Times of London : Scotland Yard guilty over De Menezes death

Scotland Yard guilty over De Menezes death

Philippe Naughton | November 1, 2007

Sir Ian Blair came under pressure to resign as Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police today after a jury found the force guilty of a "catastrophic" series of failings in the killing of Jean Charles de Menezes, the Brazilian shot dead at Stockwell Tube two years ago after being mistaken for a suicide bomber.

Mr de Menezes, 27, was shot seven times by specialist firearms officers who followed him into the South London station on July 22, 20005. He was mistaken for Hussain Osman, one of four men who had tried unsuccessfully to launch a suicide attack on London's transport system the day before.

Prosecutors at the Old Bailey set out 19 alleged failings in the police operation in the hours leading up to the shooting – amounting to a breach of duty towards the public under health and safety laws.

But in a rare procedure, an Old Bailey jury attached a rider to their verdict, declaring that the officer who was in charge of the operation, Cressida Dick, should not be held personally responsible for its failure. The foreman told the court: "In reaching this verdict the jury attaches no personal culpability to Commander Dick."

The Met was fined £175,000 and ordered to pay £385,000 costs. The judge, Mr Justice Henriques, made it clear that it was only because the Met was a public body that it escaped a higher fine, which could have hit frontline policing.

Mr Justice Henriques said that the killing had been "an isolated breach brought about by quite extraordinary set of circumstances" and concurred with the jury with their caveat exonerating Deputy Assistant Commissioner Dick.

But the verdict cast doubt on Sir Ian's future as Britain's top policeman. David Davies, the Shadow Home Secretary, said that the Commissioner's position was now "untenable" and the Liberal Democrats immediately called for his resignation after today's verdict.

Sir Ian, whose office was effectively on trial during the case, had said before it started that he feared a guilty verdict would have a "profound" impact on policing throughout the UK. The Scotland Yard chief, who had come under fire over the fact that he was not promptly told that an innocent man had been shot, was at the Old Bailey this afternoon to hear the verdict.

Ronald Thwaites, QC, representing the Met, had told the jury that Mr de Menezes was acting in an "aggressive and threatening manner" when challenged by officers. But campaigners reacted angrily to the way police defended the case, accusing them of a "sickening" attempt to blacken Mr de Menezes’s name.

There was also a bitter courtroom battle over prosecution claims that a composite image of the Brazilian victim and Osman, produced by the defence, had been doctored to make them look more alike.

The trial and investigation is estimated to have cost around £3.5 million in public money. But it was nearly derailed after an armed police raid on the home of a juror’s ex-boyfriend in the second week of the case, in which the female juror’s baby was taken away.

During the trial, prosecutors claimed that "fundamental failures" at all levels led to the death of Mr de Menezes. Police were unsure if he was in fact Osman but still allowed him unchallenged onto two buses and a Tube train.

Surveillance officers who were following him asked their Scotland Yard control room more than once if they should arrest him but were told to wait for the arrival of SO19 firearms officers.

Deputy Assistant Commissioner Dick, who has since been promoted, denied claims that she missed the "one safe opportunity" to stop him and that she lost control of the operation.

She said that she was told five times that the man police were following was Osman. Mr de Menezes was followed from a block of flats at Scotia Road, Tulse Hill, South London, that was linked to Osman.

The surveillance operation at the block was launched at 4.55am but SO19 officers had still not arrived four hours later when Mr de Menezes, an electrician, left on his way to work. An officer who was meant to identify him as he came out of the communal doors was unable to do so as he was "relieving himself", the court heard.

It was also alleged that there was a "noisy and chaotic" atmosphere in the 16th floor control room which "cannot have helped" the decision-making process. Surveillance and firearms officers whose identities are protected and who the court was told "live in the shadows" gave evidence to the trial under assumed names and behind screens.

One of them, firearms team leader Ralph, broke down in court as he defended the actions of his men, who ran down into the station after the man they believed was a suicide bomber.

"Despite the outcome, I was very proud of them," he said.

Ralph, who was in charge of the SO19 "black team", said he was told over the radio that the man being pursued was "our man" and was acting "nervous and twitchy". The court heard that the firearms officers were issued with highly deadly "dumdum" bullets and told that they might have to use "new and unusual tactics" and "might have to shoot someone point blank in the head".

However, the "Kratos" command for dealing with suspected suicide bombers by shooting them dead without warning was never issued, the Old Bailey was told.

A surveillance officer, known as Ivor, told how he followed Mr de Menezes into the Tube carriage, grabbing him and pinning him to his seat when he realised firearms officers were there, and shouting: "Here he is."

The innocent Brazilian was then shot five times in the head, once in the neck and once in the shoulder, by two SO19 officers. Jurors saw CCTV footage of the marksmen, codenamed C2 and C12, heading down the escalator into the station, but they did not give evidence.

The court was also shown pictures of Mr de Menezes after the shooting, lying dead on the floor of the Tube carriage.

Mr Justice Henriques had told the jury that the police were not "above the law". But Mr Thwaites said a conviction would have the effect of "putting handcuffs on the police".

He said the prosecution should never have been brought and that Mr de Menezes was acting like a suicide bomber when he was shot.

The jury also heard evidence that Mr de Menezes had taken cocaine and had a forged stamp in his passport. Mr Thwaites even accused the judge of bias, claiming his summing up had been "entirely pro-prosecution, unbalanced and totally lacking in objectivity".

Meanwhile Ms Dick, gold commander of the Scotland Yard operation on the day, who spent four days giving evidence, said she was outraged at the perceived questioning of her integrity by the prosecution. She is one of four senior officers still facing possible disciplinary charges over the shooting.