UK govt backs London's top cop

2005-08-21 13:09

London - Deputy prime minister John Prescott on Sunday backed Britain's under-fire top police officer over his handling of the Jean Charles de Menezes shooting.

Police officers shot the innocent Brazilian dead on suspicion of being a suicide bomber in a south London subway station on July 22, a day after a failed attempted repeat of the July 7 bombings on the capital's transport which left 56 people dead.

Asked if Metropolitan Police commissioner Ian Blair enjoyed his "full and unqualified" confidence, Prescott replied simply "yes".

But Prescott, in charge of the government while Prime Minister Tony Blair is on holiday, appeared to criticise the way the police force offered compensation to the dead 27-year-old's family.

The Met said Saturday it had offered £15 000 as an "ex gratia" payment.

The offer has been criticised for being written to the electrician's family in tough legal English, as they speak only Portuguese.

"I haven't seen the letter and I think it would be terrible if it was done that way," Prescott told BBC television.

"It does sound not a very sensitive way to deal with such a difficult matter."

Prescott stressed the need to wait for the Independent Police Complaints Commission report into the shooting.

"Let us deal with the serious issue of the circumstances surrounding the death of this young lad and then wait for the report on that," he said.

"Then I've no doubt there'll be judgements to be made both in parliament and in the rest of the community about a whole manner of controversial issues that have been thrown up out of this tragic incident."

Home secretary Charles Clarke defended Ian Blair Saturday, saying the Met has done "very well" in response to the worst terrorist attacks ever on British soil in terms of loss of life.

- AFP