Back in the headlines

The death of Jean Charles de Menezes is back in the headlines as the inquest is finally getting under way. The Metropolitan Police, as a corporate body, has been convicted at trial of endangering the health and safety of de Menezes. What the inquest will determine is whether or not de Menezes was unlawfully killed.

According to the Guardian, Police Commissioner Sir Ian Blair's internal website message to Scotland Yard staff was leaked to the de Menezes family campaign:

"Our approach will be one of humility. On 22nd July 2005, we confidently believed that our systems of command, of surveillance and of firearms intervention were among the best in the world. However, they failed in response to a previously unforeseen circumstance, suicide bombers on the run.

"This will be a difficult couple of months and we must brace ourselves for criticism.
I am certain that the amount of work we have done in the aftermath of the tragedy and the professionalism of the colleagues giving evidence will take us through the turbulence that lies ahead and it is to be hoped that one of the legacies of Jean Charles is a Metropolitan Police Service even better equipped to deal with tragedy and danger.

"Finally, I am acutely conscious of the fact that the inquest will come on top of some serious challenges around race, within and outside the organisation. I am immensely proud that, despite the past few weeks, you continue to deliver a first-class service to all Londoners. You should stay proud too."

During the inquest, the de Menezes' family representative Michael Mansfield asked Deputy Assistant Commissioner John McDowall if a tragedy such as this could ever happen again, and he responded: “I very much hope that this will never happen again. But at the same time, with human beings, it is entirely feasible that some such tragedy may occur again, with just the way that circumstances sometimes unravel themselves”.

That doesn’t bode well, does it?

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