Sir Ian Blair 'trying to rewrite history'
The family of Jean Charles de Menezes have accused the former Metropolitan Police commissioner Sir Ian Blair of "trying to rewrite history" with his autobiography, in which he praises the actions of the two armed officers who shot dead the Brazilian electrician.
Extracts from Sir Ian's book, Policing Controversy, appeared in a Sunday newspaper yesterday. In passages referring to the day Mr de Menezes was killed in Stockwell Tube station in south London, Sir Ian said the death was due to "a ghastly combination of circumstances". He added that, had Mr de Menezes been a terrorist, the officers who killed him – codenamed Charlie 2 and Charlie 12 – would have been awarded medals for bravery.
He wrote: "Given what they thought they were dealing with, Charlie 2 and Charlie 12 ... should each have been awarded the George Medal. Instead they live for the rest of their lives with the knowledge that they took part in the killing of an entirely innocent man."
Read entire article at Independent (UK)
Extracts from Sir Ian's book, Policing Controversy, appeared in a Sunday newspaper yesterday. In passages referring to the day Mr de Menezes was killed in Stockwell Tube station in south London, Sir Ian said the death was due to "a ghastly combination of circumstances". He added that, had Mr de Menezes been a terrorist, the officers who killed him – codenamed Charlie 2 and Charlie 12 – would have been awarded medals for bravery.
He wrote: "Given what they thought they were dealing with, Charlie 2 and Charlie 12 ... should each have been awarded the George Medal. Instead they live for the rest of their lives with the knowledge that they took part in the killing of an entirely innocent man."