Lawyers describe case as ‘chaotic mess’ and call for public debate

LAWYERS for the families of Jean Charles de Menezes described his shooting as a “chaotic mess” and called for a broad public inquiry to uncover the truth about his death.

Gareth Peirce and Harriet Wistrich said the shooting of de Menezes, 27, raised “big policy issues” which required “urgent public debate.”

Speaking after their first face-to-face meeting with officials from the police watchdog since a fresh wave of revelations re-ignited the controversy over the electrician’s shooting, the lawyers demanded that the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) conduct a “fast” investigation.

“This has been a chaotic mess,” Ms Peirce said, as she stood outside her offices in Camden, north London.

“What we have asked the IPCC to find out is how much is incompetence, negligence or gross negligence and how much of it is something sinister”.

“There are very large policy issues here that require public debate and they require it urgently.”

The lawyers said that IPCC officials had not been able to explain why misinformation about the death of Mr de Menezes had been put into the public domain or why it had not been corrected.

Ms Peirce said her major concern remained why the independent body had not been called in immediately to begin their inquiry.

Ms Wistrich said: “I do not think the IPCC were in a position (today) to allay many of our major concerns which were: How come they were not brought in from the beginning? Why the delay? What were the police doing investigating themselves when that is not their role?”

This week’s revelations about the de Menezes shooting came after documents from the IPCC inquiry were leaked to ITV News. They contained detailed accounts of the shooting of Mr de Menezes which appeared to contradict much of what had been believed about his death.

The disclosures have caused fury among the Brazilian’s family.

The leaked documents revealed on Tuesday that Mr de Menezes had done little to arouse suspicion other than to emerge from a block of flats in south London which had been under surveillance.

Allesandro Pereira, a cousin of Mr de Menezes, was last night informing the dead man’s parents in Brazil of the latest development.

He was said to be “deeply disappointed” at confirmation that police had resisted the inquiry.

Asad Rehman, of the Justice 4 Jean campaign, said: “This only goes to reinforce exactly what the family have been saying, that they find it unbelievable that the Metropolitan police and Ian Blair blocked an independent inquiry of the death of Jean.”