http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/5186050.stm

No charges for Menezes officers



No police officers are to be prosecuted over the fatal shooting of Jean Charles de Menezes at a Tube station last July.

But the Metropolitan force will be charged under health and safety laws.

The Crown Prosecution Service said there was "insufficient evidence" to prosecute any individual over the death at Stockwell, south London, on 22 July.

Alex Pereira, a cousin of Brazilian Mr Menezes, 27, who was shot seven times in the head, said the decision was "unbelievable" and "ridiculous".

"It's unbelievable what they sent to us today because we had to wait for a year and it was a hard year for us," Mr Pereira told a news conference.

Mr Menezes was shot by police officers after being mistaken for a suicide bomber.

Reacting to the CPS decision over health and safety, the Met Police said in a statement it was "concerned and clearly disappointed".

But on the decision not to prosecute individual officers it was "pleased for the officers and their families who have faced much uncertainty over the last year".

On 22 July 2005, a surveillance team had been monitoring a block of flats in Tulse Hill, south London, where Mr Menezes lived, in the belief that a man wanted in connection with the previous day's attempted suicide bombings in London resided there.

The two officers who fired the fatal shots did so because they thought that... if they did not shoot him, he would blow up the train, killing many people

When Mr Menezes emerged from the flats, he was wrongly identified as the suspect and followed to Stockwell, where he was shot as he boarded a Tube train.

Senior CPS reviewing lawyer Stephen O'Doherty said the two officers who fired the fatal shots could not be prosecuted for murder or any related offences because they had "genuinely believed" he was a suicide bomber.

"The two officers who fired the fatal shots did so because they thought that Mr de Menezes had been identified to them as a suicide bomber and that, if they did not shoot him, he would blow up the train, killing many people."

Despite mistakes made in planning and communication by officers, there had been "insufficient evidence to provide a realistic prospect of conviction against any individual police officer".

The CPS said the office of Metropolitan Police Commissioner would be prosecuted under sections three and 33 of the 1974 Health and Safety at Work Act for "failing to provide for the health, safety and welfare" of Mr Menezes on 22 July.

An Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) report, handed to the CPS in January but not yet made public, is said to be highly critical of the surveillance operation and police control room staff.

It is said to conclude that a series of organisational failings and communication difficulties had resulted in two experienced marksmen shooting dead an innocent man.

Despite the uncertainty this prosecution will create we will not shrink from our key role of protecting public safety

The IPCC said the question of potential disciplinary action against any individual officer would be considered under the Police Reform Act 2002 and its full report would be published as soon as "legal considerations" allowed.

Shami Chakrabarti, director of campaign group Liberty, said public confidence could not be restored until the IPCC report was in the public domain.

"I have to say that I think it's pretty unacceptable that we are now one year on and there's still no full rigorous account of what happened," she told BBC News.

A number of police officers were served with "regulation nine" notices and interviewed under caution by the IPCC.

They included Commander Cressida Dick, who was the designated senior officer responsible for the operation.

In its statement, the Met Police said Commander Dick and other officers whose actions were scrutinised "deserve our continued support at this time".

"We acknowledge and support today's decision by the CPS not to charge any officer with criminal offences for their part in the events of 22 July," it continued.

"However, we are concerned and clearly disappointed at today's decision to prosecute the Metropolitan Police Service for breaches of health and safety.

"Despite the uncertainty this prosecution will create we will not shrink from our key role of protecting public safety."



http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/5189736.stm

Brazil 'surprised' over Menezes



The family of Mr de Menezes were also angered by the decision

Brazil has expressed its disappointment over the decision not to prosecute any police officer involved in the fatal shooting of Jean Charles de Menezes.

Mr de Menezes, a 27-year-old Brazilian, died at Stockwell station in London on 22 July last year after police mistook him for a suicide bomber.

Manoel Gomes Perreira, Brazil's ambassador to the UK, said he was surprised by the decision.

The Metropolitan Police will be charged under health and safety laws instead.

Mr Gomes Perreira said the Brazilian government would continue to do whatever it could for the family of Mr de Menezes.

On Monday, the Crown Prosecution Service said there was "insufficient evidence" to prosecute any individual over the death of the electrician.

'Unbelievable'

Alex Pereira, a cousin of Mr Menezes, who was shot seven times in the head, said: "It's unbelievable what they sent to us today because we had to wait for a year and it was a hard year for us."

Reacting to the CPS decision over health and safety, the Met Police said in a statement it was "concerned and clearly disappointed".

But on the decision not to prosecute individual officers it was "pleased for the officers and their families who have faced much uncertainty over the last year".

On 22 July 2005, a surveillance team had been monitoring a block of flats in Tulse Hill, south London, where Mr Menezes lived, in the belief that a man wanted in connection with the previous day's attempted suicide bombings in London resided there.

When Mr Menezes emerged from the flats, he was wrongly identified as the suspect and followed to Stockwell, where he was shot as he boarded a Tube train.

An Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) report, handed to the CPS in January but not yet made public, is said to be highly critical of the surveillance operation and police control room staff.

http://www.itv.com/news/index_d3aac9e1c6af4a61cdb5c0e43a152651.html

The family of Jean Charles de Menezes have condemned the Crown Prosecution Service's decision not to charge any individual police officers over his killing.

They said it was "shameful" the CPS had instead prosecuted the Metropolitan Police under sections three and 33 of the Health and Safety at Work (1974) over the death of the innocent Brazilian electrician on July 22 last year.

The force also hit out at the decision, saying it would create "uncertainty" as it tried to protect the public from terrorism.

Lord Toby Harris, chairman of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Policing, described it as a "ridiculous cop-out", while London Mayor Ken Livingstone said it made "absolutely no sense".

Mr de Menezes' cousin, Patricia da Silva Armani, said she was "sickened" by the decision.

She added: "I am very disappointed. This is shameful. By using these laws to cover up their own mistakes, they are treating my cousin like a dead animal."

The de Menezes family are considering whether to apply for a judicial review of the CPS verdict, or even launch a private prosecution.

Mr de Menezes was shot seven times on the morning of July 22 last year, the day after the alleged attempted bombings on London's transport network.

Officers are said to have mistaken him for one of the suspects, Hussain Osman.

In its long-awaited announcement, the CPS said there was "insufficient evidence" to prosecute any of the individual officers involved in the operation for murder or manslaughter.

As a result, the two police officers who fired the fatal shots could be back on duty before the end of the week.

Both were suspended from operational duties in the wake of the shooting at Stockwell Tube station in south London last year, but the Met's Deputy Commissioner Paul Stephenson said their fate could now be decided within days.