Anti-terror police in London were under pressure yesterday after leaked documents revealed a catalogue of alleged errors that led to the shooting of a Brazilian man who was mistaken for a suicide bomber.
The Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC), which is investigating the controversial killing of Jean Charles de Menezes, refused to confirm or deny the new information -- broadcast by ITV News on Tuesday evening -- which contradicted earlier police and eye witness statements.
Police shot the electrician, 27, at point blank range after he boarded a subway train on July 22, one day after four suspected would-be suicide bombers tried to attack London in a botched re-run of the July 7 atrocity.
Initial reports said Menezes had been acting suspiciously -- wearing a bulky jacket, jumping a ticket barrier at Stockwell Underground station, south London, and sprinting on to the subway train -- prior to his death.
But witness accounts and photographs leaked to ITV painted a very different picture, showing the young man in a light denim jacket, walking calmly into the station. They also revealed that de Menezes was restrained by a police officer on the train before being shot eight times.
In addition, a police officer outside his flat said he failed to videotape Menezes when the Brazilian left home as he had been on a toilet break.
The revelations prompted relatives and campaigners to call for a public inquiry into the shooting.
"My family deserve the full truth about his murder. The truth cannot be hidden any longer. It has to be made public," said Menezes' cousin Allessandro Pereira.
The Justice4Jean Family campaign said people had been deliberately misled, adding, "We must ensure that the full lessons of this death are learnt by the authorities so that no other innocent Londoner suffers a similar fate."
The ITV report indicated the operation was flawed from the start as police monitored Menezes' block of flats in Tulse Hill, south London, where they believed two suspects in the July 21 attacks were living.
The undercover officer outside, who was supposed to identify anyone exiting the building, admitted he had been away from his post when the Brazilian left.
"I was in the process of relieving myself," he was quoted as saying in documents obtained by ITV News.
"At this time I was not able to transmit my observations and switch on the video camera at the same time. There is therefore no video footage of this male," he said.
Closed circuit television footage later captured the electrician entering the station at a normal walking pace, even collecting a free newspaper, and slowly descending on an escalator, according to ITV News.
Contrary to dramatic witness accounts on the day, Menezes is seen to board the train through the middle doors before pausing, looking left and right, then sitting down in either the second or third seat facing the platform.
Moments later, police burst in and apparently restrain the Brazilian before pumping seven bullets into his head and one into his shoulder. Three more bullets missed him and the casings were left lying on the floor.
But the revelation that will prove most uncomfortable for Scotland Yard was that the 27-year-old electrician had already been restrained by a surveillance officer.
A member of the police surveillance team on the train was quoted as saying: "I heard shouting, which included the word `police,' and turned to face the male in the denim jacket.
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