Resignation calls mount for London Police chief after De Menezes verdict
LONDON (AFP) — Pressure is mounting Friday on Metropolitan Police chief Ian Blair to resign after the force was found guilty of breaching health and safety laws in the fatal 2005 shooting of Jean Charles de Menezes.
Blair insisted he would not quit, saying officers did their best in a "simply extraordinary situation".
De Menezes, 27, was shot seven times in the head at a London Underground train station on July 22, 2005, with the city still reeling from attacks on the public transport system two weeks before which killed 52 people.
His death came the day after another attempted attack was foiled and police believed de Menezes was Hussain Osman, one of the plotters in that case, who was jailed for life earlier this year.
Prosecutors had argued that de Menezes and members of the public were put at risk because he was allowed on two buses and an underground train while under police observation before being shot dead.
After a jury at London's Central Criminal Court returned its verdict, judge Richard Henriques fined the force 175,000 pounds and ordered it to pay costs of 385,000 pounds.
The Brazilian foreign ministry praised the verdict, saying it had shown the police's "responsibility", and said it "opens the way for new initiatives in favor of the family of the innocent Brazilian citizen".
De Menezes's family have meanwhile pledged to keep working for justice. His cousin Alex Pereira told AFP that a guilty verdict was "not enough."
"Those responsible for his death must be held accountable ... we won't stop the fight to obtain justice," he said, calling for a full investigation.
The court decision prompted calls from Britain's two main opposition parties for him to step down in the wake of the affair, while newspapers vociferously argued that he should offer his resignation.
"Would he show contrition, offer an apology perhaps for such an unmitigated catastrophe?" the Daily Mail wrote in its editorial.
"Would he do the proper thing and resign? Not a chance.
"Until he goes, London's police force cannot hope to restore its good name."
Blair said he would not respond to the calls for his resignation, however, telling reporters outside court that he intended "to continue to lead the Met in its increasingly successful efforts to reduce crime and deter and disrupt terrorist activities".
The force had denied breaching health and safety laws during the month-long trial during which prosecutors alleged a series of "catastrophic" errors of judgment and 19 key failings on the day.
Blair said the force was "unlikely" to appeal against the verdict.
Deputy Assistant Commissioner Cressida Dick, who was in charge of the operation, told the court she had told officers to "stop" de Menezes, meaning challenge or detain, and did not instruct them to shoot him.
She was specifically cleared of wrongdoing by the jury.
And the operations room at the time was noisy and chaotic, with officers struggling to hear radio transmissions from the scene, the prosecution said.
A spokesman for Prime Minister Gordon Brown said he retained confidence in Blair, while Home Secretary Jacqui Smith said he and the force had "my full confidence and our thanks and support in the difficult job that they do".
The chairman of the Metropolitan Police Authority (MPA), which oversees the day-to-day running of the force and has the power to fire Blair, also expressed support, stressing the case was not brought against him personally.
This is not the first time Blair has been embroiled in a row over de Menezes's death -- he previously faced an investigation by the police watchdog amid claims he misled the public over the shooting.
A report in August, however, found no evidence to support the complaint.
Last year, British prosecutors ruled out bringing criminal charges against the armed officers who shot de Menezes, citing "insufficient evidence".
