Sir Ian Blair 'tried to block IPCC inquiry'

The Independent Police Complaints Commission report has been released today into the shooting of Jean Charles de Menezes and it has criticised Sir Ian Blair for delaying the investigation into the shooting of the innocent Brazilian at Stockwell underground station.

Nick Hardwick, the IPCC chairman, said Sir Ian was responsible for "much of the avoidable difficulty" caused after the shooting.

The report also says that the shooting came about because of "very serious" but avoidable mistakes. The watchdog said the Operation Kratos policy - shoot to kill - had not been employed on that day although many officers thought that it had been.

The report then calls for a wider public discussion of the Kratos policy, a policy that few of us even knew existed until the shooting of de Menezes.

IPCC chairman Nick Hardwick said: "Much has been said about the Kratos policy or so-called shoot-to-kill tactics.

"It has become clearer since we wrote our report that there is much more doubt in the police service itself about the efficacy of the Kratos policy.

"We call for a wider public debate and understanding of the tactical options for combating the threat of suicide bombers."

The report also suggests that the police gave de Menezes no warning before they shot him.

Its investigation revealed 17 witnesses said they had not heard police shout a clear warning before firing.

All eight police officers on the train recall hearing this being shouted, the report said.

And, contrary to claims that no individuals were responsible, the report actually asked that investigations be made of certain officers actions on that day with a view to possibly bringing charges:

It also revealed investigators had asked the Crown Prosecution Service to look at possible charges against the two officers who shot Mr de Menezes, and the commander on the day, Cressida Dick.

Cressida Dick is singled out for failing to specify that "stopping" de Menezes was not actually an order to kill him.

Cressida Dick, the officer in charge of events on the day of the shooting, was also criticised by the IPCC, although the Metropolitan police authority has already decided she should not face a disciplinary hearing.

The report found it was "unfortunate" that she had been 25 minutes late for a briefing three hours before the shooting took place.

She should have made it explicitly clear that, when she ordered De Menezes to be "stopped", she did not intend him to be shot and had not given an order to invoke Operation Kratos, the police anti-terrorist procedure that clears armed officers to open fire even when they have not seen a weapon.

Briefings that morning also failed to emphasise that shooting a suspect should only be seen as a last resort, the report found.

And there's also criticism of "James", the team leader:

The document also criticised the surveillance team leader, known as "James", for not communicating to Ms Dick that some of his team thought De Menezes was not the suspected terrorist.

"This information should have been communication to [then] Commander Dick as it may have influenced her decision making," it said. The report suggested "James" could be prosecuted for gross negligence.

However, the report keeps most of it's condemnation for Sir Ian Blair and the way he attempted to prevent an investigation in the days following the shooting.

The publication of the document, which examines the events leading up to the killing of De Menezes, will again put Sir Ian's job in jeopardy.

Following its publication, Mr Hardwick, criticised the commissioner for "attempting to prevent us carrying out an investigation".

Sir Ian Blair did this despite knowing that what he was doing was interfering with the IPCC's powers.

In June 2006 the regulations were changed to put beyond doubt the IPCC's powers to investigate an incident of this kind."

His comments are certain to lead to fresh calls for the resignation of Sir Ian, who lost a vote of confidence at a meeting of the London Assembly yesterday.

Blair is clinging on, despite the Met being found guilty of a series of "shocking and catastrophic" errors and despite the London Assembly voting against him in a motion of no confidence. Nor is this the first time that there have been calls for Blair to go. There were calls for him to stand down after the shooting of another innocent man at Forest Gate. Then there is the fact that for twenty four hours after the shooting of de Menezes Sir Ian Blair claimed that he had been kept totally in the dark over the fact that an innocent man had been shot.

So this entire affair has been calamitous for Blair. And yet still he clings on...

When the Hutton report criticised the BBC, both Gavyn Davies and Greg Dyke were forced to hand in their resignations. They were not found guilty of shooting anyone and yet they were asked to fall on their swords as the people at the head of that organisation.

I find it mind-blowing that we apply a different standard to the BBC than we do to the Metropolitan Police. Especially when this case involves an innocent man being shot in broad daylight.

Sir Ian Blair argues that this incident took place under extraordinary circumstances, and I would have to agree. It was an emergency. But Sir Ian Blair is the head of one of the emergency services. When do we test such services if not in an emergency situation? And in this particular emergency, his policies led to the death of an innocent man in circumstances that could have very easily been avoided. Sir Ian then attempted to stop any investigation into this incident and, when a case was brought to court, he tried to push all the blame on to the victim for "acting like a suicide bomber".

At some point this cat is going to run out of lives...

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Tags: Sir Ian Blair, Stockwell shooting, Jean Charles de Menezes