Britain's most senior police officer Sir Ian Blair tonight hit back at allegations of a cover-up over the bungled operation in which Jean Charles de Menezes was shot dead by anti-terror police.
The Metropolitan Police Commissioner dismissed claims he had tried to block an independent inquiry into the death of the innocent Brazilian electrician.
His comments emerged shortly after the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) claimed Scotland Yard had "initially resisted" it taking on the investigation into the shooting. This had delayed its inquiry, the watchdog claimed.
The controversy over Mr de Menezes's death deepened on Tuesday when it emerged that contrary to the Met's initial account of the incident, the victim did not appear to be evading capture when he was shot dead.
ITV News obtained documents and footage showing Mr de Menezes did not vault the Underground staion barriers as claimed, and was not wearing a bulky coat that could have concealed a bomb.
According to witness accounts and statements made by police officers involved, Mr de Menezes boarded the train and was under restraint by am officer before he was shot eight times.
ITV News said there was a catastrophic failure in surveillance when officers wrongly believed he could have been Hussain Osman, one of the prime suspects - or another terrorist suspect - in the failed bomb attempts the day before.
And yesterday, it was revealed that Sir Ian had written to Sir John Gieve at the Home Office in the immediate aftermath of the shooting "to clarify the role of IPCC". This led to allegations of a cover-up and accusations that the Commissioner had tried to delay the IPCC's involvement.
But Sir Ian told London's Evening Standardnewspaper: "These allegations strike to the heart of the integrity of the police and integrity of the Met and I fundamentally reject them. There is no cover-up."
Scotland Yard said Sir Ian had written to the Home Office after the shooting because it "appeared" as though a suicide bomber connected to the previous day's attempted bombings on the London transport network may have been involved.
This letter led to further conversations that day - which the Yard described as an "entirely transparent discussion in the face of an unprecedented situation".
However, lawyers for the de Menezes family claimed that by failing to invite the IPCC to start its investigation immediately, police had breached their statutory duty. This "fatal delay of several days" meant vital evidence in the case could have been lost, they claimed.
Sir Ian defended his actions saying: "If you were going to define how to do a cover-up you would not write a letter to the Permanent Secretary of the Home Office, copying it to the chairman of the Metropolitan Police Authority and the chairman of the IPCC."
Additional reporting PA