Prosecutors get report into fatal Tube shooting

An official watchdog has today given prosecutors its report into the fatal shooting of a Brazilian man by London police who thought…

An official watchdog has today given prosecutors its report into the fatal shooting of a Brazilian man by London police who thought he was a suicide bomber.

A spokesman for the Crown Prosecution Service confirmed it had received the report by the Independent Police Complaints Commission this morning. The service must now decide whether to prosecute any police officers over the shooting.

Police shot Jean Charles de Menezes (27) seven times in the head as he boarded a train at Stockwell underground station in south London on July 22nd last year.

Officers were on high alert after a suspected attempt by four bombers to attack three underground trains and a bus in the capital the previous day.

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Two weeks earlier, four British Islamists killed 52 people and injured 700 in a similar attack.

The report has not been made public, and prosecutors could take weeks or months to decide whether to press charges. However, leaked media reports of evidence submitted to the investigation have suggested major blunders.

Initial reports from police and witnesses said Mr de Menezes had been wearing a bulky jacket, had vaulted a ticket barrier and had run when challenged by officers. But the leaked evidence suggested all those claims were untrue.

The de Menezes family have repeatedly called for the officers involved to be arrested and prosecuted.

London's police chief, Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Ian Blair, is also facing a separate inquiry into claims by the de Menezes family that he misled the public in statements he made to the media immediately after the shooting.

He later admitted the shooting was a mistake and apologised. He has denied trying to mislead the family.