|
The damning report and new
allegations that could seal the fate of embattled Met chief
STEPHEN WRIGHT
UK
Daily Mail
Saturday November 3, 2007
Sir Ian Blair will be personally condemned by the police watchdog
next week in a move that could finally cost him his job as Scotland
Yard chief.
The Independent Police Complaints Commission is understood to
be scathing of his attempts to block its initial investigation
into the Jean Charles de Menezes case.
Its damning report into the innocent Brazilian's shooting by
police at Stockwell Tube station will further undermine the Metropolitan
Police Commissioner's attempts to cling on to his position.
It's also emerged a man shot by police in a botched anti-terror
raid claims to have been subjected to a second armed arrest.
(Article continues below)
Abdul Kahar was hit in the shoulder and he and his brother, Abul
Koyair, detained when police broke into their home in Forest Gate,
East London, in June last year.
Despite an intensive search of the house, no incriminating material
was found and the Metropolitan Police had to issue an apology
to the pair.
Last night, the brothers told Channel 4 News that they were held
at gunpoint again this August by armed officers.
They say the policemen knew exactly who they were and made jibes
about the compensation they'd received from the Met. A spokesman
for Scotland Yard said the incident took place when officers followed
up reports that a motorcyle pizza deliveryman had a gun.
He added that the incident had been resolved without the need
for an inquiry by the Independent Police Complaints Commission.
'Representatives of the individuals involved made it clear they
did not want the matter investigated as a complaint,' he said.
Neither brother was charged over the incident in which another
man was detained for having imitation weapons.
Officials at the IPCC are angry that Sir Ian tried to stop investigators
from accessing the Jean Charles de Menezes shooting scene in the
immediate aftermath of the killing in July 2005.
In an extraordinary letter, written within hours of the fatal
blunder, the Met Commissioner said he should be able to suspend
as he saw fit a legal requirement for the death to be investigated.
Critics say the letter revealed the extent of Sir Ian's desperation
to avoid an immediate probe by the IPCC. But the Home Office's
top civil servant over-ruled the Met Chief, saying there was nothing
in law that allowed his actions.
Details of the exchange will be outlined in the full IPCC report
into the Stockwell shooting, which is expected to be released
next Thursday.
The report will also include details of how Special Branch detectives
tried to cover up a key blunder that led to the shooting.
The officers allegedly falsified a surveillance log detailing
the last movements of the 27-year-old electrician to hide the
fact they had wrongly identified him as a suspected suicide bomber.
Sources said a number of senior officers including "gold
commander" Cressida Dick would get a "battering"
in the report, increasing pressure on Sir Ian.
So far he has defied calls to step down after his force was found
guilty at the Old Bailey of serious health and safety failures
leading to the death of the Brazilian electrician in South London.
The Government has been backing Sir Ian but, according to informed
sources, is ready to pull the plug if he is subject to further
criticism.
The embattled Commissioner will be left in no doubt by No 10
that he will have to quit if the IPCC report criticises his leadership.
Senior sources predicted last night that the Commissioner would
not need to be told to quit if the report questions his force's
performance.
"We are unlikely to take the unprecedented step of sacking
a sitting Commissioner," one insider said.
"Instead we expect that he will come to his own conclusion
and realise that his position has changed."
The IPCC report has not been seen by Downing Street and there
were claims that it has not been shown to Home Secretary Jacqui
Smith.
An emergency meeting of the Met's watchdog, the Metropolitan
Police Authority, has been called to decide on Sir Ian's future
and is likely to stage a vote of confidence.
Behind the scenes, at least two chief constables have been sounded
out about taking over from Sir Ian. HM Chief Inspector-of Constabulary
Sir Ronnie Flanagan is said to be on standby to be "parachuted"
into the Met on a temporary basis.
Shadow home secretary David Davis sent a letter to Miss Smith
yesterday asking her to reconsider her support for the beleaguered
Met chief.
He wrote: "The most important and immediate action that
the Home Secretary can and should take is to replace Sir Ian Blair
with a commissioner who can command the force's confidence, restore
the public's trust and protect the nation's security."
The pressure on Sir Ian increased this week after an Old Bailey
jury found the Met guilty of breaching health and safety laws.
Jurors found that officers failed in their duty to protect the
public during the operation that led to the shooting at Stockwell.
The trial heard there was a "catastrophic" series of
19 key failures in police procedure.
Labour MP Kate Hoey, whose Vauxhall constituency covers Stockwell
Tube station, said Sir Ian should "go with honour".
But London Mayor Ken Livingstone defended Sir Ian and said Thursday's
verdict could hinder policing.
"This is disastrous if an armed police officer believes
they are in pursuit of a terrorist who might be a suicide bomber,
and they start making reasonable calculations based on 'how's
this going to be seen, am I going to be hauled off to court?',"
he said.
"At the end of the day, mistakes are always going to happen
in situations like this."
|
INFOWARS:
BECAUSE THERE'S A WAR ON FOR YOUR MIND
|
|
