Cressida Dick promoted to top rather than tried and jailed

[TonyGosling]

Britain's former top female police officer who was in charge of the operation that led to Jean Charles de Menezes' death receives CBE from the Queen
Former British police officer Cressida Dick, 54, has been awarded a CBE
Served with Met Police for 31 years and in charge of specialist operations
She quit the force last year and took up a secretive role at Foreign Office
Received honour from the Queen at Buckingham Palace ceremony today


By EMMA GLANFIELD FOR MAILONLINE

PUBLISHED: 15:16, 19 March 2015 | UPDATED: 16:13, 19 March 2015
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3002554/Britain-s-former-femal e-police-officer-charge-operation-led-Jean-Charles-Menezes-death-2005- receives-CBE-Queen.html

Britain's former top female police officer who was in charge of the operation that led to the death of innocent Brazilian Jean Charles de Menezes has been awarded a CBE by the Queen today.

Cressida Dick, who quit Scotland Yard to take up a job in the Foreign Office last year, received the honour during an investiture ceremony at Buckingham Palace in London.

The 54-year-old wore her Metropolitan Police uniform as she collected the honour from the monarch, who wore a dusky rose dress.

The former assistant police commissioner stepped down from the force in December last year, after 31 years of service, and took up a secretive job with the Government's Foreign Office.

Her departure came just months after she was moved from a key counter-terror role at the Metropolitan Police.

The controversial 54-year-old was in charge of specialist operations, including counter-terrorism, between July 2011 and summer 2014.

However, Scotland Yard chief Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe moved her to specialist crime and operations for the last few months of her career – stripping her of counter-terror responsibilities.

Ms Dick was appointed assistant commissioner at the force in 2009 - 26 years after joining the Met Police in 1983.

She was in charge of the operation which led to Mr de Menezes being shot seven times in the head in 2005 after being mistaken for a suicide bomber.

She gave evidence at an Old Bailey trial and the inquest in 2013, coming close to tears as she described the 'horrible'' and 'terrible' tragedy.

She denied that she gave an order that Mr de Menezes must be stopped from getting on to a train at Stockwell 'at all costs' and also denied instructing the firearms teams to use lethal force to stop him.

Ms Dick, who quit Scotland Yard to take up a secretive role in the Foreign Office last year, wore her Met Police uniform as she received her honour from the Queen. Ms Dick, 54, was formerly Britain's top police officer

Last year, Ms Dick said: 'I first joined the Met in 1983 and have loved my time as a police officer in London.

'It has been a wonderful privilege to work in such an extraordinary organisation and with such fabulous people. I feel very lucky to have done so. I will miss you all.'

Upon her departure, Sir Bernard described her as a 'fantastic leader' and a 'role model for women across the service.'


FORMER OFFICER WAS IN CHARGE OF BUNGLED DE MENEZES OPERATION
Cressida Dick was the police commander in the control room during the operation which led to the death of Jean Charles de Menezes.

Ms Dick gave the order to 'stop' Mr de Menezes at Stockwell Tube Station after it was feared that he was one of four men who had tried to bomb the London Underground the day before.

The 27-year-old electrician was shot dead on July 22, 2005, after anti-terror police mistook him for bomber Hussain Osman.

Ms Dick, who was later promoted to the deputy assistant commissioner, told his inquest that the innocent Brazilian was the victim of a series of 'unfortunate' coincidences.

She choked back tears as told the hearing in 2008 that she thought about his death every day.

Cressida Dick (left) was the police commander in the control room during the operation which led to the death of Jean Charles de Menezes
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The innocent Brazilian was shot by anti-terror police in July, 2005
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Cressida Dick (left) was the police commander in the control room during the operation which led to the death of Jean Charles de Menezes (right). The innocent Brazilian was shot by anti-terror police in July, 2005

When asked what went wrong, Ms Dick said it was a series of 'unfortunate' coincidences.

She said: 'If you ask me whether anybody did anything wrong or unreasonable in the operation, I don't think they did.'

Officers followed Mr de Menezes when he left his flat in Tulse Hill, South London - thinking he could be suspect Hussain Osman, who lived in the same block - but were not able to positively identify him.

He was shot seven times in the head as he boarded a train at Stockwell station after Ms Dick gave the order to 'stop' him as he entered the Tube.

During his inquest, she denied giving an order that Mr de Menezes must be stopped from getting on a train 'at all costs' or instructing the firearms teams to use lethal force to stop him.

'I would need to be absolutely satisfied that this person posed a dreadful imminent threat before I would order a critical shot,' she said.

'I was asking for what you might call a conventional challenge from the firearms officers.'

The inquest by jury later found the Met Police guilty of health and safety failings over its bungled operation but no officer faced criminal charges.

[TonyGosling]

SECRECY SHROUDS UNKNOWN ROLE OF TOP UK GOVERNMENT OFFICIAL
BY RYAN GALLAGHER @rj_gallagher 04/10/2015
https://firstlook.org/theintercept/2015/04/10/cressida-dick-uk-foreign -office-secret/


Featured photo - Secrecy Shrouds Unknown Role Of Top UK Government Official

The British government is refusing to disclose the job title and taxpayer-funded salary of one of the most senior law enforcement officials in the United Kingdom, claiming the details have to be kept a secret for security reasons.

Cressida Dick (pictured above) was formerly one of the highest ranking officers at London’s Metropolitan Police, the largest police force in the U.K., where she headed the Specialist Operations unit and oversaw a controversial criminal investigation into journalists who reported on Edward Snowden’s leaked documents.

In December, Dick announced she was leaving the London police to take up a top job with the government’s Foreign Office. But her new role is being shrouded in intense secrecy.

In response to Freedom of Information Act requests from this reporter, the Foreign Office has repeatedly declined to disclose even the most basic details about Dick’s position.

Government officials handling the requests say that members of the public are not entitled to know anything about Dick’s job title, role and responsibilities, or the amount of money she is earning – despite the fact that specific salaries earned by senior Foreign Office officials, as well as their job titles, are usually routinely made available online.

In two separate refusal letters issued in February and March, the Foreign Office said that it would not hand over the information because it relates to “bodies dealing with security matters,” and so the government was “not obliged to consider the public interest in disclosure.” It would acknowledge only that Dick has been appointed in a “director general” position.

The letters cited a transparency exemption that is used to keep information secret if it relates to, or was provided by, one of the U.K.’s spy agencies, suggesting Dick is working closely with the British intelligence community as part of her new role. The same transparency exemption, which falls under section 23 of British FOIA law, is being used by the Metropolitan Police to withhold information from The Intercept about the criminal investigation Dick oversaw into journalists who reported on the Snowden leaks.

Richard Taylor, a U.K.-based freedom of information advocate and journalist who helps run the British open government site WhatDoTheyKnow.com, said the refusal to disclose Dick’s salary and job title illustrated that the section 23 exemption was “far too broad.”

“If she [Dick] is one of the most senior people in the Foreign Office, then she should be accountable publicly,” Taylor said. “We should have information about her role.”

On Wednesday, The Intercept asked the British government to clarify why details about Dick’s salary and job title had to be kept a secret.

A Foreign Office spokesman said in an emailed statement that officials at the director general level are paid a figure between £105,000 and £208,000 ($156,000 and $309,000), but would not disclose the specific amount of taxpayer money Dick is being paid, or discuss anything about her position.

“As the details of Ms. Dick’s exact role and responsibilities relate to security matters, they are exempt for public disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act,” the spokesman said.

The Intercept has filed a complaint with the Information Commissioner’s Office, the public body that enforces the U.K.’s freedom of information laws, about the British government’s refusal to release details about Dick’s job.

Last week, the commissioner’s office confirmed it would consider the case. It will now look into how the Foreign Office handled the request and decide whether the government should be ordered to hand over the relevant details.