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London police 'block' files
05/03/2006 11:02 - (SA)
London - Investigators probing the role of Britain's top policeman after a Brazilian man was wrongly identified as a suicide bomber and shot dead are being denied access to key documents, The Sunday Times said.
The newspaper quoted "well-placed sources" as saying London's Metropolitan Police had turned down "repeated requests" from the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) watchdog to disclose hundreds of internal papers.
The documents are reported to have given the Met's private assessment of the bungled counter-terrorism operation that led to the death of Jean Charles de Menezes on July 22 last year.
Armed police shot dead the 27-year-old electrician at Stockwell London Underground station, a day after an alleged attempt to replicate the July 7 suicide attacks that left 56 people dead.
The IPCC is looking into complaints from de Menezes' family that Met Commissioner Sir Ian Blair made false or misleading statements following the shooting.
The Sunday Times reported the papers include discussions about how much compensation de Menezes' family should receive, whether Blair or the Met could face civil action for damages and possible criminal charges against officers.
It quoted the family's lawyer Harriet Wistrich as saying the force's refusal to hand over the papers "creates the impression that they have something to hide".
The family has accused the Met of trying to cover up for its mistakes, including changing surveillance logs.
The Met was said to consider the documents as legally privileged and it was under no obligation to disclose them.
IPCC investigators handed over the findings of a separate report into de Menezes' death to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) in January. The CPS is deciding whether any of the officers involved should be prosecuted.
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