaper that "nothing can justify" the use of such tactics.
Prime Minister David Cameron has described the allegations as "horrific" and vowed to "get the full truth out".
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