Police Chief Blocked Death Probe

[Wokeman]

Friday September 30, 07:04 PM

LONDON (Reuters) - Letters published on Friday showed how Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Ian Blair delayed an independent investigation into why an innocent Brazilian man was shot dead by police a day after the failed London bombings in July.

Blair said in a letter to the Home Office that he refused the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) access to the crime scene because the counter-terrorism investigation had to take priority.

Jean Charles de Menezes, a 27-year-old electrician, was shot in the head seven times as he boarded a train at Stockwell underground station on July 22 by police who mistook him for a would-be suicide bomber.

The shooting happened the day after four bombers failed in a bid to blow up three underground trains and a bus, and two weeks after suicide bombers killed 52 people in an identical plot.

The investigation into the shooting "will be carried out by the Met's own Directorate of Professional Standards", Blair wrote in his letter. "The investigation will be rigorous but subordinate to the needs of the counter-terrorism operation."

The IPCC's duty to provide as much information as possible to the complainant or to members of the deceased's family could put further lives at risk during a fast-moving investigation, Blair said.

"There is much concern about revealing either the tactics that we have and/or the sources of information on which we are operating."

As a chief police officer, he should be able to suspend part of a law that requires police to supply all the information that the IPCC may require, Blair wrote.

The letter ends: "Clearly, this is a developing situation but for the time being I seek your support for this measure, which may form the basis for amending legislation in the future."

Blair came under pressure for failing to stop the spread of misinformation after the shooting.

He said last week it had been a mistake not to correct rumours in the media that police had shot de Menezes because he vaulted a barrier to enter the station and was wearing a bulky coat they feared concealed a bomb.

The existence of Blair's letter emerged six weeks ago but it was published in full on Friday following a request under the Freedom of Information Act.

IPCC Deputy Chairman John Wadham told BBC News he was confident the independent investigation had not been damaged by the delay in referring the case.

The investigation is due to end before Christmas.