30.09.05
Met police chief Sir Ian Blair tried to stop an independent
investigation into the mistaken shooting of a terrorist suspect in London.
In correspondence released under the freedom of information act (FOIA),
the metropolitan police commissioner wrote on July 22 – the day police
officers shot Jean Charles de Menezes dead at Stockwell tube station –
to tell the home office that he had given instructions for the shooting not
to be referred to the independent police complaints commission (IPCC).
He said that at a meeting two days earlier with the prime minister,
he had raised the issue of “maximising the legal protection for officers
who had to take decisions” on suspected suicide bombers.
The commissioner wrote in his letter to the home office permanent secretary,
Sir John Gieve: “I do not seek to exempt [officers] from investigation
(and ultimately, therefore, prosecution if evidence of deliberate malfeasance
was available).”
“The current urgency, however, is over the role of the IPCC.
There is much concern about revealing either the tactics that we have and/or
the sources of information on which we are operating.
“I therefore believe that, in a fast-moving, multi-site terrorist
situation, in which suicide bombers are clearly a very strong possibility,
a chief officer of police should be able to suspend [section] 17 of the police
reform act 2002, which requires us to supply all information that the independent
police complaints commissioner may require.
“The IPCC has a dual role in the sense that it, itself, is under
a duty to provide as much information as it can to the complainant or to members
of the deceased’s family. This could put further lives at risk in these
circumstances.
“I have therefore given instructions that the shoot-ing that
has just occurred at Stockwell is not to be referred to the IPCC and that
they will be given no access to the scene at the present time. The investigation
will be carried out by the met’s own directorate of professional standards.
This investig-ation will be rigorous but subordinate to the needs of the counter-terrorism
operation.
“I have spoken to Nick Hardwick, chairman of the IPCC, and informed
him of this decision.”
He ended by saying: “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.”
However, the home office did not support the met commissioner’s
attempt to stop the investigation. Gieve, after speaking to him about the
letter, wrote in a reply the same day: “This is a very fast-moving situation
and I understand the pressures that you and your officers are having to work
under and the dangers your officers are facing.”
However, he continued: “As I explained, I do not believe that
section 17 can be suspended as you suggest.
“We agreed that the best way forward would be for you and I to
meet with Nick Hardwick to review the position and the options available.
I have asked my office to arrange this as soon as possible.
“In the meantime, I would suggest that the metro-politan police
should not make any statement at all about the form of any investigation.”
FOIA Centre commentary
The home office was rather more ready to disclose this correspondence
than the met, which is gaining a notoriety for being reluctant to meet FOIA
requests. This disclosure was plainly a matter of great public interest. Greater
openness on the part of the met might have prevented the public being shocked
to discover its shoot-to-kill policy on terrorist suspects when it was first
implemented – wrongly.
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