De Menezes family: police should be charged

By Simon Jeffery

Relatives of Jean Charles de Menezes, the Brazilian shot by police when he was mistaken for a suicide bomber, today expressed disappointed that the independent report into his killing is to be kept out of their hands.

The report was passed today from the police watchdog to the Crown Prosecution Service for it to decide whether to bring criminal charges against any of the officers involved.

A de Menezes family spokeswoman said the dead man’s family, were still "in the dark" about what happened on the morning of the shooting at Stockwell tube station in south London.

"We were told lies and misinformation about the circumstances surrounding his death," she said.

"We have always been told the IPCC investigation would be the process to tell us what happened [but] we discover we don’t even get to see a copy."

The spokeswoman said she was convinced that those responsible for the shooting should be prosecuted. "Real justice can only be found in a court of law," she told a press conference in central London.

The IPCC report was delivered to the CPS offices on Ludgate Hill, central London, in two boxes by John Cummins, the senior investigator in the case.

Its delivery marked the culmination of the six-month inquiry into the shooting.

Copies of the report will be sent to Scotland Yard, the Metropolitan Police Authority and the south London coroner. The coroner can send it to the home secretary at his discretion.

Mr de Menezes’ family will be briefed on the report’s contents by the IPCC.

The IPCC has consistently refused to detail the nature of the alleged offences the CPS will potentially have to consider, although it is believed they could be as serious as murder or manslaughter.

It has also refused to confirm how many officers were interviewed by its investigators, although reports have said it was around 10.

Mr de Menezes, 27, was shot seven times in the head the day after the alleged attempted July 21 suicide bomb attacks on London’s transport system.

It is believed he was mistaken for a suspect who had been put under surveillance by anti-terror officers.

The CPS is likely to take several months to reach a decision on whether to charge any of the officers involved in the operation that led to the death.