BRITAIN: On July 22nd, word arrived at Scotland Yard's headquarters that a suspected suicide bomber had been shot at Stockwell tube station, by officers using a new shoot-to-kill policy. For all involved it was uncharted territory, and a force already under enormous stress after two terrorist attacks within a fortnight, had a new challenge to face.
Sir Ian Blair, the London Metropolitan police commissioner, decided he did not want an independent inquiry, and wrote immediately to Sir John Gieve, the permanent secretary at the Home Office, citing issues of national security. This was a unique situation, he argued, insisting the anti-terrorist operation must take priority, and that bringing in another set of investigators, from the Independent Police Complaints Commission, was not a viable option, given the highly-sensitive intelligence involved.
"It seemed to us utterly crucial that the counter-terrorist investigation took precedence," he said yesterday. "The forensics, the ballistics, the explosives. I just said, at the moment we need the Met to carry this out and everything has got to be subordinate to the counter-terrorist operation."
The IPCC last night confirmed that Sir Ian had tried to stop an independent investigation into the shooting, and although they won their battle by Friday afternoon, inexplicably, it was another six days, Wednesday, July 27th, before they began their inquiry.
"The Metropolitan Police Service initially resisted us taking on the investigation but we overcame that," said John Wadham, the IPCC deputy chair. "It was an important victory for our independence."
"Lost" evidence has led to accusations of a cover-up, with the lawyers for the family of the innocent victim Jean Charles de Menezes claiming the delay could have meant the loss of "vital evidence" and calling for Sir Ian's 's resignation. The lawyers say he created a false impression that Mr de Menezes had given the police cause to open fire, but leaked statements from the IPCC report show he did nothing to arouse suspicion.
Many questions remain, such as the role of Cdr Cressida Dick, the woman in overall charge of the operation which led to Mr de Menezes's death. Sources close to the operation last night dismissed claims that she had ordered the "suspect" be taken alive, but it is alleged she ordered officers to stop Mr de Menezes entering the tube station and it is unclear how this was interpreted.
Gareth Peirce, the solicitor who met the IPCC yesterday, urged a public inquiry to sort out the "chaotic mess". The news last night that a member of the IPCC staff had been suspended over suspicion of leaking the documents will both add weight to that demand, but also to the Yard's fears over confidentiality.
One thing is certain to all involved, that the matter will not be resolved quickly. "We are set for years of agony over this," said a senior Met source.